Missouri Recruiting Notebook: July 4

It has been a busy stretch for football prospects in the Show-Me State with more and more guys announcing their college commitments. Here's a quick look at some of the recent announcements. <strong>DE SMET CORNERBACK GRAY MAKES HIS CHOICE</strong> Speedy De Smet 2023 cornerback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37662" first="Christian" last="Gray"]</strong> has been a highly-sought after prospect for a while now and recently narrowed his list of finalists to Ohio State, USC, LSU and Notre Dame. On Monday, Gray committed to Notre Dame. He becomes the latest St. Louis area player to pledge to the Fighting Irish, following a recent trend that includes Tyson Ford (John Burroughs), Gabriel Rubio (Lutheran-St. Charles) and Kyren Williams (Vianney) leaving Missouri to go to Notre Dame. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12884691/616d03595eecc90aacaad124" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>CARDINAL RITTER'S MOORE HEADED TO MICHIGAN </strong> Explosive Cardinal Ritter 2023 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="37669" first="Fredrick" last="Moore"] narrowed his list of finalists to Texas A&amp;M, Illinois, Michigan, Cincinnati and Minnesota on June 24. One week later he announced his commitment to the University of Michigan. Moore, a 6-0, 175-pounder, racked up 41 receptions for 1,010 yards and 12 touchdowns and added three return touchdowns a year ago as a junior. He received his first offer, from Kansas, in January of 2021 and has continued to add offers from coast to coast ever since. He received offers from Maryland, Arkansas State, Arkansas, Iowa State, Miami-Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, West Virginia, Texas A&amp;M, Vanderbilt, Boston College, Michigan State, Iowa, Rutgers, Duke, Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Colorado and Syracuse before making his decision on Friday. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12863942/613e7b89041d6b0b64f47ba9" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>SLUH TIGHT END COMMITS TO IOWA</strong> St. Louis University High 2023 tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="103409" first="Zach" last="Ortwerth"] </strong>attracted plenty of attention from colleges with his good size (6-5, 220) and frame, athleticism and potential down the line. He picked up his first scholarship offer from Nebraska in late January and since added offers from Indiana, Iowa,  Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Louisville, Memphis, Wisconsin and UConn. On Monday, Ortwerth committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes, a program that has produced some of the game's top tight ends over the years. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13130191/619ae25b3453c60bf4d7c958" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>ST. MARY'S RUNNING BACK STAYING HOME</strong> St. Mary's running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="173066" first="Jamal" last="Roberts"]</strong> is one of the more intriguing prospects in Missouri in the Class of 2023. He's got good size at 6-0 and 200 pounds and good speed and his junior season film shows he's a electric running back who has the potential to take every touch to the house. He averaged 9.5 yards per carry as a junior while he racked up 928 rushing yards, 1,099 total yards, and scored 12 total touchdowns. On Sunday, Roberts made a verbal commitment to the University of Missouri less than one month after receiving an offer from the hometown Tigers. Roberts picked Mizzou over offers from Arizona State, Florida State, Arkansas State, Miami-Ohio, Lindenwood, Western Michigan, Army, Ball State, Air Force, Kansas State, North Dakota State, North Alabama, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Toledo. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13273004/61b268396e8bc5083cc6f128" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>ST. MARY'S CORNERBACK MAKES HIS CHOICE</strong> Another key member of St. Mary's state championship team from last fall, 2023 cornerback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="263423" first="Donovan" last="McIntosh"]</strong> became a hot prospect this offseason when colleges saw his size – he's listed at 6-3 and 170 pounds – and speed. After receiving offers from Arkansas and Kansas in November, McIntosh received several more after the calendar flipped to 2022. Starting in late January, he received offers from Nebraska, Kansas State, Miami-Ohio, Buffalo, Lindenwood, Western Michigan, North Alabama, New Mexico State, Arkansas State, Murray State, Memphis and Ball State. On Friday, July 1, McIntosh ended his recruitment with a verbal commitment to Kansas State. <iframe src="https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/13186805/6178921915f5840b6893e807" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>UPDATED LIST OF CLASS OF 2023 COMMITMENTS</strong> Several of the top prospects in Missouri in the Class of 2023 have already made their college commitments and more guys will be announcing soon. Here is an updated list of known commitments: De Smet tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37655" first="Mac" last="Markway"]</strong> (LSU), Francis Howell tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37661" first="Brett" last="Norfleet"]</strong> (Missouri), De Smet cornerback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37662" first="Christian" last="Gray"]</strong> (Notre Dame), Cardinal Ritter wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37669" first="Fredrick" last="Moore"]</strong> (Michigan), Troy Buchanan edge rusher <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37663" first="Jahkai" last="Lang"]</strong> (Missouri), Washington offensive-defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="101697" first="Trevor" last="Buhr"]</strong> (Iowa State), Raymore-Peculiar wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="99468" first="Jaidyn" last="Doss"]</strong> (Nebraska), CBC defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37675" first="Tyler" last="Gant"]</strong> (Northwestern), CBC offensive tackle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="171840" first="Josh" last="Gregory"]</strong> (Cincinnati), Liberty (KC) wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="177902" first="Ricky" last="Ahumaraeze"]</strong> (Northwestern), St. Louis University High tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="103409" first="Zach" last="Ortwerth"]</strong> (Iowa), St. Mary's cornerback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="263423" first="Donovan" last="McIntosh"]</strong> (Kansas State), St. Mary's running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="173066" first="Jamal" last="Roberts"]</strong> (Missouri), Parkway North athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="37693" first="Quaran" last="Williams"]</strong> (Miami-Ohio), Washington offensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="262940" first="Mark" last="Hensley"]</strong> (Northern Illinois), Chaminade defensive back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="263302" first="Derek" last="Fields Jr"].</strong> (Ball State), Liberty (KC) wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="249630" first="Anthony" last="Wenson"]</strong> (Air Force) and Liberty North kicker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="240313" first="Blake" last="Craig"]</strong> (Missouri). &nbsp; <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/06/missouri-recruiting-notebook-june-30/"><strong>MISSOURI RECRUITING NOTEBOOK: JUNE 30</strong></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/06/missouri-recruiting-notebook-june-27/"><strong>MISSOURI RECRUITING NOTEBOOK: JUNE 27</strong></a></p> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;