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http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colle...3fe1298d1.html

Prized recruit headed to junior college

COLUMBIA, Mo. • Fort Zumwalt South's Chase Abbington, the top-rated recruit in Missouri’s 2013 recruiting class, did not qualify academically and will enroll at Hutchinson, Kan., Community College, PowerMizzou.com reported. Abbington, a running back from O'Fallon, was not available for comment but told the Rivals.com MU affiliate, "I'm still a Tiger and always will be. I'll be there soon."

Fort Zumwalt South Coach Scott Fulton has declined to address Abbington’s status in recent weeks and deferred comment to Missouri’s coaching staff. MU has not confirmed Abbington’s status. Mizzou’s incoming freshmen are expected to report this weekend for summer conditioning.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Abbington rushed for 2,398 yards and 39 touchdowns the last two seasons and spent time playing in the secondary.

Recruiting services widely rated Abbington a four-star prospect and ranked him as the top player in Mizzou’s signing class. With three experienced players returning at tailback — Henry Josey, Marcus Murphy and Russell Hansbrough — Abbington might not have contributed significantly this season, unless he was willing to switch to defense.

"He's one of those kids who can play on either side of the ball, though we're looking solely at the running back position," MU assistant coach coach Cornell Ford told the Columbia Daily Tribune in February. "I think he's a change from what you've seen from our offense. He kind of goes back to the Derrick Washington days where we had a bigger back. I think he'll bring some things to the table.

"I'd love to have him on the safety side, but (running backs coach Brian) Jones is hogging him. But he's got that ability. That size is rare at running back, but in (the SEC), the running backs are bigger. You need a big physical guy. In this conference you're going to need a couple of them because guys get beat up."

Abbington’s not the first high-profile Mizzou recruit from the St. Louis area to require a junior college detour. Tailback Damien Nash (East St. Louis, Ill.) headlined Gary Pinkel’s first recruiting class in 2001 but needed two years at Coffeyville, Kan., Community College before joining MU’s team for two seasons.

Defensive lineman Atiyyah Ellison (Parkway South) and cornerback Darnell Terrell (Eureka) also required junior college stops, and most recently defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson (Gateway Tech) spent two years at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif., after signing with MU in 2009. Richardson arrived at MU in 2011, earned All-Southeastern Conference honors last fall and became a first-round draft pick by the New York Jets in April.