Just saw this in the Blade. Don't know anything about the kid, but we graduate a couple of edge rushers, right?

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Short story.

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(12-12-2022 07:40 PM)emanoh Wrote:  Short story.

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6-4,235 - A four-star defensive end prospect who is rated as the No. 139 player at any position on the prestigious ESPN 300 list, which attempts to rank the top high school football prospects … ESPN rates him as the nation’s No. 14 defensive end and the state’s No. 2 prospect … Rivals.com and 247Sports.com both rate him as a four-star prospect as well, with 247Sports.com rating him as the nation’s No. 20 defensive end, the fourth-best player in the state and the nation’s No. 204-ranked recruit at any position … Named an SI High School All-American candidate in July 2020.

Works for me. Sounds like a great addition.

Interesting...we didn't recruit him out of high school, wonder what the connection was.

(12-12-2022 08:49 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  Interesting...we didn't recruit him out of high school, wonder what the connection was.

There was discussion on this in the Transfer Portal thread. He was recruited by Alabama out of HS, which is likely when Kool was still there, so I'm guessing there was familiarity there already. Just a guess tho.

From Missouri website:

Travion Ford is the first former Missouri football player to find a new home in the transfer portal following the 2022 season. The redshirt freshman announced his commitment to Toledo on Monday after visiting this weekend.

Ford, a four-star recruit out of Lutheran North, didn't find a role in the Tigers' defense over the past two seasons. The St. Louis product appeared in one game in 2021 but was sidelined by an injury after.

Toledo's defensive line coach, Craig Kuligowski, was under staff for Missouri during Gary Pinkel's tenure. Former Tigers edge rusher Michael Sam credited Kuligowski for his success.

From 247/Sports:

Former Missouri edge defender Travion Ford announced Monday via Twitter that he has committed to Toledo. The former four-star recruit in the 2021 class out of Saint Louis (Mo.) Lutheran North did not play in a game this season for the Tigers as a redshirt-freshman. Listed at 6-foot-2, 259 pounds, Ford gives the Rockets a high-upside flier — albeit one without much experience, as he played in just one career game for Mizzou.

Coming out of high school, Ford ranked as the nation's No. 19 edge defender and the No. 4 player in Missouri. Ford chose the Tigers and coach Eli Drinkwitz over finalists Illinois and Louisville. He also held reported offers from Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas and more.

Allen Trieu evaluates prospects in the Midwest for 247Sports and provided the following scouting report on Ford as a high schooler.
"Lean body type, but has some length to him," Trieu wrote. "Productive high school player who knows how to get to the quarterback. Has quickness off the ball and shows the agility to win inside with counter moves. Plays with a nice motor and runs plays down. For not being a bigger end right now, he holds his own well against the run and has good functional strength already although adding more bulk and strength is important in his development.

"Right now, he falls into a bit of a tweener spot. He could possibly play outside linebacker in a 3-4 and does have some experience playing from a two-point stance. Best chance at reaching his ceiling though may be to add weight and strength and be a weak-side end in a 4-3. Will be able to contribute early in his career on passing downs, and long-term projection will come down to how his body changes over the next few years, but his ability to rush the passer makes him a player we think will be productive at a Power 5 school and have a chance to play beyond college."

When I saw the news in the Portal thread, I thought we were getting a grad transfer with one year left to play. Sounds like he will come in as a soph and have 3 years to play. Curious why he wasn't playing more at Mizzou even if he was behind some upper class guys with more experience. Could be like Gant coming over from OSU - just off the brink of being a starter, but now is a starter at UT with more upside in his final year next year.

This looks to be great news on the surface. Will be a good replacement for Hines, but we also have some other young DL (or OLB/DE) on the roster that will be vying for playing time. Nothing better than having more depth. Now - can we find replacements for the Johnsons - #'s 1 and 2?

Another Jalen Gant type situation. Nice pick-up for UT.

BTW... When Gant came to UT he was listed on the roster as a Sr. but was reclassified on the roster to a Jr. sometime during mid season. Does anyone know if he was always going to have Jr. eligibility when he arrived or did this actually evolve with NCAA interaction after his arrival?

(12-13-2022 11:24 AM)IamN2daRockets! Wrote:  Another Jalen Gant type situation. Nice pick-up for UT.

BTW... When Gant came to UT he was listed on the roster as a Sr. but was reclassified on the roster to a Jr. sometime during mid season. Does anyone know if he was always going to have Jr. eligibility when he arrived or did this actually evolve with NCAA interaction after his arrival?

That was likely due to him informing them that he would take his Covid year and to avoid confusion, but not entirely sure.

M.Poynter a soph. DL is from Saint Louis also…
Maybe a hometown connection !![/u]

(12-13-2022 11:56 AM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(12-13-2022 11:24 AM)IamN2daRockets! Wrote:  Another Jalen Gant type situation. Nice pick-up for UT.

BTW... When Gant came to UT he was listed on the roster as a Sr. but was reclassified on the roster to a Jr. sometime during mid season. Does anyone know if he was always going to have Jr. eligibility when he arrived or did this actually evolve with NCAA interaction after his arrival?

That was likely due to him informing them that he would take his Covid year and to avoid confusion, but not entirely sure.

Assume you meant Dallas Gant. But, there is no standardization in how schools list a player's "class" on their roster. Some will list their academic year regardless of how many years of eligibility they have left - hence why we have had some 7th year players who have been listed as Seniors for 4 years running. Others will list a "class" commensurate with how many years of eligibility they have left, even if they are already in grad school. Some schools have resorted to posting academic standing (including grad school) and then listing number of years of eligibility left in a separate column. So, you can't necessarily tell unless you look at the player's history - and of course, they have the right to forego playing any extra years if they want.