St. Louis prospect stays at home

It isn’t too often a recruit takes three official visits and then commits to a school he didn’t visit. But in Missouri’s case, it was the school Emmett Morris knew he wanted to attend.

“I used to go down there (Columbia) all the time,” Morris said. “So I knew all about it. I went to the spring game and met all the people. I felt like I belonged there.”

And the Missouri coaches will be glad to have him. With the commitment of Morris that gives the Tigers two of the top prospects in St. Louis.

The recruiting tour started out with a visit to Minnesota. Then another trip to Oklahoma State with the final stop coming at Illinois.

“My visits were okay,” Morris said. “I really liked Coach (Gary) Pinkel and I know he wants to win.”

Watching film clips of Morris can be very interesting. On offense he has a punishing style of running the football and shows good speed. His first couple steps are a burst and he is tough to bring down. This year he ran for 670 yards and 13 touchdowns for Parkway South. But it’s defense where his future rests where he recorded 122 tackles this season.

Morris said Missouri recruited him as a linebacker. Getting a commitment from Morris means the Tigers have landed two of the top three prospects in St. Louis according to the MoKan Football.com ratings. Now Morris hopes other recruits will follow his lead.

“Missouri being in-state played a big part,” he said. “I think they are going to turn the program around. The in-state recruits should go to Missouri and help get the program going in the right direction.”

Although Morris took three visits before deciding, there was another tradition-rich school in the mix. Morris said Florida also offered him a scholarship. He was recruited by Ricky Hunley, who coaches the defensive line at Florida. Hunley used to coach at Missouri.

Look for Morris to take his official visit to Missouri on January 18.