People need to understand that Pancake was not on the same track as Francis coming out of high school, and it was a wide gap. Pancake was definitely a little raw coming out of high school and needed time to develop, which isn't a bad thing. The staff clearly thinks Pancake can be an impactful player for this team, which is why he hasn't entered the portal yet. He's on track to start in 2026, and has plenty of eligibility left
Samson was a tough eval because his comp level was so bad up here in MA. You saw the fluidity in the player and the movement skills and took him based on the traits, but he was always going to be someone who needed to develop before contributing. If we are still having this convo next year or if he transfers, then we can say it was a miss. OL and DT are two spots where I will usually give more time before labeling them a bust because of the physical demands of the positions.
This is very true. Who knows how much that set him back, but I was hopefully he would be our LT by now.
I agree. However, the staff hasn't moved on and they have shown the willingness to do so with other highly ranked recruits. They must still like his potential, maybe they think now is the time it it will click.
He’s been to campus. On his own dime multiple times. If distance was an issue, or the city, or whatever preconceived notion of moving to a murderous city we wouldn’t be this far into the game.
My understanding was that Pancake was advanced coming out of HS. The issue was that there were some concerns about adjusting to the strength of P4 ball. Well those concerns appeared to be well founded. I recall that the staff had Pancake at the top of their board, and ahead of FM.
Gotta factor in too, Francis came from a HS football factory in IMG. Okunlola played in MA. Odds are his path was gonna take longer than Francis. Not saying you specifically aren’t saying that, just speaking out loud.
IMO, several kids while at Oregon (too lazy, don't care to look up who)
McCoy, Rodriguez, and Bell don’t belong on a list with Cooper
Maybe people on the board viewed it as 1a and 1b because they were both 5 stars, but the staff definitely didn't view it that way
Well the videos of Samson showed a guy who had refined footwork for a kid just in HS. Many times OL coming out of HS just physically dominate the comp. I agree with you about the comment that IMG kids come with the maxed out label. Francis to me was a sure thing but the question was whether it would work out at Tackle. He wasn’t exactly a prototypical build of a tackle. There was some questions about him handling speed rushers at the P4 level. Now the worst case scenario with him was that he could slide inside to G and he would be dominant there. Well he shut all that down and started off rip and never looked back.
I think he was a bit of damaged goods when he arrived. Watched him his first spring and always noticed a limp of sorts. Then he gets hurt during the season. Last year he had a chance to take a job when Rivers went down and the USF game showed where he was. He just wasn't further ahead mentally than Bell who struggled with the physical aspect of the game.
Fair points, and I agree with you.
Yeah I’m not trying to be a **** here I just am confused at this unimpeachable stance some have about our coaches
There’s stuff in the background with Mizzou that doesn’t necessarily work in Mizzou’s favor. Just because you went to a school doesn’t mean you have the greatest relationship with that school.
