Columbia, Mo. ? Missouri doubled its take of in-state recruits in a 27-player class announced Wednesday, an indication that consecutive bowl trips are making an impact on prospects.
The Tigers are coming off an 8-5 season capped by a one-point loss to Oregon State in the Sun Bowl. They went to the Independence Bowl after the 2005 season and just completed a $16 million renovation and expansion of its athletic training center.
Among the payoffs: the No. 1 overall prospect in the state as judged by two recruiting publications and two highly regarded players from Texas in a class rated just outside the Top 25 in the country by Rivals.com.
“We’re really, really happy,” said Dave Yost, recruiting coordinator and quarterbacks coach. “I don’t know if we ever look at the whole class and say this is an A-plus class or A-minus or whatever, but I think we have some guys that can help us and help us early.”
According to Rivals.com, Missouri landed eight of the top 14 players in the state. Last year the Tigers settled for four of the top 20.
