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Follow the recruitment of the top receiver recruit in the land.
We take it all back, Missouri Tigers. Despite your bad rap videos about basketball, your basketball team that is not bad, your knowledge that it is basketball season, your choice of barbecue sauces, your nearby pro football team that you pay attention to, and your non-staggering football budget, we've seen all we need to see regarding your SEC viability (via Gabe DeArmond):
Dorial Green-Beckham, the nation's top receiver, has committed to the Missouri Tigers. Green-Beckham, who stars for Hilcrest High School in Springfield, Mo. is an enormous get for Gary Pinkel. Not since Julio Jones and A.J. Green has a prep receiver been so highly acclaimed. Green-Beckham is rated a five-star recruit by every major recruiting service in the country.
Video via ESPNU, where we can see Green-Beckham going prop-free for the announcement, as expected. He's maintained a low-key persona during his recruitment, and this moment was no exception:
Fun fact: Green-Beckham was offered by every team to win a national title in the last quarter century.
He doesn't have the agility and flexibility of a 5'10" slot guy, but for his size (6'6" 220), it is quite special. Green-Beckham catches the ball very well and has excellent speed. Equally impressive is his consistent physicality. Green-Beckham doesn't allow the poor competition (and this is some poor high school football) to drag down his game. And those around him say he is a good kid -- quite the opposite of the stereotype that is the prima donna receiver. He is an immediate contributor in the SEC.
For more on DGB, visit Missouri blog Rock M Nation.
National Signing Day is on Wednesday and the nation's top recruit will be among the high school players appearing on television to announce his intent to attend one lucky school in 2012.
No. 1 wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham will appear on ESPNU at 10:15 a.m., ET on Wednesday. Fans can watch live as he will announce his commitment to his chosen school.
The prospect from Springfield, MO has narrowed his potentials schools down to the Texas Longhorns, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Missouri Tigers.
At last word, the Tigers appeared to have the edge. A recent tweet from Sooner Scoop seems to support that, stating that Green-Beckham was among those selling Mizzou the hardest on Tuesday night. If that's the case, it appears that the home state allure is strong with the prospect.
For more on the involved teams, check out Texas Longhorns blog Burnt Orange Nation, Missouri Tigers blog Rock M Nation and Arkansas Razorbacks blog Arkansas Expats.
Dorial Green-Beckham won't make his decision on where to play college football until Wednesday, but at least one of the teams that was interested in his signature appears to be out of the running just before National Signing Day. According to Geoff Ketchum of Orange Bloods, the Texas Rivals site, Green-Beckham will not enroll at UT and play for the Texas Longhorns.
Green-Beckham, a 6-foot-6 wide receiver was named the 2012 U.S. Army Player of the Year and is widely considered to be the top college football recruit in the nation. Green hails from Missouri and is said to be considering both the Missouri Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks, with some believing that the home-state Tigers have an edge. Missouri is arguably making a large step-up in competition as they join the SEC and will need all of the top talent they can get.
For more on the involved teams, check out Texas Longhorns blog Burnt Orange Nation, Missouri Tigers blog Rock M Nation and Arkansas Razorbacks blog Arkansas Expats.
And now we're cooking: shortly after the Tulsa World's John Hoover reported No. 1 recruit Dorial Green-Beckham will choose the Missouri Tigers over the Arkansas Razorbacks and so forth, a wave of confirmations arrived, along with a denial. Everything feels much more formal now.
First, the denial: CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd spoke with DGB's adoptive father and high school coach, who says there's nothing to it. Not to be rude, but one probably shouldn't take that to mean good news or bad news for Mizzou. There's still an announcement to be made.
Voices from multiple sides of the equation are now casting their lots with Green-Beckham to the Tigers. PowerMizzou.com's Pete Scantlebury says he's been leaning closer and closer to Missouri for about a month now, while multiple national Rivals writers have switched their National Signing Day predictions for DGB from Arkansas to Missouri.
Nobody's calling it a done deal, but the takeaway is that multiple outlets both in Missouri's market and elsewhere are reporting Mizzou appears to be the clear leader.
For more on the parties involved, visit Missouri blog Rock M Nation and Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats.
Dorial Green-Beckham is arguably the top recruit in the country. He's easily the top receiver recruit. At 6'6", 220 pounds with freakish athleticism, it's not hard to see why. The Missouri receiver prospect is expected to choose on National Signing Day (February 1) between Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma.
A report today from John Hoover of the Tulsa World has Green-Beckham picking Missouri over Arkansas, which is a surprise.
