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Dorial Green-Beckham Signs Letter Of Intent With Missouri

Missouri signed the No. 1 recruit in the nation Wednesday, along with 18 other recruits.

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30 Total Updates since January 19, 2012
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Dorial Green-Beckham Gives Missouri Tigers Red Zone Target They Needed

T.J. Moe is a fine receiver. James Franklin is a dynamic two way threat at quarterback. Henry Josey was leading the Big 12 in rushing yards when he was lost for the season. It's clear that Missouri already had plenty of offensive talent on board and that doesn't need to get lost in the shuffle surrounding Dorial Green-Beckham. But it's also clear that Missouri was at its best in Gary Pinkel's offense when they landed an impact receiver who can be the red zone target for a guy like Franklin. Now they have him.

DGB's announcement today that he would choose Missouri over Arkansas and Oklahoma was a major coup for Pinkel and signified that Missouri can compete with SEC powers for some of the top recruits in the region. But on the field, it will pay dividends as well, as Missouri has never replaced former receivers like Jeremy Maclin and now must deal with the loss of another great tight end in Michael Egnew. David Ubben of ESPN writes:

On the field, Green-Beckham offers the Tigers exactly what they needed. The past two seasons, Mizzou's remained productive without a big-play receiver that ranked among the league's most physically gifted. That changes now. When the Tigers' offense had gamebreakers like Jeremy Maclin and Danario Alexander, it was at its best. DGB's arrival could signify a move back to those days.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound receiver should replace departed tight end Michael Egnew's presence in the red zone, too. DGB has a great ability to catch balls at the highest point, and it's hard to imagine the physically-imposing target not becoming a reliable option there.

DGB was a record-setter in high school and the only limitations to his on-field ability there was the amount of time in a game. As long as he was on the field, he was moving the chains for Hillcrest, so Missouri has to look forward to the same. While the level of competition will increase, DGB himself is a specimen who is only getting started.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Picks Missouri, Best Result For Both Parties

Some Missouri fans say they were confident this morning, but honestly most Missouri fans were at the very most cautiously optimistic that the No. 1-ranked player in the nation, Dorial Green-Beckham, would commit to be a Tiger on National Signing Day.

In a press conference televised by ESPNU, Green-Beckham did in fact announce that he would be a Missouri Tiger for at least the next three years, choosing Missouri over Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama.

With the most-hyped press conference in Springfield’s history behind us, the fact that Green-Beckham chose to stay in his home state and attend the University of Missouri tells us a lot about both the player and the team.

With his decision, Green-Beckham has put himself in one of the more pass-happy offenses of the past 10 years, joining a great group of young receivers including Marcus Lucas, L’Damian Washington, Jimmie Hunt and Bud Sasser. Along with those young guns, Green-Beckham will be learning leadership and toughness from senior wideout TJ Moe.

It’s not just his fellow receivers either. Green-Beckham will be catching passes from quarterback James Franklin for the next two seasons, most likely, but the Tigers also have a lot of young and promising depth behind him. Corbin Berkstresser, a former 4-star recruit, was said to have the best arm strength on the team last year. Pinkel also picked up a gem in this year’s recruiting class in Maty Mauk, a 3-star quarterback that was named the Ohio High School Player of the Year and holds national records for passing yards, completions and touchdowns.

In the sense of teammates surrounding him, this is the perfect situation for the No. 1 recruit in the nation.

It’s not like Green-Beckham won’t be getting any exposure either. We are all probably sick of hearing about Missouri’s move to the SEC, but DGB said in an ESPNU interview that the school’s conference change had a big effect on his decision.

For Mizzou, this kind of recruiting win couldn’t have come at a better time. With Green-Beckham picking Mizzou, a “less prestigious program” that the other finalist, Arkansas (that is debatable), he has singlehandedly improved the credibility of Missouri recruiting to levels that were unthinkable for the school only five years ago.

Gary Pinkel, Dave Yost and their staff showed that they can go out and seal the borders of Missouri, keeping any level of recruit in the state to play their college football at Mizzou.

