Missouri Tigers: More Football Recruits Dropping Commitments

If it could go wrong for the Missouri Tigers football program, then it is going wrong. Two more top recruits have dropped their commitments to the team.

Just once I would like to be able to report something positive for the Missouri Tigers football program. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be on the horizon as more and more goes wrong. The latest batch of bad news is the recent decommitments of two more high profile recruits. Both wide receivers Jafar Armstrong and Elijah Gardiner appear to be headed elsewhere.

Losing Jafar Armstrong is especially painful for Mizzou because he is a local prospect who grew up cheering for the Tigers. Armstrong had been a strong recruit for Missouri, but recently took trips to Minnesota and Notre Dame. During his trip to Notre Dame, he tweeted a picture of himself in a Fighting Irish uniform. Shortly after, he announced he would not be going to Mizzou.

Elijah Gardiner’s decommitment is a little less painful, but it is still significant. The three star recruit from Texas was considered a steal for the Missouri Tigers. However, recent attention from Texas and Ohio State steered him away. Much like Jafar Armstrong, Gardiner tweeted a picture of himself in another uniform, this one being Ohio State.

Will Anything Go Right?

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It has already been a rough recruiting year for Mizzou, but things are just getting worse. The losses of Jafar Armstrong and Elijah Gardiner come on the heels of losing Rey Estes, a three star athlete. These moves also highlight Mizzou’s inability to attract top local talent. Armstrong was the third ranked recruit in Kansas by Rivals.

Just compounding the situation is the recent loss of five players already on the Missouri Tigers roster. While none of those players figured to play a significant role in the 2017 campaign, it still creates more holes. On top of that, losing current players as well as top recruits is not a good look for a struggling program. A snowball effect is very possible.

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Things are going from bad to worse for Missouri Tigers athletics. At this point, I’m not sure how they will manage to salvage things. With both the football and men’s basketball teams in an utter free fall, the entire department will struggle. Something has to give here.