Sparks explains his decision
On Christmas afternoon, Adam Sparks decided to deliver his own present to Barry Odom. The Louisiana cornerback became Odom's 20th commitment in the Class of 2017.
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Sparks spent most of the summer and all fall committed to Vanderbilt. But he took official visits to Wake Forest and then to Missouri. He officially rescinded his pledge to the Commodores a little more than a week ago.
"The reason I decommitted at the time was I felt like I was looking at things from a biased viewpoint," Sparks said. "I wasn't giving the other schools a chance, so I opened up my commitment."
That ultimately led him to Mizzou.
"To be honest, it has a very good family environment and everybody that I've talked to all said the same thing," Sparks said. "The recruits that are committed in my class, the players and coaches, I got along with real well and have a good relationship with."
Sparks began to think about a commitment to Missouri a few days ago. But an offer from Purdue gave him some pause. His older brother, Jared, is a redshirt freshman for the Boilermakers.
"It definitely did," Sparks said. "That goes from when I very first started playing football. That brought a different perspective to things. I know my brother is going to be successful where he's at, but at the end of the day I felt Missouri was the best place for me."
The Tigers lost starters Aarion Penton and John Gibson at cornerback after last season. Sparks and fellow commit Terry Petry will be expected to push for immediate playing time as true freshmen.
"They did say that I do have the ability to start as a true freshman," Sparks said. "That comes from me and the hard work that I put in when I get up there. I'm definitely going to try to do that. Not try. I'm definitely going to do that."
Sparks will sign with the Tigers on February 1st. He will take no visits between now and then.
"I am 100 percent done, closing my recruitment," he said. "I am 100 percent a Tiger."