By securing the number one player in an entire class, the coaching staff can use this signing as evidence that they can get anyone in the nation.

Some are worried that expectations are too high for the No. 1 player in the nation, but when you look at the stats, he warrants that kind of attention. Green-Beckham set the national record for career receiving yards with 6,356 yards, so it’s not like his success has been overstated and its not like he doesn’t have a lot of potential. People may say he is overrated, but Missouri really has never had a recruit at this level. Excitement is warranted for Tiger fans.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Proves Missouri Tigers Can Recruit With SEC's Finest, Brings Out Worst In SEC Fans

The Missouri Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies are being watched closely as they leave the Big 12 and head to the SEC for multiple reasons. They are largely unknown quantities for SEC fans who wonder just how good (or bad) they will be. Will they become new powers for current teams to overcome? Will they languish like Kentucky and Ole Miss? That will largely depend on how well they can recruit in their new environment. So far, so good for Missouri.

Gary Pinkel had to be ecstatic when he watched the feed of Dorial Green-Beckham placing a MIZZOU hat upon his head at the announcement today at Hillcrest in Springfield, Missouri. DGB was the best wide receiver recruit this year and he’s the type of impact receiver that Oklahoma State has enjoyed for the last few years in Justin Blackmon. Talents like this come along very rarely, so this is a major commit for Pinkel’s staff.

More importantly, it sends a sign to the rest of the SEC that Missouri is real. One look at DGB’s Twitter feed shows numerous college football fans hurling insults and cursing him for not choosing their particular school. In the process many are dogging Missouri. Yet if you think many people are doing the same to Ole Miss, Vanderbilt or Kentucky… well, you get the point. The emotions are coming out because there’s a fear in play — whethey they will admit it or not.

DGB changes the landscape as Missouri proves it can not only host top shelf talent but lure it in for the final commitment as well. In short, if Green-Beckham wants to be a part of the Missouri offense, many more will as well.

“Green-Beckham was easily the best player in Missouri, and could develop into a truly transcendent talent,” writes David Ubben. “What do transcendent talents do? Attract even more talent. DGB may become one of Missouri’s most valuable recruiters, both symbolically and literally, when top recruits make future visits to Columbia’s campus. DGB came. Why can’t future top recruits?”

It’s that last question that Missouri fans are happy about, but it’s also the reason other SEC fans turn nasty. Missouri is a real player in their new home. Like it or not, here they come.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Says Missouri Allows Him To 'Stay Home And Fulfill A Dream'

Reece Davis noted during the ESPNU broadcast today that Gary Pinkel has to be the “happiest man around” as he sees Dorial Green-Beckham sign his scholarship papers. That much is true. Today DGB announced that he was going to be able to “fulfill his dreams to play at the University of Missouri,” making the Tigers faithful very happy along the way while others at Arkansas are likely shaking their heads as they wonder what might have been.

DGB is undoubtedly the best wide receiver recruit in the nation and he’s been called one of the best to come out in years. ESPN has him rated as the No. 3 player in the country.

He immediately joins T.J. Moe in a now-loaded wide receiver corps to team with Henry Josey, the Big 12’s leading rusher until he went down with a season ending knee injury. James Franklin has to be especially pleased knowing he now has an impact downfield talent.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Is 'Best Wide Receiver To Come Out Of High School In Years'

The headline above is no small statement. While media clips are generally designed to inflate or deflate in exaggerated measure, it’s hard to argue that Dorial Green-Beckham is not the best wide receiver not only in this class but over the last few classes. He set high school season and career receiving records all along the way in Springfield, Missouri, so some team is going to find an instant impact on the field whenever he arrives. It’s just a matter of which school he will choose.

The quote above came from Scout.com, who describes DGB accordingly: “All of the athletic tools a coach looks for in a wide receiver prospect. Most taller receivers are deep receivers, fade guys who can out body and out jump smaller defenders, etc, but what sets Green-Beckham apart is that he can not only do those things, but he can do things smaller receivers do as well. He is a very good open field runner who can take short passes and turn them into big plays. May be the best receiver to come out in years.”

