Mizzou reels in Gulf Coast athlete

2015 Gulport (Miss.) athlete Richaud Floyd had been hearing from Pat Washington for quite a while and he had a feeling he was getting close to an offer. That feeling finally came to fruition this past weekend when the Tiger wide receiver coach called and extended the offer.

"It felt like all my hard work had paid off. All the running. All the lifting weights," said the 5-foot-11, 165 pound prospect said of finally receiving his Mizzou offer. "My whole junior season and sophomore season, it really paid off. To get that offer maid me feel like somebody wanted me and I was a special player to somebody."

"[Pat Washington] offered me Saturday and I was going to commit Monday, but the timing just didn't work out," Floyd continued. "He told me to call him today and I committed. I talked to [Andy] Hill and [Brian] Jones and they were excited and just congratulating me. All the coaches are at the Rams practice today, so it was a little crazy."

The reason he chose Mizzou was pretty simple. The opportunity to compete against the best football players in the best conference in the country.

"For me it's the competition of playing in the SEC. I feel like Missouri is a good place for me to play. I feel like I can showcase my talents in their offense. I will flourish in that system," he said.

Floyd will be showcasing his talents on the offense as a wide receiver for Mizzou. At Gulfport High School he plays multiple positions, but Pat Washington likes him at a specific receiver spot.

"He wants me to play slot receiver. I feel very comfortable playing that position. I caught a lot of balls my junior year playing that position," explained Floyd. "I really flourished in the offense we had last year and I feel like I will translate that into the college level."

Since joining the SEC, Mizzou has offered a handful of players from the Magnolia State. The majority of Mississippi prospects stay in-state for college, though. Floyd decided that was not the path for him.

"Not really," he answered if leaving Mississippi for college was going to be tough. "I feel like I've been very under recruited in the state. Only one in-state school offered me and that was USM. I feel like the other schools are missing out."

The recent trend has seemed to turn commitments in to more of a reservation. That will not be the case for Floyd.

"I'm 100% done with recruiting. The other schools that might come in, they missed out already. The other schools that want to offer me during the season, I feel like they had their chance and they missed out. I'm 100% to Missouri," he said.

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Mizzou has a few other 2015 targets in Mississippi and one in particular will be hearing from Floyd. That would be Brandon (Miss.) defensive tackle Fletcher Adams.

"I'm going to try and get him to commit to Mizzou," said Floyd. "He's a beast on the defensive line. I feel like if he comes to Missouri he'll be a big addition to the class."

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