I see very few people wearing gear for either of these schools. While it's pretty obvious Chicago is more about pro teams than college, I'd say the most popular college teams up here are Notre Dame, Michigan and Iowa.

Gotta kick Iowa out of that equation.

Would help if Notre Dame continues its suckitude.

The amount of Iowa stuff I see, both in Chicago and the suburbs, has increased dramatically over the past couple of years. Certainly helps keep my Gabbert hate fresh. :mad:

I would also add that I see very little Mizzou stuff up here, and not much Big XII/SEC at all. I did notice a couple of cartoon chickens during the end of March, but nothing since.

There's a truck I see parked in the train station parking lot that has both KU and OU stickers on the back glass. I really should key it one of these days.

You want awesome?

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/c_-yVXgnDTs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Linda Wallace has never been to prom.

As a senior at Fayette High School, Linda's teacher, Bridget Hussey, wanted her to go. So Hussey thought to herself, "What would make Linda dance?"

Linda, who suffers from cerebral palsy, loves Mizzou Football. One simple phone call landed two dates to remember: wide receiver T.J. Moe and quarterback Corbin Berkstresser.

The two instantly agreed to escort Linda and surprised her Saturday night. Linda dressed in black, with Tiger nail polish, matching her two Tiger dates. The three were announced in front of the town at Fayette, took plenty of pictures, and of course, danced the night away at prom.

You should key it.

Very cool, fellas.

Allergies are flaring up a bit.

Spoon bringing it at a charity event.

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There is a rumor going around that we may not be out of the running for Ezekiel Elliot.

That would be huge. He's the one that got away so far.

Clay Rhodes, 6'6 OT out of Blue Valley, KS, just committed to Mizzou. It'd be nice if we could get Joel Morrow too. Grunhard doesn't quite have KC on lockdown yet.

https://twitter.com/#!/clay_rhodes72

And never will.

The top player in the state of kansas commits to Mizzou. Awesome.

Top football prospects in KS and AR both committed, inclusive of the top player in the whole country. Not bad.

I'd say Morrow is between us and Nebraska.

Mizzou now has 10 commitments. Last year at this time, Mizzou had two. I wonder how many we would have if that whole SEC thing wasn't holding us back? ;)

Celebration Charlie is really changing the tides in KC!

From PowerMizzou:

When Stilwell (KS) Blue Valley offensive tackle Clay Rhodes announced his commitment to Missouri on Twitter, it came as no surprise.

Rhodes intimated as much on Saturday, when he told PowerMizzou.com his final three, with Missouri as his leader. Later in the conversation, he said a decision was already made, but he would wait to announce.

On Wednesday, Rhodes headed to Columbia to commit to Missouri in person. Around noon, Rhodes sent out a tweet from his Twitter account, @clay_rhodes72:

"Taking my talents to Columbia! Just committed to Mizzou! #MIZ"

In the interview on Saturday, Rhodes said a big draw for Missouri was the ability to play with his good friends.

"I'm already good friends with (current commits) Trent (Hosick), Nick (Ramirez), Harneet (Gill) and Alex (Abeln)," Rhodes said. "They've been very supportive, and I'd like to play with those guys."

Rhodes also cited Missouri as the school he was most comfortable with, and the fact that the Tigers offered first was "a great feeling."

Rhodes becomes Missouri's tenth known commitment, and the Tigers' third offensive linemen in the 2013 class. Rivals.com ranks Rhodes as a 5.6 three-star recruit. Rhodes is also Missouri's second out-of-state commitment in the 2013 class.

ROFL

The Art of War: Mizzou goes into Kansas, pulls top '13 tackle

Read more here: http://campuscorner.kansascity.com/n...#storylink=cpy



Blue Valley '13 OT Clay Rhodes (72) grew up a Kansas fan, but play at Missouri.

COLUMBIA | The father could tell his son was falling in love with Missouri all along. Randy Rhodes found some humor in this, since his son Clay – a three-star offensive tackle at Blue Valley High School – grew up a Kansas fan.

But to Randy, Clay’s decision to officially spurn his childhood favorite and commit to Missouri on Wednesday – thus becoming the 10th member of what is shaping up to be a strong 2013 Tiger recruiting class – speaks more to the strength of Mizzou’s sales pitch and coaching staff than anything else.

“Mizzou outrecruited every school that came after Clay,” Randy said, simply.

Rhodes, who stands 6-feet-6 and weighs 265 pounds, chose Missouri over Oklahoma State and had offers from Kansas and Kansas State. He is the fourth ’13 recruit from Kansas City to commit to Missouri since February, and like the others, he mentioned several reasons for his decision.