DGB will announce his decision in just about an hour at 9:15am CT.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Takes Texas Longhorns Out Of Equation Leaving Missouri, Arkansas And Oklahoma In Play

And then there were three. That’s the word tonight from Geoff Ketchum who says via Twitter that Dorial Green-Beckham has officially cut a name off of the list of finalists. He writes, “Breaking: According to two sources with knowledge of the recruitment, DGB has told the UT staff that he will not be a Longhorn.” The Texas Longhorns were a fringe candidate over the last few weeks, so that’s really no surprise. But it does make it more official that some word is coming soon.

Tomorrow morning at 9:15am CT, DGB will finally make his announcement on television. Arkansas was the frontrunner until the last few days when John Hoover of the Tulsa World ran the report that a source told him Missouri was going to win the sweepstakes.

DGB is the most heralded recruit in the country and will be a boom for any recruiting class once he signs. Bobby Petrino’s offense would work wonders with his ability, but Gary Pinkel also knows how to use a speedy, athletic wideout (read: Jeremy Maclin). At least one team is out of the running for sure.

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Dorial Green-Beckham To Missouri: Star Recruit Would Provide Perfect Complement To T.J. Moe

Several teams have recruited, wooed, promised and courted Dorial Green-Beckham in their hopes to entice the top recruit in the country to join them next fall on the football field. The wide receiver would look great in any offense given his tremendous abilities, but is DGB looking back at them wondering how he will fit? Sharon Katz thinks he should and wonders how he would fit in each team's offense.

For Missouri, Green-Beckham would fill a vital role of stretching the field. The team already has T.J. Moe coming back and Henry Josey was leading the Big 12 in rushing before his season-ending injury. James Franklin is also a dual threat at quarterback and should have a dynamic year next year both rushing and passing the ball. But the hill the Missouri Tigers must climb next year is their first season in the SEC, and no one quite knows how that one will go. Adding DGB to the mix would help tremendously.

Katz writes, "Missouri needs a second wide-receiver option behind T.J. Moe next season with TE Michael Egnew and WR Wes Kemp graduating. Moe has the second-most receiving yards in the Big 12 since the start of 2010 among returning players, but he is not known for his deep-threat ability. Of his 146 receptions in the past two seasons, only 13 have gone for 25 or more yards. Green-Beckham’s downfield speed would lead to more big plays for the Tigers and open up underneath routes for Moe and others."

Gary Pinkel's offense is going to have a fine year either way with such strong returning personnel. DGB would simply provide a new shiny toy to play with -- one that instantly becomes the best receiver on a team loaded with offensive potential. Together they could make a major impression in Mizzou's first season in the SEC.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Update: Missouri, Arkansas Still Uncertain As Family Tries To Calm Media Circus

Dorial Green-Beckham cannot stop the furor. He can only hope to contain it.

The frenzy over the top recruit in the country on the eve of National Signing Day — a day which DGB himself said he was going to announce his decision — is going over the top as fans and experts wonder whether the Springfield, Mo. native will choose Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma or Arkansas. While the family obviously understand the interest, they’re hoping to still find some semblance of peace and quiet along the way.

"We just want to keep the recruiting part as quiet as we possibly can," said John Beckham, his adoptive father.. "Obviously you can’t do that completely because people have sources everywhere. We could go on an unofficial visit to a campus and not tell a soul, but by the time we walk out the door, people know we were there and are calling us. It’s OK if things get out there, but we always just wanted to keep it as private as possible.

"This isn’t my first time going through the recruiting process, since I’m a coach. I’ve heard everything before. Everybody has been really good about respecting what our wishes are. Only a few things have gone pm, coaching wise, that we found distasteful, but it really hasn’t been that much of a problem."

DGB was rumored to go to Missouri as of yesterday with the Oklahoman’s John Hoover reporting as much from a trusted source. John Beckham insisted that wasn’t true and that the announced finalists are all still the same. It’s likely that the frenzy won’t die down until the word is official, and that will come tomorrow morning.

