With an anticipated move to the SEC next fall, Missouri coaches are already widening their recruiting focus to include lands further east. According to The Kansas City Star, one Tiger assistant has already been assigned to recruit Atlanta while two others have been assigned the state of Florida.
While the Tigers will continue to recruit in Texas — which is a major reason they’ve been able to improve their football fortunes in recent years — Gary Pinkel says his coaches will have to start making connections in new areas:
“The foundation of who we are is not going to change at all. The recruiting and marketing standpoint of it is pretty significant. You’re just going into territories you haven’t been to and building relationships. There’s a transition process…
We’ll still have the same coaches in Texas, but we’re also getting them in different areas. After this recruiting year’s over, we’re going to kind of make permanent adjustments based on the information we have at the time.”
The Tigers will enter the SEC East next fall if all goes to plan. While the league is expected to maintain an eight-game league schedule next year, we at MrSEC.com are firm in our belief that the league will eventually go to a nine-game plan. Regardless of that breakdown, sources have indicated that Missouri and Texas A&M will become permanent cross-divisional rivals.