“Coach Pinkel is great, my position coaches are incredible and I knew they’d treat me like I was one of their own,” Rhodes said. “There’s a family atmosphere, too. There’s guys I want to be around, like Trent (Hosick) and Nick (Ramirez), and I want to be a part of playing in the SEC and winning a national title.”

Hosick, a three-star quarterback at Staley, and a Ramirez, a hard-hitting four-star linebacker from Lee’s Summit West, both committed to Missouri the morning of the Black and Gold game April 14. Both cited the same reasons for committing as Rhodes, who also joins Hogan Prep cornerback Anthony Sherrils as local members of the ‘13 class.

Rhodes credits Hosick, whom he befriended at a recruiting combine a few months ago, for staying in his ear and playing a role in his decision.

“Trent and I talk almost everyday,” Rhodes said. “I’m excited to block for him.”

Rhodes said Hosick, who led Staley to an undefeated state championship in Missouri Class 5 last season, never pressured him to pick Missouri. Instead, he encouraged Rhodes to make the best decision for him, though he wasn’t shy about giving his opinion on the matter.

“He was like ‘Do what’s best for you, but personally, I think you should go to Mizzou because I want to play with guys like you,’” Rhodes said.

Rhodes, who has Missouri grads in his family, also never forgot that Missouri was the first school to offer him a scholarship – an offer that came on the heels of an unofficial visit to Kansas just days earlier.

“Kansas was like the fourth or fifth team to offer me,” Rhodes said. “I got my first offer from Missouri and was like (wow).”

Rhodes told his dad about the offer, which came a couple weeks after the football season, and Randy advised him to wait before committing. He figured a few other schools would join the fray, and he was right.

But Clay’s heart was always with Missouri – at least, that’s how it appeared to Randy.

“We knew Missouri has been at top of his list since his first visit,” Randy said. “But I got my first clue he’d pick them when he visited Oklahoma State. The facilities and coaches there were great, but he was ready to leave at halftime of the spring game. We were driving back to the airport and it dawned on me that he’d made up his mind that day.”

Clay said he was 95 percent sure he’d pick Missouri last weekend, and after some final consideration, he came to the conclusion Tuesday night that he was 100 percent sure that’s where he wanted to go.

“If I were to compares MU, MU and K-State recruiting,” Rhodes said, “Missouri blows them out of the water.”

Now, Rhodes plans on doing a little recruiting of his own. Missouri has offered scholarships to two more prospects from the Kansas City area – Rockhurst offensive lineman Zach Hannon and Lee’s Summit West defensive end Jamone Boyd – and Rhodes and Hannon are close.

In fact, Rhodes said he had a discussion with Hannon on Tuesday night.

“He was curious about what I was doing because it was all over the news, and he wanted to know where I was at in the process,” Rhodes said. “We also talked about where he was at in the process.”

Rhodes didn’t go into too much detail about Hannon’s thinking, but he did reveal his recruiting pitch, one that wasn’t much different than the one he heard from Hosick.

“I said ‘Hey, you’ve got to do what’s best for you,’” Rhodes said. “But I told him I’d love to be his teammate because I know how good he is. We’ll be in touch, still.”

The fact Clay has already started recruiting for Missouri doesn’t surprise his father. Remember, Randy’s known for a while where his son’s heart lies; he’s just happy Clay finally made it official Wednesday.

“I’m ecstatic for Clay and so is his mom,” Randy said. “We just wanted him to find a school he felt comfortable at…and Missouri’s staff has done an amazing job of turning a kid that grew up a Kansas fan into a Mizzou fan.”

To reach Terez A. Paylor, call 816-234-4489 or send email to tpaylor@kcstar.com. Follow him at twitter.com/TerezPaylor.

Read more here: http://campuscorner.kansascity.com/n...#storylink=cpy

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I remember when the Big Ten spurned us for the Corncobs, I thought we'd be doomed to Texas hell forever. Turns out it was a blessing. No way does all this happen if we're playing that junior member crap Nebraska got saddled with.

From PowerMizzou: Eight Magic Words

http://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1361583

Last weekend, Stilwell (KS) Blue Valley offensive tackle Clay Rhodes was 95 percent sure he wanted to commit to Missouri.

He wanted to add five percent to that total before making it official, however.

On Tuesday, Rhodes said he thought and prayed on his decision. He also picked up the phone to call his friend -- and now future teammate -- Trent Hosick.

"He gave me some advice and help with the way I should go about committing," Rhodes said. "He knew for a while I was stuck between Mizzou and Oklahoma State, and his advice was that I needed to be 100 percent sure. I needed to be comfortable where ever I go.