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Dorial Green-Beckham To Missouri: DGB's Father Denies Rumored Commitment To Tigers

Everyone is scrambling for some word of a commitment from the top recruit in the nation. Thus it's no surprise to see a media feeding frenzy trying to break the story that Dorial Green-Beckham has committed to one school or another. For the last few weeks, the Arkansas Razorbacks carried the torch as frontrunners and through the last year, the Oklahoma Sooners were on top. Yet today word broke via the Tulsa World that Missouri was actually going to score the commit on National Signing Day from DGB. Now his father says that's not the case.

CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd has the word from the player's adoptive father, John Beckham, that the family is denying the Tulsa World report. John Hoover, on the other hand, swears that his source is good and that he trusts him.

In the end, this simply means that Green-Beckham was telling the truth that everyone would know something for sure on National Signing Day. Until then, it's dramatic guesswork that makes for entertaining rumors but rumors nonetheless.

For more on the Missouri Tigers, check out Rock M Nation. For updates from across the nation on National Signing Day, go to SB Nation's college football news hub.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Update: Missouri Tigers Considered Favorites By MaxPreps For National Signing Day

Stephen Spiewak is the first to admit that there's no way of knowing what school Dorial Green-Beckham will actually choose until the words come out of his mouth on February 1 for National Signing Day. That said, the MaxPreps writer does believe that the Missouri Tigers are the favorites to land the most talented recruit in the country.

He writes, "While Arkansas will be tempting, Missouri could win out by executing one of the biggest recruiting coups ever. With family all around the state, Columbia makes sense as a centrally located destination for Green-Beckham, even if Fayetteville is closer to Springfield. Not to mention, his last official visit was to Missouri, meaning Gary Pinkel and staff got the often critical last word."

Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas are among the others that DGB will be choosing from. Certainly many fan bases will be waiting around on Wednesday for the official word from the source as to whether or not a school will enjoy a record setting wide receiver on the field next season.

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Dorial Green Beckham Update: Impossible To Tell Who Is Favored Between Missouri, Texas, Arkansas Among Others

When a player is in the spotlight like Dorial Green-Beckham has been over the last few years, stories are bound to become sensationalized. Every visit is analyzed. Every statement is examined. Yet the top recruit in the country has yet to tip his hand. MaxPrep’s Stephen Spiewak says he can thank his family for that.

Spiewak writes, “The nation’s No. 1 recruit, also a U.S. Air Force All-American and former National Athlete of the Year, and his family have done an outstanding job of handling the recruiting process. They accommodated the media whenever possible but have avoided putting Green-Beckham in the limelight to get peppered about recruiting questions. As a result, recruiting fans have had just a small taste of Green-Beckham’s thought process. Certainly not enough to develop a truly informed opinion.”

At this point, it’s a guessing game as to where he will go, although the rumors often break down into Arkansas versus Missouri. Yet DGB’s family insists that the top five remain the top five, and in terms of source material, that’s about as good as it gets until February 1 for National Signing Day.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Update: Arkansas 'Seems Like Perfect Fit' For Top Recruit

Fans of every team involved in the Dorial Green-Beckham sweepstakes are undoubtedly going to believe that their college presents the best opportunity for that player to thrive. Any statement to the contrary is going to be taken as foolishness (and called worse than that). But it seems that once you get outside of Texas, Missouri or Oklahoma country, the greater majority of college football fans and the media believe the man known as DGB is headed to the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Every ESPN expert surveyed believes the top recruit in the nation is headed to Arkansas and the same poll and results were found at Rivals. Brian McLaughlin of the Sporting News is the latest to agree and he says that Bobby Petrino's squad presents the "perfect fit" for Green-Beckham. He writes:

The University of Arkansas is about an hour closer to his Springfield home in the southwest corner of Missouri. He also displayed his skills at Razorback Stadium in a September game, and told Sporting News at the time that he couldn’t wait to see what it was like to play in a stadium like that. Oklahoma, his other realistic finalist, is about six hours away from home for a kid who is very, very close to his family—both biological and adopted.

