COLUMBIA, Mo. – The first-ever recruiting class for new Mizzou Football Head Coach Barry Odom was unveiled Wednesday as part of National Signing Day, and the new Tiger skipper and his staff came up with an outstanding haul of talented student-athletes from all over the country who look to help the program reach its championship goals. Twenty standouts representing nine different states signed their names to National Letters of Intent to attend and play football at Mizzou.
As always, the emphasis on in-state talent led to a crop of highly-rated athletes who will lend their talents to their home state school. Five standouts, including CB Jared Alton (Kirkwood), OL Trystan Castillo (Webb City), Cale Garrett (Kearney, Mo.), TE Brendan Scales (Wildwood) and DL Tre Williams (Columbia) all pledged to be Tigers today. When the metro areas of both Kansas City and St. Louis are factored in, the “local” number doubles to 10, including K Tucker McCann (O’Fallon, Ill.), OL Tre’vour Simms (East St. Louis, Ill.), Nate Strong (East St. Louis, Ill.), S Greg Taylor (East St. Louis, Ill.) and OL Tyler Howell (Bonner Springs, Kan.).
“I’m excited about what we have in place,” said Odom. “We’ve addressed some immediate needs we have hitting going into the fall, and there’s others who we believe in the long run will be significant contributors to the program. I’m really pleased with our coaching staff and what they were able to accomplish in a very short amount of time after coming together. To see their energy on the road and in the homes, in the schools, and their relentlessness as they attacked recruiting, it was a great effort,” he said.
Four from the group are already enrolled in classes at Mizzou this semester, and are gearing up to take part in spring drills, beginning in March. Joining Mizzou for the spring semester are LB Trey Baldwin (Houston, Texas), WR Chris Black (native of Jacksonville, Fla., transferring from Alabama), OL Tyler Howell (Bonner Springs, Kan.) and K Tucker McCann (O’Fallon, Ill.). They will be on hand for spring drills as the Tigers prepare for the annual Black & Gold Game set for April 16th (5 p.m. central time) at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium.
A full roster of signees follows, as well as extensive biographical sketches of the 20 newest Mizzou Tigers.
TIME FULL NAME POS. HT. WT. YEAR HOMETOWN PREVIOUS SCHOOL
10:27 AM Dominic Collins WR 6-2 175 Jr. Fullerton, Calif. Saddleback C.C.
11:24 AM Nate Strong RB 6-0 211 So. East St. Louis, Ill. Hinds C.C.
11:51 AM Dimetrios Mason ATH 6-0 170 Fr. Loganville, Ga. Grayson HS
7:12 AM Trystan Castillo OL 6-4 295 Fr. Webb City, Mo. Webb City HS
7:14 AM Markell Utsey DL 6-4 285 Fr. Little Rock, Ark. Parkview HS
7:31 AM Micah Wilson QB 6-3 205 Fr. Tulsa, Okla. Lincoln Christian
7:43 AM Greg Taylor S 5-10 200 R-So. East St. Louis, Ill. Hinds C.C.
7:52 AM Christian Holmes CB 6-1 182 Fr. Atlanta, Ga. McNair HS
8:08 AM Damarea Crockett RB 5-11 212 Fr. Little Rock, Ark. Little Rock Christian HS
8:08 AM Cale Garrett LB 6-3 225 Fr. Kearney, Mo. Kearney HS
8:08 AM Albert Okwuegbunam TE 6-5 225 Fr. Springfield, Ill. Sacred Heart Griffin HS
8:18 AM Jerod Alton CB 5-10 180 Fr. Kirkwood, Mo. Kirkwood HS
9:09 AM DeMarkus Acy S 6-2 183 Fr. Dallas, Texas Wilmer-Hutchins HS
9:15 AM Tre Williams DL 6-5 235 Fr. Columbia, Mo. Rock Bridge HS
9:29 AM Tre’vour Simms OL 6-5 300 Fr. East St. Louis, Ill. East St. Louis HS
9:38 AM Brendan Scales TE 6-4 235 Fr. Wildwood, Mo. Lafayette HS
On Campus Trey Baldwin LB 6-2 240 Fr. Houston, Texas Cypress Falls HS
On Campus Chris Black WR 6-0 192 Sr. Jacksonville, Fla. Alabama
On Campus Tyler Howell OL 6-8 305 R-Jr. Bonner Springs, Kan. Butler C.C.
On Campus Tucker McCann K 6-0 185 Fr. O’Fallon, Ill. O’Fallon HS
— Mizzou Athletics —