"He didn't push me one way or the other. He said, 'I want you to be happy with whatever you do.'"

In the end, that was the final push Rhodes needed.

"I get to go into a good program and block for a guy like that," Rhodes said. "I'm blessed to be in that position."

Rhodes headed to Columbia on Wednesday to meet with Missouri's staff in person. Missouri's coaches appeared to know something was coming -- "They were pushing it a little bit, talking about committing," Rhodes said -- but he waited to commit in his own way.

Wearing a black Mizzou shirt under a white Blue Valley shirt, Rhodes said he didn't want to get a stain on his shirt. He took off his high school shirt to reveal his undershirt.

"Then I said the eight magic words," Rhodes said. "Coach Hill, I want to be a Tiger."

Rhodes said there's no need for Missouri fans to worry about flirtations with other schools.

"I'm committed, a hundred percent," Rhodes said. "That's what the word means, and I'm done."

Like Hosick, Rhodes now intends to turn from recruit to recruiter. While he wouldn't name names, Rhodes expects to be a busy man over the next few months.

Luckily, he's learned how to recruit from Hosick.

"I have a few guys that I'm going to contact," Rhodes said. "I'm going to send help, be supportive, and hopefully they'll choose Mizzou."

Bowl game in St. Louis?
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colle...606beca6d.html

Nice.

I assumed we wouldn't have room for Hannon if Rhodes committed, but it sounds like we still want him.

Adding Hannon and Boyd would make this arguably the best in-state haul Mizzou has ever had. It still might be. We're getting everyone we want.

In addition, it appears that Ezekiel Elliott (sp?) may not be completely committed to tOSU, and that Mizzou may still have a shot.

i think hannon is more of a guard than a tackle

Also, Ramirez has got an awesome avatar...

https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images...77743/tn-1.jpg

Ramirez tweeted back to Elliot: "It's a long time till signing day"

May not be out on him just yet...

This is cool.

http://www.tigerboard.com/uimages/user21315_6.jpg
http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c1...wt=Mizzou5.jpg

They're still recruiting him.

They don't recruit guys who tell them "Stop recruiting me, I'm solid to so-and-so."

ergo, ipso...

Elliot's parents both want him at Mizzou, but they haven't gotten involved in his recruitment yet. Meyer told Elliot if he didn't commit on his visit, he would lose his spot. Elliot's recruitment isn't over.

Meyer is a piece of shit.

Cool story about Dorial Green-Beckham. Sorry if repost.

http://www.kspr.com/sports/ky3-misso...,5277664.story

sweeeeeet, antar just committed...

http://rivals.yahoo.com/missouri/foo...WXphuBF7Yas5B4

I just saw that. Awesome get. Pinkel et al. have the state on lockdown.

Jamone Boyd and Zach Hannon have a final 3 of Mizzou, Arkansas, and Nebraska.

They have discussed doing what Ramirez and Hosick did commiting to the same school at the same time.

11 high-profile commitments by May 5. This is awesome.

Damn. For some reason I really want to dislike these, but I just can't!

Interesting Hannon's parents both went to MU but one of his best friends is Micheal Rose.

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Adios Big Bevo!!!!

I know him a little bit, and I know one of his best friends very well. I don't think he goes to Mizzou. He seems to want to go away to school. Arkansas was probably the leader before Petrino. My guess is that Mizzou is the most likely choice, but that would be under 50%.

Going away doesn't always mean that you have to go hundreds of miles away. I am from KC and Columbia is plenty far away to not have your parents just dropping by. But, it is nice to have the option of going home without having to step on a plane.

Does his best friend mention anything about Nebraska?

No. His guess was Arkansas, but he didn't really know. Also got the feeling he wants an offer from Oklahoma.

Sounds like Hannon and Jamone Boyd might be a package deal.

I know Boyd has yet to receive an offer (at least a reported one) from either Oklahoma or Arkansas. There's a feeling Mizzou is in good shape.

They don't have a ton of offers in common. Mizzou is one of the few. Honestly, I think they and Eric Biesel are the last in-state guys being heavily targeted.

If they closed this in-state class by getting these three guys and getting Elliott to flip, I think that would give them a 100 percent sign rate on the guys in Missouri they want (which would be a first).

I think the notion of package deals is highly overblown. You hear about it a lot, but it never materializes.

The guys covering Mizzou sure seem to think Hannon is coming, so maybe there is something there. The teammate I mentioned earlier didn't make it sound like they talked a lot about it, nor did he seem overly interested.

It did with Hosick/Ramirez.

