By Seth Herrold
MIZ-DGB! That is the latest rally cry for Mizzou fans following the Tigers’ signing of the national high school football player of the year, Dorial Green-Beckham. After the announcement Wednesday morning, all of Tigerland went into full-blown celebration mode. But for me, there was a lot more emotion – things like relief and pride also set in.
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I first saw DGB late last summer when his Hillcrest High School team’s first game of his senior season was televised on ESPN. All through the broadcast they were hyping the receiver and talking about all the possible places he could go for his collegiate career. My first thought, and I am ashamed to admit it now, was there was no way that kid would end up at Mizzou.
Anybody remember Logan Gray? Gray was a standout quarterback at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia. He was a Division I recruit and when he signed on national signing day, he chose Georgia. If the Tigers couldn’t sign a blue chip playing in their own backyard, how were they going to sign the nation’s top high school player?
The Tigers did just that, however. Missouri beat out several big name schools like Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and Arkansas. When DGB finally stood at the podium and put on that Mizzou hat, a sense of relief came over me. There would be no one pillaging our state for the top talent this year.
Then there was Tigers’ Head Coach Gary Pinkel’s obsession with Texas to worry about. Now in the Big 12, and even the SEC, you have to have a recruiting foothold in Texas to compete. Some of Missouri’s greatest players have come from Texas, including Chase Daniel and Sean Weatherspoon. At the end of the day, however, I have always said Pinkel would rather fly down to Texas to see a kid as drive across town to see one, regradess of the talent level of either.
Again, that wasn’t the case this year. Pinkel brought out all the stops. He went down to Springfield, landing on the Hillcrest baseball field in a helicopter, now famously known as the “Pinkel-copter.” He put his top recruiter on the case, Trenton’s own Andy Hill, and when Hill starts pursuing a kid, it’s a pretty safe bet that athlete will be suiting up in Black and Gold the following season. Even Dave Yost, the man responsible for bringing Chase Daniel to Mizzou, was making visits. The MU coaches were not going to let DGB get away and they succeeded in locking down the borders. That made me proud of Pinkel, his staff and my town of Trenton.
With all the pride, relief and celebration going on, it’s hard to believe DGB is going to be tackled at any point during next season. He is being painted as an invincible superhero. At the end of the day though, he still hasn’t ever played a down of football beyond the high school level. That said, and without going overboard, I truly believe he is something special; not only on the football field, but for future recruiting. Having the top high school player in the nation commit to your school raises the national notoriety of Mizzou and shows future blue chip recruits staying in state is a good move. It helps season ticket sales as well and my guess is that there will be number 5 (If DGB keeps his high school number) Mizzou jerseys on the shelves in the team store this fall. It is a financial windfall for the Tigers.
DGB and the number 21-ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to ESPN, are coming to Columbia just in time for the Tigers’ move to the SEC. The Tigers are getting all new uniforms for the move as well. It’s an exciting time for the Mizzou football program and I, for one, can’t wait for the DGB era to begin.
