Missouri fortunate in Signing Day recruits
Published Feb. 9, 2007
Wednesday was National Signing Day in the college football world, and Missouri announced that it had signed 27 recruits for the 2007 season. Recruits included George White, a recruit from Michigan who signed the night before.
Rivals.com rated MU's class as 32nd in the country and sixth in the Big 12, ahead of both Texas Tech and Texas A&M. The defensive line, anchored by Michael Keck, was ranked fifth nationally.
White, a tailback from Flint, Mich., had been verbally committed to Michigan State since the summer. But MU coach Gary Pinkel said White visited MU a couple of weeks ago and was cajoled into changing his mind.
"We were very fortunate that he decided to come down here and visit," Pinkel said. "We don't normally recruit up there, but we were lucky that he decided to come to Mizzou."
Perhaps the biggest standout of the class is Michael Keck of Harrisonville, a Parade All-American whom ESPN rated as the 12th best end in the country.
ESPN described Keck, who chose the Tigers over Arkansas and Nebraska, very highly.
"(Keck) is physical and shows good power on contact," the ESPN Web site stated. "He pursues to the ball and is a solid tackler who will use his reach to reel in ball carriers."
Keck graduated from Harrisonville High School a semester early and is already working out at MU, Pinkel said.
"It's a good experience for these kids to be on campus early," Pinkel said, referring to Keck and linebacker Luke Lambert, who is also taking classes at MU. "We want to get them as much experience as possible. It's a huge plus."
In addition, four junior college transfers are also on campus a semester early.
The class features 10 players from Missouri, two from just over the Kansas border and one from St. Louis' suburbs in Illinois.
"I look at it like we have 13 local kids, including the Kansas and Illinois people," Pinkel said.
Missouri also gained five players from Texas, a continuation of its strong recruiting in the southern state. Pinkel said the strong season by quarterback Chase Daniel, who played in suburban Dallas, has made it slightly easier to get highly touted recruits.
"Everywhere down there, they know about Chase," he said. "We have great contacts and relationships with people down there, and there's a lot of talent in Texas."
Although three of the five Texans in the 2007 class come from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the highest-rated recruit was defensive tackle Dominique Hamilton from El Paso, Texas. Hamilton was rated by Super Prep as the 29th best tackle in America.
At running back, the Tigers signed Derrick Washington, a Top 100 running back from Peculiar, Mo., whom CBS SportsLine called a "strong, powerful back with nice size."
Pinkel said even with Tony Temple starting at tailback, Washington will be there just in case anything happens next season.
"There's a lot of factors that go into playing time," he said. "We want everyone ready to play. And Washington is certainly a tremendous athlete. We were fortunate to get him."
Pinkel said Missouri met all of its goals in recruiting new offensive and defensive lines, and this group, no matter what, will be fast.
"This is one of the best classes we've had since I've been here," he said. "Obviously, time will tell, but there's a lot of speed. I think it's a really good balance."