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GD: I got to answer your strange, sometimes uncomfortably personal questions for another week. That's the best present of all.

GD: I think every offensive coordinator would prefer a dual threat guy. But I think I mean that differently than most. When people say dual threat QB anymore, what they really mean is a guy who's a runner first and a passer second. When I think of a dual threat QB, I mean a guy who can do both. So why wouldn't you want a QB who is capable of running? It doesn't have to be a guy who can run for 1,000 yards. It just has to be a guy who can keep the play alive and move around enough to be dangerous. Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger can keep plays alive. Nobody is confusing either one of them with Michael Vick, but their legs are good enough to suffice. I'm sure Heupel would like a guy who can run, but it's more important that he can throw.

As far as 2018, James Foster is visiting on January 13th. He appears to be the top target at this point in time and we should know more about where Mizzou stands with him after that trip. It may not be out of the question that they'd take two, but Foster is the top guy right now.

GD: It's happened six times in the NFL that I could find. I can't find that information for college football. I can tell you last year there were two teams who had two 1,000 yard guys. Louisiana Tech had Trent Taylor catch 1,803 yards worth of passes and Carlos Henderson had 1,535 (those were good for first and fifth in the country). Western Kentucky had Taywan Taylor with 1,730 and Nicholas Norris with 1,318. But nobody had three. There were only 35 1,000 yard receivers in the country. I'd guess it probably has happened at some point, but it seems pretty unlikely these days. And if you're asking if it is going to happen at Missouri, no, it very likely will not.

GD: Brendan Scales had mid-season surgery for a broken bone in his foot, but is expected to be full go for spring football certainly. Both he and Albert Okwuegbunam were guys I thought might have a chance to play during fall camp, but they weren't quite ready (and Missouri didn't really need them to). They're both big enough to be serviceable blockers, but their first skill is probably catching the football. I think both will see some time next season, but I also think Kendall Blanton is likely to get the majority of the reps and is a guy I could see primed to really break out next year.

GD: Always will try to talk to Jim Sterk every few months, so he's definitely on the list. Beyond that, honestly, just trying to get through signing day here to start the year. Don't really have any long-term projects in mind right now.

GD: I know they played 6-6 Miami (OH) and won by a point so that was, by the end, a bowl game between two sub-.500 teams. Maryland and Boston College played yesterday too. It doesn't offend me. Whatever. If they want to play it and somebody will put it on TV and they can sell some tickets, cool with me. That said, if you watched either of those games, you need to re-prioritize your life. I honestly have not watched a more than about four plays of any bowl game yet...and even those really only happened because I happened to flip past them. I'll probably watch a little bit here and there over the next few days, but in looking at the games, there weren't more than a couple that really even interested me outside of the playoff.

GD: Mac Jones is the only guy that's come out and said Missouri is talking to him. But I believe the Tigers are still talking to some other guys as well. They could be kids who are committed to other schools, which is why nothing has really come out publicly about it. If the kids want to keep it quiet, it stays quiet. I think Mizzou will sign a QB in this class. That's true whether it's Rey Estes or someone else.

GD: Transfers will happen in waves. There will be a few who don't come back for the spring semester. A few more will happen after spring football and then maybe another handful after the second semester. All told, the numbers will work out in the end. As far as predictions, I think Missouri will get Jordan Ulmer and Caleb Sampson at some point. I don't want to predict the rest of the class yet until we have a little better handle on who's visiting throughout the month of January. I think you'll see a quarterback, an offensive lineman and a heavy dose of defensive linemen.

GD: I mean, it didn't go well. I think that's pretty clear. That said, it pretty much all goes back to last November. Before that point, all the things Mack was saying had Missouri fans all a-twitter with how great he was. He had plans to revamp the whole department, to change the way they sold tickets, etc. And then when the protest hit, everything else just seemed to stop. He was put in a situation that no AD had pretty much ever had to face and he didn't handle it well. Things went downhill from there. It's easy now to bury him and talk about how terrible he was and blame everything on him. I think it's also unfair and revisionist history. Mack very well may go on to be a successful AD, but it didn't work here. As for the last question, I don't think it's real good practice to just start throwing random rumors out there to slander the guy. Most people at Mizzou weren't throwing fits when he left. He probably wasn't too sad to leave Columbia in his rearview mirror either.

