Recruiting class offers peek at Barry Odom’s emphasis for Mizzou football

Missouri has yet to take the field for an official practice under new coach Barry Odom, but already there are hints at the direction he intends to take the program.

Based on the Tigers’ recruiting emphasis, targeting bigger and more physically imposing running backs, it’s reasonable to anticipate more of a power run game than in past seasons.

That’s among the insights ESPN senior writer Jeremy Crabtree homed in on in analyzing the first recruiting class Odom and his staff are set to land Wednesday on National Signing Day.

“You have to have a strong running game (in the Southeastern Conference), and a lot of that running game is predicated on having bigger, more physical running backs that can stand up to the pounding,” Crabtree said. “There certainly was a noticeable difference … that they started targeting those types of running backs after Barry Odom got on board.”

He pointed to Natereace Strong, who committed to Mizzou out of East St. Louis (Ill.) High before detouring to Hinds Community College in Raymond, Miss., as an example.

Strong — a 6-foot, 209-pound prospect whom ESPN ranked second among all junior-college running backs — committed to the Tigers twice under former coach Gary Pinkel, who announced Nov. 13 that he had cancer and would retire after the 2015 season. But Odom’s staff continued to chase more imposing running backs.

That pursuit netted Little Rock (Ark.) Christian’s Damarea Crockett — a 6-foot, 211-pound back — when he switched his Boise State commitment last month.

“I really like how both those guys have this bigger physicality,” Crabtree said. “They’re 6-foot, they’re 200-plus pounds. You look at them on film, they love to run downhill. In the SEC, you’ve got to have a big, physical running back that can take the brunt of these freakish defensive linemen.”

Mizzou remains in the running for Jenkins running back Arkeem Byrd (6-1, 190) from Savannah, Ga., and McLain running back Joshua Jacobs (5-10, 200) from Tulsa, Okla.

Crabtree also found the Tigers’ emphasis on the outside linebacker position interesting.

“They targeted guys that can cover all aspects of the field from the outside linebacker spot,” Crabtree said. “Trey Baldwin (an early enrollee from Cypress Falls, Texas) was another kid. I know the previous staff had an impact recruiting him, but they had to re-recruit him after the coaching change. He’s another guy with range that can get up and down the field but also drop back in cover situations. That certainly jumps out to me.”

Missouri also landed Marvin Terry from South Oak Cliff High in Dallas. He is listed by some recruiting services as a defensive end but is listed as a four-star recruit and the nation’s No. 22 outside linebacker.

“They also just got good football players,” Crabtree said. “Gary Pinkel always prided himself on going after quality, just good football players. I think we saw that in an even more extreme with this year’s (Missouri) class.”

He cited the late offer to Kearney linebacker Cale Garrett as an example.

“He’s a tackle machine and will run through whatever brick wall coach Odom and the defensive coaches want him to do,” Crabtree said. “But there’s other guys in this class — Micah Wilson jumps out, the quarterback. He might not be flashy, but he’s just a really good football player.”

Missouri also got some immediate help for an offense that ranked near the bottom of the Football Bowl Subdivision in every major statistical category last season.

The addition of Alabama graduate transfer Chris Black and Saddleback Community College’s Dominic Collins, who is ranked as the No. 10 junior-college wideout nationally by ESPN, should bolster the wide receiving corps.

“You don’t go recruit a top-10 juco receiver and expect him to sit on the bench,” Crabtree said. “There’s no question, but even guys like Christian Holmes, another guy they had to re-recruit and get him to stick, is maybe a hidden gem in this class.”

Crabtree said Holmes — who was recruited as a cornerback but can play several positions, including wide receiver — doesn’t get the attention he should, because he committed in June and flew under the radar in Georgia, “where there’s just so many good high school football players.”

Williams might have the most upside of any player in the Tigers’ class and Hinds Community College safety Greg Taylor, another East St. Louis graduate, is “a great football player” and possible undervalued gem, according to Crabtree.

Collins, Black and Butler (Kan.) offensive tackle Tyler Howell, a Bonner Springs graduate, are players whom Crabtree identified as immediate upgrades at positions of need for Missouri.

The Tigers also strengthened the offensive line by holding onto Webb City (Mo.) guard Trystan Castillo and hope to keep East St. Louis guard Tre’vour Simms in the fold. Simms will choose between Mizzou and Illinois on Wednesday morning.

Missouri picked up a commitment on Tuesday from Grayson wide receiver Dimetrios Mason, a three-star 247 Sports prospect from Loganville, Ga. He also had offers from Indiana and several smaller schools.

The Tigers also convinced Lafayette tight end Brendan Scales from Wildwood, Mo., to switch from his Alabama commitment Tuesday night.

Scales, who is the 21st recruit for 2016, is rated by Rivals as the No. 6 player in Missouri and the No. 24 tight end overall. He also had offers from Michigan State, Nebraska, Arkansas and Kentucky among others.

Missouri’s top five recruits

A Rivals four-star prospect, Williams is expected to sign with his hometown Tigers despite a recent flirtation with Arizona State. He took a visit to Tempe on Jan. 22 and also boasts offers from Arkansas, California, Kansas State, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa State and TCU, among others.

Strong isn’t rated nationally by Rivals, but ESPN lists the consensus four-star prospect as the No. 2 junior-college running back and No. 28 overall junior-college player in the 2016 recruiting class. He committed to Missouri out of high school but needed a year in junior college to shore up his academics.

Originally committed to Boise State, new Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Heupel helped flip the four-star Rivals prospect, who is ranked No. 3 overall in Arkansas, to Missouri after a visit last month. Crockett also had offers from Arizona State, Vanderbilt and Memphis, among others.

Rivals gave Terry a three-star rating, but ESPN pegs him as a four-star at outside linebacker. He spurned offers from Oklahoma and Miami (Fla.) despite official visits last fall and committed to the Tigers in mid-December. Highly sought after, Terry also had offers from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisville, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCLA and Wisconsin.

Taylor is unranked by Rivals, but ESPN pegs the consensus three-star recruit as the No. 6 junior-college safety in the recruiting class. He committed to Missouri out of high school but went to Mississippi to address academics.

*Rivals.com national position rankings

One who got away …

Nashville (Ill.) offensive tackle prospect Royce Newman committed to Missouri in mid-June. The 6-foot-7, 260-pound prospect was rated by Rivals as the No. 17 player in Illinois and No. 50 tackle nationally, but he switched his commitment to Mississippi last month.

Still fishing for …

Missouri may not be done adding running backs. The Tigers are still in the running for Arkeem Byrd from Savannah, Ga., and Josh Jacobs from Tulsa, Okla. Mizzou also got Lafayette tight end Brendan Scales from Wildwood, Mo., to change his commitment from Alabama.

Position answered …

Missouri desperately needed to add depth and experience to its wide-receiving corps and appears to have done that with the addition of Alabama graduate transfer Chris Black and Saddleback Community College transfer Dominic Collins, whom ESPN rated as the No. 10 junior college wide receiver. Athletes Jerod Alton from Kirkwood, Mo., and Christian Holmes from Atlanta were recruited as defensive backs but were dynamic playmakers in high school and could be candidates to switch to offense, if needed.

Position unanswered …

Missouri could still use some offensive line help, but solutions might prove hard to come by. Holding onto East St. Louis (Ill.) offensive guard Tre’Vour Simms would be a good start. The Tigers lost four starters last season to graduation, including center Evan Boehm and left tackle Connor McGovern, and depth already was a concern up front on offense.

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 6:19 PM with the headline "Recruiting class offers peek at Barry Odom’s emphasis for Mizzou football."