The MU campus has been abuzz this week over National Signing Day on Wednesday, when the Missouri football team signed the Rivals and Scout No. 1 recruit, Dorial Green-Beckham. The wide receiver from Springfield, Mo., collected a national record 6,447 yards during his career at Hillcrest High School to go along with 75 touchdowns.
Many students expressed their excitement once they heard about the five-star recruit coming to MU.
“I was ecstatic to get a player of his caliber this close to signing day,” senior Peter Conn said. “I think it’s really going to put our program on the map in terms of getting some solid recruits next year because if they see one top 10 guy come here, pretty soon, especially with the move to the Southeastern Conference, we’ll have a lot more.”
Green-Beckham selected Missouri over Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and Arkansas. National scouting services such as Rivals and Scout considered Arkansas to be the favorite over Missouri until his official visit to Columbia last weekend.
“I’ve been going back and forth with some friends at Arkansas arguing over who’s going to get him,” sophomore Kara Kostal said. “I’m really excited. It’s nice to have a fun little rivalry.”
While some think this will be a sign of things to come with recruiting players, others think this was just a flash in the pan.
“I don’t know about more SEC guys,” sophomore Matt Redman said. “I think it was just that he was a Springfield kid who wanted to stay close to home and we got lucky.”
During his interview with ESPNU after declaring he was going to Missouri, Green-Beckham mentioned his amazement by the cheering the fans gave him during the men’s basketball game against Texas Tech on Saturday.
“It was crazy,” sophomore Sallie Weir said of the atmosphere. “Everyone was really excited that he was there, and we just wanted to show him that.”
Some thought Green-Beckham was even getting more attention than the No. 4 nationally ranked basketball team.
“The fans didn’t seem to be there to watch basketball, like they were more there to basically just impress this recruit,” freshman Christian Clark said. “This was incredible. We have one of the best basketball teams in the nation and fans were more worried about getting this recruit. You could see him thinking ‘Man, I gotta come here,’ where if he went to Arkansas he’d be just another football player.”
Although everyone who filled the arena knew about Green-Beckham, others only heard the news through social networks. The Tigers are hoping to make a splash with this five-star recruit, something many elite teams went without on National Signing Day.
“How many teams signed a single five-star recruit?” freshman Brandon Kiley said. “Arkansas didn’t get a single five-star recruit, and they’re considered one of the better teams in the SEC. Clemson, who had a top 10 recruiting class, did not sign a single five-star recruit. And MU, who just goes into the SEC and has a bunch of momentum behind them, finally signs (a) 5-star recruit in the history of the football program. That’s huge.”
