Josey, Egnew Are Why MU’s Texas Recruiting Won’t Change
ESPN.com Big 12 blogger David Ubben wrote a feature called “Recruiting Rewind,” examining the recruiting history of all offensive players named to the All-Big 12 team. Two MU offensive players, running back Henry Josey and tight end Michael Egnew, were on the list. Ubben provided what ESPN’s scouts had written at the time of the players’ recruitments:
"RB: Henry Josey, MissouriJosey was a two-star recruit and the nation’s No. 258-ranked athlete. He was also recruited by Baylor, TCU and UTEP. Scouts take: Josey flashes playmaker skills on both sides of the ball at the high school level and may get recruited on either side of the ball in college. We feel he is a bit of an overachiever and his weaknesses may get exposed at the major college level, but we like his foot-speed, quickness and overall savvy as a potential hybrid safety/Bandit type or change-of-pace back on offense."
With the benefit of the 20/20 vision provided by hindsight, the thought of Josey as nothing more than a change-of-pace back is almost humorous. Egnew, who has been one of the Tigers’ most consistent playmakers over the middle, was similarly overlooked in high school:
"TE: Michael Egnew, MissouriEgnew was a two-star recruit who graded out at 40 and wasn’t ranked. He was also recruited by Purdue and TCU."
Retrospective looks at such players’ recruiting histories, as well as the high number of players on the All-Big 12 list who weren’t highly recruited out of high school, just goes to show the unpredictable nature of high school recruiting. Even Baylor quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin wasn’t heavily sought after as a quarterback, instead recruited as a versatile player who could end up at a variety of positions.
Aside from the unpredictability of high school recruiting, the information about Egnew and Josey serves to underscore the reason MU’s recruiting will not suffer in Texas when it moves to the SEC. MU’s strong history of Texas recruits comes not from landing big-name recruits, but from finding overlooked and underhyped recruits who are a good fit for the Tigers’ system. Regardless of conference, football coach Gary Pinkel and his staff will continue to be able to find and develop such talent in Texas.