GD: Absolutely. I think Odom makes about 2.1 million. If that's your ceiling, there's no point even going out to look. If you're not willing to top 2.1 million for a coach, just tell everyone you don't care up front. That doesn't mean you have to spend that much, but you have to be willing to. Everybody looks at the number and thinks it's the be all and end all. You don't pay a guy three million just because you can. Some coaches are worth three million on the open market, some aren't. Similar to when Odom was hired, he's getting a salary which is in line with his experience. Why would you pay him $4 million? You certainly hope in a few years he is a guy that you have to pay that to. But right now he isn't. The "will they pay a basketball coach more than the football coach?" argument made a lot more sense when the football coach was Gary Pinkel who had been here for 13 years and been a head coach for 23 and done a lot of good things. You wouldn't pay a basketball coach more than that guy. But it's not an issue to pay a basketball coach more than a football coach who has a career record of 4-8.

GD:

1) Booches or Shakespeares? Shakespeare's

2) Chase or Brad? Daniel was a better quarterback, Smith was more exciting to watch

3) Mizzou vs kU hoops or Mizzou vs NU football? When I was growing up, beating Nebraska wasn't even on the radar in football. Even bad Mizzou teams beat Kansas sometimes in hoops. No doubt Kansas hoops. Not even a question.

4) DA or J-Mac? Alexander if he had different knees, Maclin since he doesn't.

5) T-Ruck or Coffman? Rucker between the 20s, Coffman in the red zone

6) Markus Golden or Kony Ealy? Golden

7) GP or Norm? Are we playing football or basketball?

8) Block M or Tiger Oval Helmets? Couldn't possibly care any less

9) Hearnes or Mizzou Arena? Hearnes

10) Harpo's or Shiloh? Shiloh

11) Chiefs or Royals? Royals

12) Josey or Murphy? Josey

13) SEC East or Big-12 North? Are we playing football or basketball?

14) 2007 or 2013 Mizzou Football? 2007

15) Prime Rib or Lobster? Yes

16) Bowl season or March Madness? March Madness, no question. I don't watch most bowls

17) Sunday sports section or online edition? I read everything online

18) Thanksgiving or Christmas? Thanksgiving

19) Erin Andrews or Olivia Harlan? No benefit to me answering this

20) Seinfeld or Cheers? Seinfeld. But the real answer is The Wonder Years.

GD: The Poe Throw was my favorite play in a long time, largely because it came in a game they were winning by 17 points with under two minutes to play and screw you, Denver.

As far as Missouri's offense, I could see them incorporating some more counters and misdirections. As far as gimmick plays, if you run them too much, they cease being gimmick plays or surprising anyone. I think the jet sweep should be more a part of the offense and maybe a few things off that, though.

GD: I'll say Caleb Sampson is the next guy to pull the trigger. It's a complete guess. As far as flipping guys, I'm not going to break it down geographically, but I'll set the number at three guys who are committed to other schools who end up signing with Missouri on February 1.

GD: I am told Missouri expects Thomas and Estes to take official visits in January. Now, obviously, plans can change, but as of today, that is something that is planned for one of the last two visit weekends.

GD: I appreciate the question, but I have absolutely zero idea. I mean, you'd be as informed by throwing darts as you would by me answering this question.

GD: On offense, I don't really think there is one. I mean, almost everyone is back from last year. So while there will be guys that are better, I don't see anybody that's just out of nowhere becoming a major contributor. I don't know if Kendall Blanton fits this category, but I'll go with him. Defensively, let's look at Kaleb Prewett and see what he can do at safety.

GD: Not a lot yet. I think he just started maybe a week or two ago. I posted some info from our Texas guys back when he was hired here. Missouri sources are happy with the hire and think they got a good one (he was talked about some last year too). He's worked at Texas and LSU and A&M tried to hire him last year, so he's got a good reputation. But it's a bit early for me to have any idea how he's actually doing here so far.

GD: Correct. If you sign 25 on February 1 (and they all show up), you can't count any backwards next year. You can still only sign 25 in any given class. They could sign three this December because they had room in last year's class, which was under the limit.