The 2019 season brings uncertainty, as the protracted appeal over a ridiculous "scandal" with a single actor still has not been resolved. On the field, Mizzou faces what appears to be a much easier schedule than in years' past. The early season is loaded with home games before a protracted road stretch from mid-October through November.
Schedule:
Spoiler!
8/31 @ Wyoming
9/7 vs. West Virginia
9/14 vs. SEMO
9/21 vs. South Carolina
10/5 vs. Troy
10/12 vs. Ole Miss
10/19 @ Vandy
10/26 @ Kentucky
11/9 @ Georgia
11/16 vs. Florida
11/23 vs. Tennessee
11/29 @ Arkansas
Recruiting:
Spoiler!
Commits:
Jalen St. John, OG: **** 5.8 RR, St. Louis, MO
Brady Cook, QB: *** 5.7 RR, St. Louis, MO
Jay Maclin, WR: *** 5.7 RR, Kirkwood, MO
Mitchell Walters, OL: *** 5.7 RR, St. Louis, MO
Kevon Billingsley, DE: *** 5.7 RR, East St. Louis, IL
Robert Wooten, DE: *** 5.7 RR, Stafford, TX
Drake Heismeyer, OL: *** 5.6 RR, St. Charles, MO
Elijah Young, RB: *** 5.6 RR, Knoxville, TN
Cooper Davis, DE: *** 5.6 RR, Melbourne, FL
Will Norris, LB: *** 5.6 RR, Columbia MO
Dominique Johnson, RB: *** 5.6 RR, Crowley, TX
Ray Curry, OL: *** 5.5 RR, Memphis, TN
Harris Mevis, K: Unranked, Warsaw, IN
Javian Hester, WR: **** 5.8 RR, Tulsa, OK
Jalen Logan Redding, DE *** 5.6 RR, Columbia, MO
In-state talent is noticeably better than 2019, but the depth is not as impressive as the 2018 class that Missouri missed badly on. There are 7 4+* recruits per rivals, and as per usual, Ohio State has poached one of the two best in-state recruits, with Notre Dame taking the first 5* prospect in several years, Jordan Johnson. The program has de-invested in Georgia after making inroads in and around Gwinnett, and has dug further into Texas to compensate. Whether or not this is a good strategy is yet to be borne out.
The previous best recruit, Antonio Doyle, an ILB from St. Louis, decommitted on Thursday
The Class Rankings are in the low 50s from Rivals and 24/7 and again near the bottom of the SEC.
Hamas' Crystal ball sees a lot of variance. I could see this team winning as few as 7 and as many as 10 games. Georgia is the only certain loss. Florida is likely still overrated by name, but time will tell.
Official prediction: 9-3. Recruiting prediction: slightly disappointing
My memory was that was a slightly different scenario.
I thought the Board liked the Anderson hire and after it was kinda wrapped up, were trying to decide if they'd had enough of Alden now and were going to fire him for what preceded it, not necessarily the coaching search itself.
It was the Haith hire where he came in and they hated that idea so much that there were rumors of simply firing him and letting someone else have a go at it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
My memory was that was a slightly different scenario.
I thought the Board liked the Anderson hire and after it was kinda wrapped up, were trying to decide if they'd had enough of Alden now and were going to fire him for what preceded it, not necessarily the coaching search itself.
It was the Haith hire where he came in and they hated that idea so much that there were rumors of simply firing him and letting someone else have a go at it.
Yeah, I think he was nearly fired for how he handled the Quin situation, not the MA hire (which was a good hire).
I was unaware of the internal reaction to Haith. I probably was too preoccupied with trying to find who the fuck that guy was. [Reply]
No single candidate has been brought to the #Mizzou Board of Curators. Blake Anderson, Jeff Monken and Skip Holtz are involved. The process is ongoing. More info here: https://t.co/33iaNpzEEH
Mizzou coaching search: Board not thrilled with some targets
By Dave Matter St. Louis Post-Dispatch 59 min ago
COLUMBIA, Mo. - As Missouri athletics director Jim Sterk continues to look for his next football coach, the UM System Board of Curators is not thrilled with some of the choices being presented as options, multiple sources told the Post-Dispatch Thursday.
The board has not outright rejected any candidate but is worried about the public fallout if Mizzou doesn't consider some high-profile coaches and settles for lesser-known names, especially after firing Barry Odom, a Mizzou alum whose last three teams were 21-17 and each won enough games to be bowl eligible.
