National Signing Day Filled with Hope for MU, KU, and KSU

National Signing Day is like Christmas coming early for college football fans.

There is not a fanbase in America outside of those in the current college playoff that doesn’t give their full attention to Signing Day. Like the NFL Draft, Signing Day for college football is a day filled with potential, diamonds-in-the-rough, and most of all, hope.

For teams like Missouri, Kansas, and Kansas St., National Signing Day represents building toward a better future. Each of the three local teams has different needs, but if all current commits hold, each is making progress in the right direction.

The Kansas Jayhawks Obtain a Well Rounded Recruiting Class

Kansas and new coach Lance Leipold got their signature win this year against Texas. Every new coach, especially one taking over a program at the bottom of a Power 5 conference, needs a moment to get a foothold and build momentum.

Kansas beating Texas, as the Longhorns get ready to depart for the deeper waters of the SEC, was the upset of the year in the Big 12. It’s exactly the kind of win that instills confidence in a new coach. That, in turn, makes it a lot easier to recruit.

Like all teams with new coaches trying to climb out of the cellar, KU will rely on plug-and-play transfers to provide an immediate boost. Kansas will get that from players like RB Sevion Morrison coming in from Nebraska, big LB Craig Young from Ohio St., and DB Kalon Gervin from Michigan St.

These former Big 10 players are physically ready to jump in and make an impact. That is critical to helping the Jayhawks build on this year.

The Jayhawks will also be adding who they hope is the QB of the future with a late decision by QB Ethan Vasko. Overall, Kansas filled needs across the board with a mix of incoming freshmen and transfers in an attempt to balance classes and create competition as Leipold builds his roster.

Kansas Recruiting Class

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The Kansas State Wildcats Look To Build upon Their Recruiting Class

Kansas State continues to do exactly what they do every year. They win with guys who slipped by larger programs. It was the hallmark of the Snyder era and Coach Klieman looks to be following that script.

The Wildcats had a season filled with winning and losing streaks. They finished 7-5 and will play LSU in the Texas Bowl this year. That’s a good sign for a coach and program that look to benefit from the Texas and Oklahoma defections.

Kansas State has a class filled with 3-star players according to 24/7 Sports. That’s not a bad thing. Three star players are usually guys with enough talent to make an impact. It’s also where the diamonds hide in the rankings.

Recently, Dalton Risner of the Broncos and Byron Pringle of the Chiefs were 3-star K-State recruits. There are a lot of NFL players who came to college as 3-star players. Kansas State has a whole class full this year.

Transfers S Kobe Savage and DL Uso Seumalo continue a tradition of K-State getting high value potential starters from Junior Colleges. Paired with top rated in-coming freshmen LBs Tobi Osunsanmi and VJ Payne, as well as Edge Donovan Rieman, it’s clear the Wildcat defense will be getting deeper and stronger next year.

Kansas State Recruiting Class

The Missouri Tigers Bring In a Stacked Recruiting Class

Missouri is working on their best class in years, if not their best class ever. In the SEC, that means the Tigers would be happy to finish in the middle of the pack in recruiting rankings.

Where Kansas and Kansas State currently rank 96th and 56th, respectively, in national recruiting class rankings, Mizzou is 13th. However, that puts them 5th in the SEC conference. It illustrates the talent the SEC attracts and the steep hill schools like Missouri have to climb to be competitive.

Eli Drinkwitz seems to be fulfilling the high hopes fans had upon his hiring a couple years ago. While neither Kansas nor K-State has any incoming recruits ranked higher than 3-stars, Mizzou has seven such players.

The crown jewel is Luther Burden, the #1 WR recruit in the nation and the second highest recruit in Mizzou history behind DGB.

His impact on the field might only be matched with his potential impact on future St. Louis-area recruiting. If Mizzou can start a “Lou to the Zou to the NFL” pipeline, the talent-rich city could be the bedrock of future Tiger teams.

Burden has all the tools to be a superstar. He’s joined by 4-star players QB Sam Horn, RB Tavorus Jones, OL Deshawn Woods, DL Marquis Gracial, S Issac Thompson, and WR Ja’Marion Wayne.

Rounding out the class are a host of 3-star linemen and defenders, a sure sign of where Drinkwitz sees his need to improve. Keep an eye on KC product WR Mekhi Miller, he’s a great mix of size and speed. He may not see the field much this year, but his future could be bright.

Missouri Recruiting Class

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