As he settled into his seat at Shakespeare’s Pizza to meet with a group of reporters Wednesday, Missouri head coach Barry Odom reminisced about Junes past. The month used to be one of the most quiet of the year for a football coach, with his team undergoing just eight hours of mandatory workouts each week and recruiting in a holding pattern until the fall.
Times have changed, thanks to the new early signing period. This weekend, for instance, the Missouri coaches scarcely left campus, juggling the demands of hosting eight official visitors in the 2020 class as well as facilitating two skills camps, a big man camp and a seven-on-seven tournament for local high schools. The Tigers have already hosted 15 official visitors during this recruiting cycle. Prior to the 2017 cycle, when the early signing period was established, an official visit before the month of September would have been almost unheard-of.
The Missouri staff appears to have adapted well to the change. The Tigers received their 10th verbal commitment in the 2020 class Wednesday morning when junior college transfer Maureese Wren pledged his services to the Tigers. That’s the most commits the school has received prior to July 1 since the 2014 cycle. In the past three classes combined, Missouri has received 10 total commitments before to the end of June.
Still, Odom would like to see the recruiting calendar return to what it was before the early signing period was implemented — or, at least, stop accelerating any further.
““There’s a number of concerns with trying to rein in what is our calendar,” he said. “... Nobody has the right answer. I don’t think we’re going to slow down at this point, now that it is what it is.”
One of the chief issues Odom vocalized is that it’s become more difficult to form relationships with players prior to getting them on campus. Coaching staffs used to travel the country to visit and evaluate prospects during the spring and early summer. Now, since the majority of each signing class is cemented by December, that evaluation typically occurs in January. The problem, Odom explained, is that under the current recruiting calendar, part of January is characterized as a “dead period,” meaning coaches cannot have face-to-face contact with prospects.
“We’ve had guys that have visited — official visit, April, May and June — that I’ve never talked to in person,” Odom said. “Foundationally, that’s a problem with our sport. Because the true baseline emphasis that we put on recruiting is relationship building, and it’s hard to build a relationship when you haven’t had a chance to sit down with a kid and really visit in person.”
In addition, Odom said the acceleration of the recruiting calendar makes it more difficult for coaches to assess players’ skill sets, academic situations and fit within a program. Earlier offers and commitments lead to more de-commitments from players and scholarship-yanking from coaches prior to signing day. That leads to a domino effect as schools scramble to fill an opening or make room in a signing class for a prospect who has come available.
“It would be nice, if you wanted to offer a kid a scholarship and they wanted to commit, you could give them the papers right there, in person, and say, ‘okay, sign it,’” Odom said. “And then also it’s some credibility on the college coaches. You can’t give out 396 offers.”
In Odom’s view, it’s not just college coaches that stand to benefit from slowing down the recruiting race. With so many players committing prior to their senior years of high school, he envisions a future in which some players opt to skip their final season altogether, emulating the recent wave of college players destined for the NFL Draft who have sat out bowl games.
“There’s going to be a point that that kid that’s committed in June to the University of Missouri, he gets into fall camp, gets in the first, second, third game, he’s like, ‘You know what? I’ve got my scholarship. Why do I put myself out there, risk injury?’” Odom said. “... It always trickles down.”
While Odom may have some reservations about the current recruiting calendar, his staff has been successful in embracing the changes. Missouri has landed seven commitments in the past 30 days. Its class currently ranks No. 31 nationally. Odom said Tiger fans have “a lot of great things” to look forward to on the recruiting front in the next few weeks.
The success has been particularly visible in the St. Louis area, a place that has not always been kind to the Tigers. Two years after seeing all eight of the area natives included in the infamous “Tiger 10” of the 2018 class go elsewhere, Missouri has already landed six commitments from the St. Louis area. Four-star linebacker Antonio Doyle, ranked the No. 4 player in the state, is the crown jewel of the group. He chose the Tigers over the likes of Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
Odom listed a number of factors that have helped turn the tide in St. Louis, including embracing the trend of recruiting younger players. Most importantly, back-to-back winning seasons have given Odom more job security and made Missouri a more attractive destination.
“Building relationships, staff continuity, recruiting by position has helped us, and then also getting guys on campus earlier,” Odom said. “I think all of those factors go into it. I think also the vision that I’ve talked about now for three years, they’re seeing that now start to take place and they’re starting to understand the things they can achieve here.”
All things considered, Odom believes the early signing period has been a net positive for Missouri — though he added “I wouldn’t say it’s enjoyable” for the staff. The first three weeks of June, hectic yet fruitful, have served as proof. With about six months left before the early signing period, the Tigers are already nearly halfway finished assembling their 2020 signing class. That doesn’t mean the staff’s efforts are done, however.
“Now we gotta keep them ‘til December,” Odom said with a wry smile. “That’s a long, long time.”
Other notes from Odom's lunch with reporters:
• Odom said Missouri’s roster is currently pretty healthy — then he knocked his fist on the wooden table. Freshman safety Jalani Williams, who underwent surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury during spring practices, is apparently participating in all team activities and close to 100 percent. Odom believes both Williams and redshirt freshman linebacker Chad Bailey, who tore his ACL prior to the Liberty Bowl last season, will be healthy enough to participate in fall camp. Tight end Daniel Parker Jr., who missed the latter half of spring practices after undergoing surgery for a torn labrum in his shoulder, and cornerback Adam Sparks, who missed five games and most of spring practices due to stress fractures in his shin, are both back to 100 percent, per Odom.
• On the injury front, Odom also said that star tight end Albert Okwuegbunam is healthy and looking “explosive.” Okwuegbunam missed the final four games of last season due to an unspecified shoulder injury. “It seems like to me, mentally, he’s on a mission,” Odom said of Okwuegbunam.
• Of the 25 new players introduced to the program during the offseason, a whopping 10 joined the team in January in order to participate in spring practices. Now, Odom said all but one of the remaining newcomers have joined them. The exception is Kirkwood wide receiver Maurice Massey, who Odom said has to complete a course before enrolling at Missouri. Odom expressed confidence that Massey will be on campus by July.
• Asked about Missouri’s appeal of the sanctions handed down by the NCAA Committee on Infractions in January, which included a postseason ban for the football team, Odom noted that until Aug. 1, players with one year of eligibility remaining can still transfer without penalty. He said constantly guarding against that “weighs on you.” So far, however, only one player, cornerback Terry Petry, has entered the transfer portal. Odom said Petry will likely enroll in a junior college that allows him to play closer to his hometown of Houston, Texas.
• Speaking of the transfer portal, Odom confirmed that, since it added 25 players to its roster already this offseason, Missouri could not add another transfer to its roster even if the coaching staff wanted to. “It doesn’t matter who is out there,” Odom said. “It could be Joe Montana that wanted to come to Missouri, and we don’t have room. We don’t have a spot. We could want him as bad as we want, but with a hard count of 25, an all 25 of our guys made it, there’s not open room.”
• Odom said he recently heard from the NCAA regarding quarterback Shawn Robinson’s request for a waiver that would allow him to be eligible this season, but the NCAA has not rendered a final decision. The TCU transfer applied for a waiver on May 21. Even if Robinson receives immediate eligibility, he would likely back up starter Kelly Bryant, though it would allow him to play up to four games this season and redshirt.
