Mizzou is a great place

St. Louis (Mo.) CBC running back Tre Bryant was the second 2016 prospect from the state of Missouri to land an offer from Mizzou. Bryant picked up the offer while attending Mizzou Junior Day.

Junior day is a big event late in each winter. It is attended by around 50 prospects with varying levels of interest from Mizzou. When Bryant visited Mizzou yesterday, the experience was much different.

"It was more of a personal visit. They showed me around the campus and the facilities more. I got to sit down and talk with coach [Gary] Pinkel for about 15 minutes. It was personal," he explained. "I got to sit in on the running back meeting and the full team meeting as well. That was pretty cool. That was right before they went to practice, which I got to watch also. I'm starting to get a way better feel for Mizzou."

Bryant came away with two distinct impressions from his day in Columbia.

"Mizzou is a great place. It's a great place to be. It's a great place to spend your college years and it's a great place to play football," he said. "The next thing that stood out was the effort they brought to practice. Even with it being so far from the regular season they were really bringing the effort and the energy. That was the big thing I took away from watching them."

As a junior splitting reps with senior Calen Taylor, Bryant ran for 1072 yards and 20 touchdowns on 108 carries. That is good for just under 10 yards per carry. Bryant also caught 14 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown.

That production is what caught the Tigers eye and has the coaches believing the 5-foot-10 and 191 pounder will fit into Mizzou's system. For his part, Bryant agrees.

"I feel like I would really fit the system well," he explained. "Coach [Brian] Jones and I were talking about what my high school runs and how we have similar plays and schemes. Blocking schemes and running schemes. I feel pretty good about fitting into Mizzou's offense."

Mizzou is not the only school on the talented junior. He holds offered from Indiana, Kansas State, Kansas, UNLV and Ball State in addition to Mizzou.

"I'm still keeping an open mind to all the schools recruiting me," said Bryant. "In June is when I'm really going to focus on narrowing my schools down. Really think about where I want to play my college ball at. Right now, though, I'm just taking it all in."

Next up for Bryant is a visit to Kansas State on Monday, April 13. After that he will be back at Mizzou for their Spring Game on Saturday, April 18. The next day he will check out Indiana.

Bryant is taking all the visits he has made already and what he has coming up into consideration while thinking about what he is looking for in his future school.

"It's going to come down to where I feel the most comfortable. How the coaches interact with the players and just the camaraderie between the players and the staff," he stated. "That's the main thing right now. All the schools are pretty even with that right now. There was a big family atmosphere at Mizzou, though. Missouri had a really good atmosphere."

As far as when the final decision will happen, Bryant has a good idea.

"Right now I'm thinking I want to have my decision made by the beginning of the season. Just to get it out of the way to allow myself to focus more on football and repeating as state champions," he explained. "My goal is to have it done before the season, but if it starts to drag out and I have to keep thinking about it because I don't feel comfortable yet then I won't rush anything."