With Bobby Petrino’s history of throwing the ball, Arkansas just seems like the perfect fit. It’s closest to home for Green-Beckham and he’s going to catch a ton of passes this upcoming fall. By this time next year, everybody who pays attention to college football will know his name.


DGB will announce his commitment on National Signing Day on February 1.
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Dorial Green-Beckham's Missouri Visit Reportedly Not Going So Well

Missouri fans know that this weekend is likely pivotal for any chance they have at securing the services of wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. The top recruit available in the country is going to make his choice known on National Signing Day on February 1 along with other elite athletes and he’s down to just a handful of teams on his list. Missouri is fighting with other top programs like Oklahoma and Arkansas, so it’s clear this weekend’s visit is a major moment for DGB’s recruitment.

That said, Max Olson of ESPN says things are not going to hot. He writes via Twitter, “According to some Mizzou fans on Twitter, DGB’s visit hasn’t gone as planned. They say he got carded, couldn’t get into Harpo’s last night.”

At this point, the red carpet is being rolled out by everyone. Mack Brown and Bob Stoops made visits to his Springfield, Mo. home this week. Gary Pinkel arrived via helicopter to his high school. Everything has to go right. To hear something is not going well on his visit feels like a death knell for Mizzou fans anxious to see what Henry Josey and James Franklin could do with DGB alongside them on the field.

That said, the weekend is not over and reports will continue to emerge about the visit. Here’s hoping things turn around today.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Has Visits From Bob Stoops, Bobby Petrino, Mack Brown On Calendar

Missouri’s Gary Pinkel arrived via helicopter. Bob Stoops of Oklahoma, Mack Brown of Texas and Bobby Petrino of Arkansas will all be stopping by Springfield, Missouri this week to visit his house. If you wondered the lengths that a college coach will go to sway a teenager’s mind, the frenzy surrounding the top recruit in the country in Dorial Green-Beckham gives you a bit of insight.

The Austin American-Stateman is reporting today that all three coaches have visits within the next day or two.

“Today, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops is scheduled for his in-school/in-home visit in Springfield, Mo., with Green-Beckham, the country’s No. 1-rated high school wide receiver. Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino is scheduled to do the same. Texas head coach Mack Brown and receivers coach Darrell Wyatt also are expected in Springfield, probably Wednesday.”

The reason everyone is going after him is because DGB is the best wide receiver in the country right now and he’s also the record holder for most receiving yards in a high school career with well over 6,000.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Update: Arkansas Expected To Beat Missouri For Prized Recruit

The race is on for Dorial Green-Beckham, the best unsigned recruit in the country, and it seems at this point that it’s a two horse race. While others like Alabama might still exist on the periphery, the final two are reportedly Missouri and Arkansas, but even then it seems that Arkansas is a heavy favorite. At least, if you ask the experts at Rivals, the popular recruiting news service, it seems as if no one else even has a chance but Bobby Petrino.

That’s a shame since Missouri has a better track record of launching wide receivers like Jeremy Maclin into the NFL than Arkansas does. However, it’s hard to ignore the offensive firepower of Bobby Petrino’s offense last year and that things look brighter for the Razorbacks at this point with the mystery of Missouri heading into the SEC for the first year. For DGB, there has to be pros and cons to each side.

Still the Razorbacks are apparently the favorite at this point, much to the chagrin of the Tigers faithful. Yet all is not lost until the recruit himself makes his selection known.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Receives Missouri-Sized Cheers From Tigers Fans

The Missouri Tigers hope that a helicopter visit from Gary Pinkel and the chance to play with their dynamic offense is enough to help lure Dorial Green-Beckham to Mizzou. But it’s clear that Missouri fans are also willing to pitch in to help offer some support of their own, as a recent showing by Tigers’ fans helped show DGB just how much he’s wanted by the Missouri faithful.

“Nearly two weeks earlier, Dorial Green-Beckham was on national television in an All-America football game making a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch before thousands of spectators inside the Alamodome in Texas,” writes Bryan Burwell. "Now here he was in this nondescript high school gym in St. Louis County, appearing before a little more than 300 people in a prep hoop tournament against a junior varsity team from Jackson County.

