Dorial Green-Beckham to Missouri: Can the Tigers Compete in the SEC Right Away?

After a mediocre 8-5 season in the Big 12, the Missouri Tigers certainly have their work cut out for them as they enter arguably the best conference in the nation in the SEC. The Tigers have been know more recently as an offensive-minded team with a plethora of athletes to use in the passing game, and today they landed the ultimate receiver to utilize in their passing attack. According to kansascity.com, Missouri landed a commitment from highly touted and sought after wide receiver prospect, Dorial Green-Beckham.

Green-Beckham is the No. 1 rated player overall according to Rivals and his commitment is absolutely huge for Missouri. The product out of Springfield, Missouri is a massive 6' 6", 220 lbs but runs a blazing 4.40 in the 40 yard dash. He is the ideal receiver and although he won't win an SEC title on his own, he puts Missouri in the right direction.

Gimmicks, tricks, and systems alone won't be effective in the SEC. In order to really succeed and be a competitive opponent, you need athletes, and great ones at that. No player in the 2012 class is a better athlete than Green-Beckham, considering his size and athletic ability, and he is the type of recruit that can dominate in any conference. Any team will be hard-pressed to lock down Green-Beckham and he has the ability to sway any game in the Tigers favor.

All this aside, Green-Beckham is only one player, and one player, especially at the wide receiver position, can't win an SEC title on his own. First of all, he needs an effective QB to get him the ball and he has that in James Franklin at Missouri. Franklin started this past year as a sophomore and threw for a solid 2,865 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions so, the foundation is there. However, the Tigers must surround their new No. 1 recruit with other weapons in order to succeed in the SEC. While pieces like T.J. Moe and Wes Kemp are nice options, Missouri may need more athletes. 

Missouri must also be able to put together solid recruiting classes. This is where Green-Beckham can aid his new program off the field as well as on it. As of now, Missouri's recruiting class ranks outside the top 50 and this will not cut it if they want to win in the SEC at a high rate. Green-Beckham is the type of recruit that will appeal to future recruits and even some prospects of the 2012 class that have not made their mind up yet. He must be the Tigers No. 1 recruiter in order to surround himself with top athletes and attract big time recruits on the other side of the ball to solidify the defense.

Missouri is very far from winning an SEC championship but the commitment of Dorial Green-Beckham is the perfect step in the right direction. He's the type of athlete that can win games but not too many on his own. In order for the Tigers to compete at a high level in the SEC, they need to do a better job in the recruiting game, solidify their defense, and surround their newest commit with other solid athletes. As of now, playing in the SEC is still an uphill battle for Missouri, but the coaches, players, and fans of this program should be extremely excited with their new building block.