Dorial Green-Beckham Lottery Missouri’s Chance At An SEC Statement

Missouri’s move to the SEC is met with smirks of superiority from the conference elite. Popular opinion is a consistent, if not unimpressive program in the Big 12 stands no chance of gaining relevance in a division with LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas. National Signing Day provides Mizzou its first opportunity at rattling the SEC power structure, if Gary Pinkel and staff can secure the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham.

Typically, landing a gifted recruit signifies an investment in the future. Recruiting also has a symbolic quality that declares a program’s prominence, and a staff’s collective savviness. And yes, signing DGB fulfills these measures for MU. But DGB is that rare prep star with the skill set to make an immediate impact on a college gridiron.

Green-Beckham’s 6-foot-6, 230-pound frame would not be out of place lined up on an NFL formation, let alone the SEC. He already looks like a dread-less Larry Fitzgerald, both in physique and ability — and that’s without hitting a college weight program or getting tutelage from BCS conference coaches. He snagged 119 passes for 2233 yards and 24 touchdowns his senior season at Springfield, Mo.’s Hillsdale High.

Of course, every BCS conference-caliber recruit is a high school star, but DGB looks like that special type whose stardom should carry over instantly, much like last year’s No. 1 overall target, Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney burst onto the SEC scene at South Carolina as an integral pass rush piece for the Gamecocks’ top 10 defense.

Comparing DGB to Clowney is something of an apples and oranges comparison, given their different positions and roles. However, wide receiver was the position that most prominently featured true freshmen in 2011. Clemson’s Sammy Watkins emerged as a Heisman contender midway through the campaign. D’Anthony Thomas became Oregon’s most exciting player. Marqise Lee provided Matt Barkley a vital left hook to complement the uppercut that is Robert Woods.

And Woods, a possible frontrunner for the 2012 Heisman, was a true freshman star at USC with talents comparable to those of DGB.

Yet, none of those aforementioned wideouts have the monstrous, almost tight end-like frame of Green-Beckham. In that regard, he’s a mold-breaker. His presence would immediately give quarterback James Franklin a new weapon in the offensive arsenal the Tigers lacked in their 8-win 2011. Franklin’s dual threat ability yielded an under-the-radar highly quality campaign. With the added facet of a big, talented target like DGB, and the return of injured running back Henry Josey, MU poses an offensive challenge to the juggernaut defenses in its new home.

No wonder his recruitment is met with such fanfare. Zoulogy had video of his arrival on the MU campus this past weekend, a visit that Yahoo! Sports’ Graham Watson wrote sent Tiger fans into a tizzy.

With such excitement is guaranteed the inevitable hand-wrining, which Matt Conner captured at SB Nation Kansas City via reports of the trip “not going so well.” A target with the sky-high potential DGB has is sure to send fans through the entire gamut of emotions, particularly when it sets the tone for the program’s move to the hostile territory of the SEC — and when the most fierce competitor is one of the new rivals.

Arkansas is in hot pursuit of DGB as well, and its Fayetteville campus is less than a hour from DGB’s Springfield home. Bobby Petrino employs a high-powered passing style that would showcase DGB prominently. The Razorbacks are also on the cusp of national eliteness. The pitch coming from UA is strong.

And in less than 24 hours, we’ll know who wins this lottery. RockMNation’s Bill Connelly wrote yesterday that DGB’s announcement comes at 9:15 a.m. CT on ESPNU.