“Word had spread across internet chat rooms that the 6-foot-6 All-America and Parade Magazine national player of the year from Hillcrest High School in Springfield, Mo., would be playing in the Dave Sinclair Memorial Invitational Tournament. And with only 12 days left before National Signing Day when Green-Beckham is expected to announce whether he will sign with Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma or Texas, Mizzou faithful took this as one last opportunity to leave the kid they call “DGB” with a favorable impression."

DGB is the highest rated recruit left in the country and is the best wide receiver available to any team. Unfortunately, he visited Arkansas over the weekend and it’s also reportedly his brother’s favorite choice. All things considered, it will be interesting to follow Green-Beckham’s final decision up until National Signing Day.

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Dorial Green-Beckham's Father Says Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas Still In Running With Arkansas And Missouri

The race for Dorial Green-Beckham, the top college football recruit in the country, is apparently tighter than reports had indicated in recent days. The rumor had Green-Beckham down to his final two competitors: the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Missouri Tigers. Unfortunately for Bobby Petrino and Gary Pinkel, the other three on his official “top five” are still very much alive according to his father, John Beckham.

DGB received a helicopter visit recently from Pinkel, and he’ll be in Fayetteville this weekend to hang out with the Arkansas staff. While Missouri is closer to home and could be the sentimental favorite for that reason, Arkansas brings the high-profile passing attack of the Razorbacks and it’s been reported that Arkansas is his brother’s favorite team. Yet word that others are in it only makes each visit more meaningful.

There’s no word if Green-Beckham has visits scheduled to any more schools at this point. Perhaps another one could come next weekend after Arkansas, but it would not be that surprising to see him stopping here and making his decision. While the Tigers and Razorbacks are still the favorites, the chance is there for the Longhorns, Crimson Tide or Sooners to make a surprise move.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Might Choose Arkansas Razorbacks And Bobby Petrino Over Missouri Tigers This Weekend

For now, the reports say it’s down to the last two — a classic recruiting between two schools who will now be SEC rivals: Missouri and Arkansas. The Tigers and Razorbacks are both in on the top recruit in the nation in Dorial Green-Beckham and the elite wide receiver would instantly provide a brilliant spark for either club. That said, one school might hold the upper hand heading into this weekend.

“A lot can be determined this weekend, as Green-Beckham is expected to take an official visit to Arkansas,” writes Damon Sayles of ESPN. "This will be only his second official visit – Texas was the first in November – and it is known that the Razorbacks are a fan favorite to Green-Beckham’s younger brother, Darnell.

"With Arkansas, it’s the atmosphere. It’s football," Green-Beckham said about the Razorbacks during the week of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio. "Everybody likes to be around football there. It’s kind of like Dallas with the Cowboys. The whole atmosphere is unbelievable."

The Missouri Tigers have made their case known and have been recruiting DGB hard for some time. A decision should be coming soon enough.

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Dorial Green-Beckham Receives Visit From Above From Missouri's Gary Pinkel

Gary Pinkel is pulling out all the stops in his recruitment of the most dynamic wide receiver available this season in hopes that he chooses the Missouri Tigers as they enter the SEC next season. And if you wonder the lengths that a college coach will go to impress a high school student, no matter how talented, just check out the fact (and video) that Pinkel descended upon DGB's high school field in a helicopter.

DGB says his choices are now down to two schools with Missouri being the finalist along with Arkansas. Bobby Petrino is going to put up a good fight for Green-Beckham, so perhaps Pinkel has to go to such lengths to get him.

"Hillcrest TV caught Pinkel's helicopter landing on Birmingham Field at the end of the school day to visit with Green-Beckham," writes Chris Replogle. "It's one of several visits between Pinkel and the star high school player throughout his stellar high school career. Arkansas Head Coach Bobby Petrino visited Green-Beckham during class too Wednesday. Petrino, instead, drove to the school. Reports say the 6'6", 220-pound receiver will visit the Fayetteville campus this weekend."

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