More: Dorial Green-Beckham to Mizzou? Separating fact from rumor.
Fellow fans of baby animal-related National Signing Day stunts: we may have to pretend Springfield, MO's Dorial Green-Beckham, the nation's No. 1 recruit, will produce a baby tiger instead of a baby pig on Wednesday. According to the Tulsa World's John Hoover, Green-Beckham will choose the Missouri Tigers over the Arkansas Razorbacks, Oklahoma Sooners or Texas Longhorns:
@johnehoover Dorial Green-Beckham will choose
#Mizzou instead of#Arkansas or#Sooners, source says. No. 1 prospect in America.#DGB
Keeping DGB in-state would be a massive victory for Gary Pinkel and company. It would also be a sign Mizzou is capable of recruiting at a SEC East level, which may come in handy very, very soon. The enormous wide receiver saved Missouri for his final campus visit, arriving Friday night in Columbia and drawing about as much attention as the basketball team at a Saturday night game.
We'll wait to hear the official word from the man himself on Wednesday.
For more on the parties involved, visit Missouri blog Rock M Nation and Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats.
Dorial Green-Beckham, the top receiver recruit in the country, has arrived for his official visit to Missouri, according to SB Nation Kansas City. He's being accompanied by his his family, according to Pete Scantlebury.
Green-Beckham is 6'6", 220 pounds, with excellent speed and athleticism, etc. He's considered the top receiver prospect since Julio Jones and A.J. Green in 2008. And many think he's better. And he's the best prospect in the state of Missouri in forever. Oh, and nobody says anything negative about his character. The consensus five-star recruit is humble, quiet and polite. DGB, as he is known, is considering the Arkansas Razorbacks, Missouri Tigers, Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma Sooners and Alabama Crimson Tide. The former three are considered much more likely destinations than the latter two.
Two additional nuggets of note on DGB, from SB Nation's Wescott Eberts, via twitter:
"LOL at Arkansas fans who think that Dorial Green-Beckham is in the bag. Could be in for a rude awakening on NSD. Uncommitted for a reason."
"After seeing Dorial Green-Beckham struggle with some drops in person, I notice more on film that he doesn't attack ball particularly well."
Some background is necessary here, as Green-Beckham finally took his visit to Arkansas last weekend, and many Razorback fans have been saying on various social media sites and message boards that DGB's recruitment is over. That is apparently not the case.
Related: an article on DGB being quiet, humble, talented and wanting to stay (somewhat) close to home.
For more on Missouri football, turn to Rock M Nation.
Come on, DGB. LIVE A LITTLE:
Last year at his announcement, Georgia recruit Isaiah Crowell pulled out a bulldog puppy -- one wearing a Georgia jersey, in case there was any question.
"A lot of schools that are going to be left out did everything they could to recruit him," [John] Beckham said. "There's no reason to disrespect them. I hope he shows a little bit of class."
Dorial Green-Beckham is perhaps the most coveted recruit in the country. The 6'6", 220 pound wide receiver out of Missouri holds offers from every major team in the country. But Green-Beckham rarely does interviews, and when he does, he doesn't reveal much. But one writer did manage to catch up with 'DGB' in person. And as St. Louis columnist Bryan Burwell found out, Green-Beckham is really special.
Burwell went to cover Green-Beckham in a basketball tournament when he realized that many Missouri partisans would be there. But instead of acting like maniacs, the Missouri fans held themselves together. And that seemed to please DGB:
"I kind of like that they didn't get too fired up," Green-Beckham said. "They weren't trying to distract me from what I had to do in the game. Wherever they came from, whether it was Columbia or St. Louis or back home, I thought they did pretty good. That gives me comfort in knowing, ‘OK, they're cool. They're not going to bother me while I'm in a game, trying make me float out mentally from what I should be doing to pay attention to what they're doing.'"
Green-Beckham has a top five of Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama, but most expect him to choose from one of the former three.
For more on Missouri football, turn to Rock M Nation.
Dorial Green-Beckham is considered by many to be the top recruit in the country. There's no question he's the top receiver prospect in the country. I recently called him the best receiving prospect since Julio Jones and A.J. Green in 2008. He is rated five-stars by all of the major services, and at 6'6", 225 pounds with elite speed, it doesn't take an expert to see why.
Throughout his recruitment, however, Green-Beckham has been very quiet. One thing that is known about his recruitment, however, is that he would like to stay close to his home in Springfield, Missouri, as his younger brother has leukemia. He holds legitimate offers from every major school in the country, and has narrowed his list to Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma.
