Missouri recruiting notebook: February 23
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It has been a busy stretch of recruiting attention for football players in the Show Me State as Class of 2022 prospects finalize their college commitments and prospects from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes continue to add scholarship offers…
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Continue ReadingIt has been a busy stretch of recruiting attention for football players in the Show Me State as Class of 2022 prospects finalize their college commitments and prospects from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes continue to add scholarship offers or receive their first offers.
SLUH STANDOUT ORTWERTH BLOWS UP
We already knew the Class of 2023 tight end group in Missouri was a talented bunch with guys like Mac Markway Mac Markway 6'4" | 250 lbs | TE De Smet | 2023 State MO and Brett Norfleet Brett Norfleet 6'7" | 240 lbs | TE Francis Howell | 2023 State MO (Missouri commit) leading the way as contenders for the top overall prospect in the state.
We expected good things from St. Louis University High tight end Zach Ortwerth Zach Ortwerth 6'5" | 220 lbs | TE St. Louis University High | 2023 State MO during his junior campaign and he didn’t disappoint as the team’s third-leading receiver. But it seemed to take a little longer than we expected for college coaches to see the potential in the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder.
That is no longer the case as Ortwerth has been one of the most popular prospects in Missouri over the past month.
He received his first scholarship offer, from Nebraska, on January 24. Since then he’s received offers from Indiana, Iowa, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
Ortwerth, who has shown his athleticism during the basketball season, is no longer a secret. Now he’s a certified Division I Power-5 prospect who will garner considerable attention until he’s able to sign with a school.
PARK HILL SOUTH’S BJORN COMMITS
Big Park Hill South 2022 tight end Jack Bjorn Jack Bjorn 6'7" | 245 lbs | TE Park Hill South | 2022 State MO ended his recruiting on Wednesday when he announced he was committing to Iowa State as a preferred walk-on.
Bjorn, a 6-7, 245-pounder who didn’t play football until his senior year, attracted opportunities from several schools, including Kansas State, Missouri, Kansas and Toledo, as well as interest from several more schools.
MICDS’ MOORE GARNERS ATTENTION
MICDS Class of 2023 standout Winston Moore Winston Moore 5'11" | 180 lbs | WR MICDS | 2023 State MO had one of the more unique stat lines during his junior campaign when he recorded 755 receiving yards and 713 rushing yards to go along with his 18 total touchdowns.
Moore, a 5-11, 180-pounder, lists himself as a wide receiver and running back on his Twitter account and that versatility can only help him as a college prospect.
His recruitment has started to take off over the past month as he’s received offers from Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Western Illinois and Southeast Missouri State.
Moore will be a player to watch this offseason as he hits the camp and combine circuit.
Moore’s MICDS teammate, Class of 2023 running back Steve Hall Steve Hall 5'10" | 200 lbs | RB MICDS | 2023 State MO , is another prospect to watch after racking up 1,641 total yards and 21 touchdowns and earning first-team all-state honors during his junior season.
Hall received his first offer, from Eastern Michigan, on February 2. He recently posted video of a school-record 255-pound power clean on his Twitter account.
CBC JUNIORS PICK UP OFFERS
We knew CBC had a deep and talented squad as the Cadets won their final 13 consecutive games to capture the Missouri Class 6 championship last fall. The squad was led by strong senior leadership and bolstered by talented juniors and sophomores.
The junior class, headlined by defensive lineman Tyler Gant Tyler Gant 6'3" | 280 lbs | DL CBC | 2023 State MO and running back Jeremiyah Love Jeremiyah Love 6'1" | 195 lbs | RB CBC | 2023 State MO , is already attracting a ton of attention and has seen a few prospects recently receive their first offers.
Gant, a 6-3, 270-pounder, has offers from Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas State, Minnesota and Nebraska, among others. Love, a 6-1, 195-pounder who won the Missouri 100-meter dash (10.76 seconds) championship as a sophomore before his breakout junior campaign, has offers from Michigan, Oregon, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Iowa, Washington, Wisconsin and Utah among others.
Offensive tackle Josh Gregory Josh Gregory 6'7" | 260 lbs | OL CBC | 2023 State MO , a 6-7, 260-pounder whose junior season was his first full season of high school football, recently added offers from Kansas, Southern Illinois and Howard after earlier offers from Arkansas State, Miami-Ohio, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Ball State, Kent State and Tulane.
Speedy wide receiver Dakotah Mayo Dakotah Mayo 5'8" | 160 lbs | WR CBC | 2023 State MO received offers from Kansas and Arkansas State last offseason and has added offers from Miami-Ohio, Toledo and Eastern Michigan so far this offseason.
Linebacker/safety Michael Teason Michael Teason 6'2" | 215 lbs | LB CBC | 2023 State MO , a versatile 6-3, 215-pounder, recently picked up his first offers from Southeast Missouri State and Western Illinois. Safety/linebacker Lucas McAllister Lucas McAllister 6'1" | 200 lbs | DB CBC | 2023 State MO , a 6-1, 205-pounder, picked up his first offers from Western Illinois, Indiana State and Northern Iowa. Running back Dylan Van Dylan Van 5'11" | 175 lbs | RB CBC | 2023 State MO picked up his first offer from Northern Iowa on February 18.
Other 2023 prospects to watch who could end up getting D-1/FCS offers are interior offensive lineman Levi McGee Levi McGee 6'1" | 285 lbs | OL CBC | 2023 State MO , linebackers Kyan Franklin Kyan Franklin 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB CBC | 2023 State MO and Wyatt Haverstick Wyatt Haverstick 6'2" | 185 lbs | LB CBC | 2023 State MO , running back Ralph Dixon Ralph Dixon 5'7" | 170 lbs | RB CBC | 2023 State MO and cornerback DeShaun Richmond DeShaun Richmond 6'1" | 160 lbs | DB CBC | 2023 State MO .
REEDS SPRING’S WIEST IS A BEAST
Reeds Spring 2023 standout Caden Wiest Caden Wiest 6'4" | 255 lbs | DL Reeds Spring | 2023 State MO is garnering much-deserved attention from colleges this offseason.
A 6-4, 250-pound tight end-defensive end, Wiest has received offers from Missouri State, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State and, most recently, Central Michigan.
Wiest is big and strong and will excel at camps and combines this offseason. He should have plenty of options by the time the 2022 season starts.
WEST PLAINS SPEEDSTER GETS FIRST D-1 OFFER
West Plains 2023 wide receiver-athlete Heston Miller Heston Miller 6'2" | 195 lbs | WR West Plains | 2023 State MO is a player we have liked for more than a year. The 6-2, 200-pounder is a big-play machine and a track standout.
Miller received his first offer from Missouri S&T earlier this month and on Tuesday picked up his first Division I offer from Southeast Missouri State.
He is a player with size and speed who could end up playing wide receiver or safety in college. Miller should really impress on the camp and combine circuit this offseason, though he will stay busy with the track season.