Hannon recently talked about doing the same thing (as Ramirez/Hosick) with Boyd. I know you're on PM - did you see that update? I don't remember if it was in the Chamber or something else.

It's one thing for a guy to encourage a guy to go somewhere, but I don't consider that a package deal. The Morris twins were a package deal.

It's beyond encouragement with these guys (but not quite twins package level), from what it sounds like (you might have a better idea through folks you know, not sure).

Hannon has spoken about Boyd being his best friend/them wanting to go to the same school/wanting to commit to the same school at the same time.

He specifically has mentioned he thought it was cool that Hosick and Ramirez committed at the same time and he and Boyd would like to do that.

Guys at Scout seem to think he is Mizzou bound too.

Its been an incredible haul at oline lately.

@GabeDeArmond: Reports are out that #Mizzou has added Tulsa transfer Jordan Clarkson.

Whoops, wrong thread

Mizzou RB signee Morgan Steward posted a 10.44 in the 100 meters this past weekend.

Has anybody heard anything about when replicas of the new jerseys will go on sale? Haven't seen anything on the official site or ebay.

Awesome.

http://mls2go.smugmug.com/Other/New-...7XXQ#!p=1&n=12

Four * Iowa OT Jake Campos committed to Missouri.

The SEC is going to kill our recruiting.

I am seeing reports that Jake Campos, 4-star OT from Iowa, has joined the commit club.Just a huge get (this kid grew up a huge Cyclone fan and apparently love Rhoads) and hopefully a sign of the impact the SEC move can have on Missouri recruiting the local areas.

Missouri is building a REALLY strong OL class. A few thoughts on that:

OT Jake Campos - big and athletic, it wouldn't surprise me if he plays either T or G in college. Got a shot to be a Rivals 250 kid/go to one of the premier all-star games.Similar player to...

OTs Harneet Gill and Clay Rhodes - to me, these are very similar guys. They're tall, rangy and athletic, and LEAN. Gill has GREAT feet. Key is if they can retain the quickness/athletic ability when they add 40 pounds.

C Alec Abeln - They like his size, intelligence and ability to snap the ball. They seem to have altered their recruiting a bit, to ensure they don't have a snap situation like they did a year ago.

They probably still have a spot open for Zach Hannon, who is seen as a G, if he wants it.

Really exciting time, though. OL recruiting is at another level, it seems. Having Andy Bauer - a likely Rivals 100 and possibly Rivals 50 guy - already on board for 2014 is a great start to that class. Need to add to it with Braden Smith...

We're doomed! LMAO

Did we just move into the heart of both Big Ten and Big Twelve country and snag a four star recruit right out from under them?

Damn, SEC fever is running wild over the midwest ROFL Love it!

Surprised he didn't jump at that Kansas offer...

No, but seriously, I actually am surprised he passed on Iowa and Purdue. I would think an Iowa lineman leaving an Iowa offer on the table would be similar to a Pennsylvania linebacker not taking a Penn State offer (well, before Sandusky).

Hey man, they have as good of facilities as anyone in the nation!! Who knows he might have fancied that track and always dreamed of running on it before a game some day :eek:

SEC speed!

Especially when Grunhard flashed those AFC West title rings from the 90s.

In fairness, Mizzou has a shitty track, too.

TBQH I think we need to pick one helmet style after this year and stick with it.

I'm starting to like them large tigerhead ones though. It seems as though the black on it matches the black on our unis. It might not be a "traditional" style helmet, but why should we want to be traditional if we're trying to make our own brand? We're not no bama, lsu, georgia, texas, oklahoma, etc... We need ot make our own type of "classic" identity by sticking with one and not alternating. I will not support a oregon/maryland/okie lite school. Also, I hate the frickin tiger oval:mad:

I have to agree with you. The flat black/grey helmet and unis are awesome. I think the militaristic look of them would be great come game day.

Where does this recruiting class rank in MU history?

Hard to say at this point. If you compare it to past recruiting classes, they have never had this many commits, this early. Especially high star talents like this.

The most 4-stars Missouri has landed in one recruiting cycle is 7 (2010). That was also Pinkel's highest-rated class, checking in at 21st when all was said and done. They have three currently (Campos, Abbington and Ramirez).

They don't have a TON of 4-star talents still on the table (that we know about at this point), so I'm not sure they get to that level. But the way they're filling this class and filling it early is pretty impressive.

This is an unbelievable get for Mizzou. They have the makings of a badass O-line of the future.

Iowa fans can't believe they lost Campos. Pretty hilarious stuff, really.

The move to the SEC is killing recruiting.