Green-Beckham has also been light on visits. He did visit Texas, and the feedback he gave to the Longhorns was such that for a while, Austin insiders felt they had an excellent shot. And that feeling only increased, as Green-Beckham was noncommittal about setting visits to other schools.
But that feeling is changing, as Green-Beckham has decided to visit the Arkansas Razorbacks on January 20th. This is big news, as the Razorbacks were thought by many to be the favorite for Green-Beckham thanks to a prolific offense and favorable geography.
Like Texas insiders, Oklahoma insiders are also discouraged by the news. Oklahoma outlet Crimson and Cream Machine reacts:
"It doesn't take a genius to know these two official visits and the fact that DGB had cancelled trips to Norman on two previous occasions that things, at least for the moment, do not look good for the Sooners chances. At this point, it would be premature to say OU is "out of it" but it certainly does not bode well for Oklahoma. The fading glimmer of hope for OU fans is that DGB has a longstanding and solid relationship with Jay Norvell and that he's been to Norman a reported seven separate times, but to make an official visit (or at this point plans to do so) to four of your 'Final Five' you'd have to think that fifth school (which is obviously OU right now) was bringing up the rear."
It is also possible that Green-Beckham will make a trip to Missouri on January 27th. If that happens, it will be his final official visit.
You've heard of helicopter parents whirling around their kids' sporting activities, but what about a helicopter coach? In an effort to woo Dorial Green-Beckham, the top recruit in the country, Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel grabbed his handy chopper and touched down at the young man's school on Wednesday.
This is the sideshow that is recruiting. Coaches will pull out all the stops -- limos, private jets, helicopters -- to impress a prospective student athlete. The bigger the recruit, the more a coach goes all out to try and gain any kind of competitive advantage.
(SAN ANTONIO) Jan. 6, 2012 - The U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee has announced Dorial Green-Beckham as the 2012 U.S. Army Player of the Year, given to the nation's most outstanding senior in high school football. The announcement was made Friday night at the U.S. Army Awards Dinner at the San Antonio's Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Green-Beckham, a wide receiver at Hillcrest High School in Springfield, Mo., was presented with the Ken Hall Trophy, which is modeled after Ken "Sugar Land Express" Hall, high school football's all-time leading rusher.
"I want to thank God. I want to thank my family for all they have done for me. I want to thank my teammates and all my coaches, and finally I want to thank all of you for giving me the support to help make me the player I am today," said Green-Beckham.
"Every U.S. Army All-American reflects the characteristics found in the Army Strong Soldier and possesses a mental, emotional and physical strength like no other," said John Myers, Director, Marketing and Outreach, U.S. Army Accessions Command. "Dorial has distinguished himself even further by his on-field leadership. We are proud to recognize Green-Beckham for his strengths and congratulate him on his selection as the 2012 U.S. Army Player of the Year."
"Green-Beckham is 6-foot-6, 220 pounds with room to play at 240-plus, he runs in the 10.7 range in the 100 meters, triple jumps 45 feet and is dominant in every aspect on the football field. What more do you want? As a junior, Green-Beckham caught 78 passes for 1,706 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging an amazing 21.87 yards-per-catch despite constant attention and safety coverage over the top. This followed a sophomore season in which he caught 66 passes for 1,616 yards and 23 touchdowns. An easy choice for Rivals.com's #1 player in the 2012 class," said Mike Farrell, Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst.
Green-Beckham set the national career receiving yards record with 6,447 and finished the 2011 season with 119 catches for 2,234 yards and 24 touchdowns. Both Rivals.com and MaxPreps list him as the top overall recruit. He is strong and can use his size to fight off defenders and to shield the defender from the ball, particularly in the redzone. He has excellent speed and is a deep threat and big hands that allow him to catch the ball away from his body or snag the ball out of the air or over his head.
The Player of the Year selection process began this past fall as players were evaluated by the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee and by coaches from around the country. Past U.S. Army Player of the Year winners include: 2001 - Kevin Jones; 2002 - Lorenzo Booker; 2003 - Chris Leak; 2004 - Adrian Peterson; 2005 - Ryan Perrilloux; 2006 - Mitch Mustain; 2007 - Jimmy Clausen; 2008 - Terrelle Pryor; 2009 - Bryce Brown; 2010 - Dillon Baxter; and 2011 - Demetrius Hart.
Mack Brown, College Football's Wedding Planner
by Jason Kirk
Our own Bill C. put together a spectacular piece on Dorial Green-Beckham's Signing Day, while Thayer Evans went behind the scenes with the Beckhams, producing this priceless morsel:
Feb 02 11:10a