The board's reservations include but aren't limited to MU's interest in Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson. There is mutual interest between Mizzou and the 50-year-old coach, sources have confirmed. Anderson has talked to MU officials multiple times about the position and is interested in the job, per sources with knowledge of the process.
The board must vote to approve a major head-coaching hire that would come with a seven-figure salary.
Anderson has won at least seven games each of his six seasons at Arkansas State with an overall record of 46-30 while winning 75 percent of his Sun Belt Conference games at 36-12 with two conference championships. He’s 1-4 in bowls and will lead ASU to a sixth bowl this postseason.
Nevada's Jay Norvell, 53, another head coach from a Group of Five conference, has emerged as an option. He's on Sterk's list, but necessarily near the top, a source confirmed Thursday
Norvell has had some success as a head coach, though has a losing record (18-19) in three years at the Mountain West Conference program. He's 15-10 the last two years, both bowl-eligible seasons. His Wolf Pack teams have beaten a couple Power Five teams (Purdue, Oregon State) and won last year’s Arizona Bowl over Anderson's Arkansas State team.
Norvell, 56, is a proven recruiter at the Power Five level. He was Bob Stoops assistant offensive coordinator and receivers coach for seven years at Oklahoma. Before that he coached on staffs at Wisconsin, Iowa State, Nebraska and UCLA, plus NFL stints in Indianapolis and Oakland. After leaving Oklahoma he spent a year at Texas coaching receivers — Mizzou D-line coach and current interim coach Brick Haley was on that staff, too — and then a year at Arizona State as the passing game coordinator.
Norvell’s Nevada staff includes longtime UCLA offensive assistant Angus McClure, who’s considered one of the best recruiters on the West Coast. His offensive coordinator is Matt Mumme, son of spread offense innovator Hal Mumme.
What about all that Jim McElwain buzz the last couple days? Overblown, a source said Thursday. That doesn’t eliminate the Central Michigan coach, who at Florida won back-to-back SEC East Division titles in 2015-16 but was ousted six games into this third season. His Chippewas play in Saturday's Mid-American Conference championship game against Miami.
Other coaches linked to the search include Tulane's Willie Fritz, Army's Jeff Monken, Air Force's Troy Calhoun and Charlotte's Will Healy. Earlier in the week, sources indicated Boise State's Bryan Harsin would be a prime target, but he hasn't been mentioned as a realistic option in recent days. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
Again I ask, seeing who's out there, what was the expectation? Looks to me like they should have just kept Odom.
{taptaptap}
Is this thing on?
Seriously - this question's been addressed. There are a half dozen young guys they could target. There are another tier of coaches they can't as a result of Sterk doing a bad job. And there's a final tier of tolerable alternatives that they seem not terribly interested in.
And then there's the shit sandwiches being flung out for public consumption. And as I've said several times already, if it's any of those then Odom should've been retained.
I mean...you just lookin' for someone else to say it at this point? I feel like the bases have been covered pretty well for you. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Titty Meat:
Should have just fired Dooley and given Odom 1 more yewr to improve
Had Bazelak not blown his ACL, I could've even found cause for keeping Dooley for another year and letting him work with a thrower similar to what he had in Lock. When they had a triggerman willing to throw the damn football, the offense looked genuinely good at times last year.
But now that Robinson is the likely QB next year and he's another mobile QB, Dooley had to be gone. Seems apparent that he just didn't know what to do with a dual threat guy.
If my choices are any of these friggen JAGs or giving Odom another year with a new OC to see if there are any notable improvements, yeah I'd have absolutely kept Odom and gone into next offseason clean of any sanctions with ideally a stronger coaching market.
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins:
If this is the best Sterk can do, then the Board should jump in and immediately fire his ass.
Yup. This is the kind of coaching list youd expect to see for a team got the death penalty like SMU not just a 1 year bowl ban.
Seriously Sterk had to have put feelers out there back in October when this season was beginning to look bad no?
I could have seen that list put out some bullshit statement about this year being a disappointment and flipped shit at the NCAA calling their bogus bowl ban a distraction to our season. Made a few changes to the off season staff and I think the fan base would be content for another year and recruiting wouldnt suffer that much.
Now you're starting year 0 with a list of guys on that list who are meh, with the first signing day in just a few weeks. Cupboard could be pretty bare when this is said and done. [Reply]