| 14 July 2009
A couple of thoughts on Signing Day '09, including an explanation for why there is a picture of a yummy 12-inch meatball marinara above this post, which is probably causing Big Head to make like Usain Bolt to get to the nearest Subway.
- I've seen the rankings that have this recruiting class slated as being in the middle of the pack of the Big 12. Honestly, I could give a shit. What matters is that we seem to have improved at the positions we most desperately needed to get better at (D- and O-line). We signed four designated defensive linemen (five if you count Sheldon) and four of those came from Texas. If you're going to find some sleepers, the Lone Star state is probably a good place to look. Locking up Sheldon solidified this recruiting class as a successful one.
- The Tigers' offensive line is suddenly looking very solid with the signing of 6-7, 325 pound offensive lineman Chris Freeman. Mizzou will have Kurtis Gregory, Elvis Fisher, Tim Barnes, Dain Wise and Big Dan Hoch all returning. Add Freeman to that list and this could actually be the biggest strength of next year's team. I love the idea of our best returning offensive player, Derrick Washington, running behind this line and our 6-5 quarterback throwing behind it.
- There's been some uproar over the fact that Sheldon Richardson is being listed as a tight end on mutigers.com. I'm not looking too far into this. I think Sheldon will quickly realize that the D-line is where he can make the biggest impact and where he can earn the most $$$. Lets say he does play TE and is a phenom. What's his ceiling? Fourth round of the NFL Draft just like Chase Coffman? If he plays D-line he could potentially be to the defense what Chase Daniel was to the offense over the last four years. If he really wants to play TE then maybe we could implement some special packages that allow him to play both ways. Rumor has it Warren Sapp picked Sheldon up in a limo on his visit to Miami. If that's true, hopefully Warren showed him the potential glory that a D-lineman is capable of earning.
- And that leads us to the ultimate question: What is Sheldon's ceiling? And what kind of expectations should Tiger fans have for Sheldon? You don't have to do a lot of research to realize what a crap shoot the recruiting game can be. 5-star recruits that turn out to be complete busts are a dime-a-dozen. But the fact is Gary Pinkel has never gotten a defensive recruit of this caliber in his entire coaching career. As I said, there are plenty of high school players that appear to be "locks" to be superstars in college that flame out. But generally, 6-4, 290 pound D-linemen that are also capable of returning punts turn out to be decent college players. So assuming he does end up playing D-line, I'm going to say the worst-case scenario is he ends up being a bigger Stryker Sulak (one of the best pass rushers in Tiger history). Best case? The sky really is the limit. This guy could take Mizzou to a level that the Chases, T-Rucker, Willy Mo, J-Mac and Tony Temple couldn't reach. That's a best-case scenario, but I think that's what we're looking at.
- About an hour after Sheldon announced that he had signed his letter of intent to Mizzou I decided to go grab some lunch. I had worked up quite an appetite following all the Signing Day festivities and so I decided to head over to the local Subway. I had every intention of ordering the $5 foot-long ham and turkey. But as I was waiting in line I noticed the ad for the meatball marinara. When I was a kid I used to love the meatball marinara. It was my favorite sub. But around the age of 9 I fell out of love with the sandwich. I don't know why. I guess it had just run its course. So I stopped eating it. And as it turns out, I don't think I ordered another one over the next 13 years. But the last couple of times I've been to Subway the meatball has gotten my attention for some reason. But I just hadn't been able to work up the courage to give it another shot. That changed yesterday. As I stared at the ad I thought "What better time to take a chance on this sub than on the day that Sheldon Richardson signed with Mizzou and potentially legitimized Mizzou as a perennial Big 12 contender?" And so I got the sandwich. And that is why I have decided to christen Shedlon with his first Mizzou nickname: The Big Meatball. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the sub was superb. I can only assume that is a sign of things to come.
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