In terms of recruiting, I think Eli Drinkwitz’s staff pretty much nailed it.
They improved their overall recruiting to a level not seen before this millennium and landed a top-three rated recruiting class. Recruitment ranking era The first five years after employment.
We have more talent. We have more in-state young people. Governor Drinkwitz passed state legislation to help recruit in-state players.
They unearthed diamonds in the rough, acquiring three-star players and developing them into starters and NFL Draft eligible players.
They have landed more five-star recruits in five years than they have in the last 20 years of recruiting combined.
Eli's staff has also been responsible for signing more blue-chip out-of-state recruits (18) than in the previous 20 years combined (12).
He closed state lines, penetrated previously untapped states, and beat out Alabama, Texas A&M, Louisiana State, Ohio State, Texas and Auburn for freshmen.
Now, he's added another achievement by recruiting a freshman from Notre Dame.
This guy can do anything!
So let’s take a look at a recent winner, wide receiver Shaun Terry II, who plays at the 4A level (5A is the maximum) in Ohio.
Where he fits in: The first thing you notice when watching Terry's movies is that this guy fastIf he comes up the sideline or is in just a little open space on the field, no one has a chance to catch him and he's gone.
The second thing I saw was how fast he was on the run. There are plenty of highlights of him soaring around two or three players or just doing an old-fashioned spin move through defenders and into the end zone — a term that's pretty overused now, but it's like someone is playing a video game on easy mode.
While he displays all of these skills as a receiver, running back, and punt returner, it would be remiss of me not to point out what specifically irritates me as a punt returner. This is not to criticize the young man; he is clearly a step ahead of the competition most of the time. However, he does have the following tendencies as a punt returner (in at least five highlights):
- Catch the ball and move to the sideline
- Dodge several defenders before cutting through the field
- Suddenly stop and run along the yard line, in a pretty straight line. To the other side of the running field And continue on through the field.
Now, this scene has come up so many times in highlight reels that I wonder if the Ironton High School special teams guy designed it to work on the punt return, but this is such a stupid and risky choice that I can imagine it isn't, especially since his teammates aren't blocking the punting team to create a lane for him to effectively return the punt.
No, I think he's only allowed to do it because he's so much more athletic than the other guys, and while it's entertaining to watch him do it as a receiver and punt returner, I hope he stops it soon because it's a habit that won't be tolerated in the SEC.
Otherwise, he's nothing more than a fuzzy human being made of rubber, bouncing around the field, hitting defenders and flying into the end zone — the football version of Flubber.
When to play: Missouri's top three receivers are all done for the year (assuming Luther Burden declares early, which would be… well, okay…). And even if there are plenty of talented players ready to step up, there should be plenty of time for them to get open auditions in spring and fall camps. And there's always room for a small, agile, fast, bouncy player who can thrive in space. If you can forget about the crap you did in high school and show that you can read blocks and run routes effectively without being the fastest guy on the field, you definitely have a chance to be taken advantage of next year. If not, there's no need to rush.
What does it mean?While transferring a freshman from Notre Dame doesn't mean as much as it did in, say, the '80s or '90s, it's still very impressive. And it's the type of player with the skill set that Eli Drinkwitz likes and can certainly utilize in a variety of ways. Transferring a top three-star player from a state's premier program that rarely recruits to fill the luxury needs of a football team is another very sweet win for our favorite freshman recruiting monster.
