Don't let the seniors down

I wanted to write an extensive post about all the emotions surrounding this year's Senior Day. But Gabe DeArmond took the words right out of my mouth. I'm not sure I can say it any better than he did so I'll let him take this one:

Many, many times over the last few years, we have broken down Missouri's recruiting classes from a million different angles. One thing has stood fairly constant in those breakdowns. To make the math easy, you get an average of 25 players in each recruiting class. If, four or five years later, you can say that 15 of those players have somehow contributed significantly to your program, you've had a monumentally successful class.

So, how good is the senior class Missouri will honor at Faurot Field on Saturday? The Tigers have 22 seniors playing their final games. Fifteen of them have started multiple games for Missouri. That's not good. That's incredible.

Now, to be honest, the players are not all in the same class. Chase Daniel, Chase Coffman, Ziggy Hood and Brock Christopher all played as true freshmen. They were in the 2005 recruiting class. Most of the rest signed with the Tigers in the 2004 class.

But because these players all began their careers on the field in the same year, we count them as one class. Fifteen out of 22 have not only contributed, they have been major players. They have been good enough to, for at least a few games, be considered the very best at their positions on a Tiger roster that has gotten progressively deeper every season.

Breaking it down even further, 18 of those 22 players signed as scholarship recipients with Missouri. Two of the walk-ons (Adam Casey and Zach Milligan) have not had the chance to see significant playing time. But just as impressively, three more walk-ons (Jeff Wolfert, Tommy Saunders and Colin Brown) are in that group of not only multiple-game, but multi-year, starters.

Anyway, the point of all this? This is the senior class Missouri fans are going to remember. I say this not to take anything away from the group of seniors to which Missouri said farewell last season. Lorenzo Williams, Pig Brown, Martin Rucker, Will Franklin, Tony Temple, Adam Spieker, Tyler Luellen, and more, were most certainly the bedrock of the foundation for this Missouri program. Last year's seniors and this year's go hand in hand. But in 20 years, the group that most Tiger fans are likely to remember is this one. Let's hit some of the highlights:

*This class has won more games than any four-year class in Missouri history. As of right now, they're at 34 wins. If the Tigers can win the final three games of the regular season, the Big 12 title game and a bowl game, this class could top out at 39 wins. Prior to last season, Missouri had not won nine games in a season in 38 years. This class will, at a bare minimum, average nine wins a year. That number could creep very close to ten. This class will, without a doubt, play in four bowl games. The last Missouri class to be able to say that? The Class of 1981. For some perspective, Andy Hill has been coaching at Missouri for 13 years. He was in his second season as a player in 1981.

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