Missouri high school football recruiting notebook: Ryan Wingo ready to announce, Arkansas commit offered by Michigan, Eureka OL earns big offers
Ryan Wingo’s college football recruitment started many years ago as he watched older brothers Ronnie and Raymond both go through the recruiting process.
Ronnie Wingo Jr., a talented running back, ended up at Arkansas. Raymond, a cornerback and wide receiver, picked Missouri.
It became obvious early on that the youngest Wingo brother would follow in their footsteps in playing college football and it didn’t take long for Ryan to start picking up scholarship offers from Power 5 schools from coast to coast.
Ryan was still in eighth grade when he received his first offer, from the University of Missouri, and he has added dozens of offers in the years since.
Now a senior at St. Louis University High, Wingo has developed into one of the top wide receiver prospects in the country and is ready to announce his college destination.
Wingo will make his announcement at 4 p.m. CT on Wednesday, October 25, from among a list of six finalists: Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Miami.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound speedster has been linked to Georgia, Texas and Missouri in recent months and, most recently, several recruiting insiders have predicted he will stay home and commit to the Missouri Tigers.
Missouri is off to an impressive 6-1 start this season following last week’s win at Kentucky and the Tigers have been led by local talent like sophomore wide receiver Luther Burden III (East St. Louis, Ill.) and junior quarterback Brady Cook (Chaminade).
Burden, one of the top prospects nationally in the Class of 2022, has 56 catches for 808 yards and five touchdowns through seven games. Cook is averaging 293.4 passing yards per game.
Missouri’s top 25 high school football prospects entering 2023 season
It’s also worth noting that the state of Missouri has made it possible for high school athletes who commit to in-state schools to start earning NIL compensation as soon as they sign with those schools.
That is believed to be a factor in Lee’s Summit North senior edge rusher Williams Nwaneri, the top defensive prospect in the Class of 2024, in committing to the Tigers two months ago.
Missouri also offered a preferred walk-on spot to one of Wingo’s teammates, senior wide receiver Joseph Harris, earlier this week.
Harris already has scholarship offers from Northern Iowa, Marshall, Air Force, Ball State, Navy and Western Illinois.
Where will Wingo go? We’ll find out soon enough.
ARKANSAS COMMIT OFFERED BY MICHIGAN
Cardinal Ritter junior running back Jamarion Parker committed to Arkansas on September 1, but his recruitment could take plenty of twists and turns before the speedster is able to make it official.
Parker was recently “re-offered” by Michigan – where former Ritter teammate Fredrick Moore is a freshman wide receiver – and the junior has indicated he will take a look at the Wolverines.
“I’m not going to stop anyone from recruiting me, so whoever wants to recruit me can recruit me, and I will look into it,” Parker said following his team’s 34-21 win over Hillsboro on Saturday. “But other than that I’m with the Razorbacks for right now.”
Parker, who has racked up 1,103 total yards (902 rushing, 201 receiving) and 13 touchdowns this season despite two opponent forfeits, said weeks ago that it was an easy decision to commit to Arkansas because of the relationships he has made with the coaches and how much they showed he was a priority recruit.
“They’ve been recruiting me hard since my freshman year and me and Coach (Jimmy) Smith been talking for a long time,” Parker said after making his commitment to the Razorbacks. “It feels like home. They wanted me a lot. From the head coach (Sam Pittman) to the coaching staff. Everybody was calling me. I’ve talked to the head coach multiple times. That was really the only head coach that really Facetimed me. So that really stood out to me. They are always telling me how bad they wanted me.”
Parker's strong junior season will attract more attention from schools, as will the play of talented junior teammates like quarterback Carson Boyd and wide receiver Dejerrian Miller.
Boyd, who has thrown for 1,234 yards and 14 touchdowns this season without an interception, has early offers from Texas A&M, Missouri, Illinois, Purdue, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Central Florida, Missouri State and Ball State. His older brother, Ryan, is a freshman wide receiver at Missouri State.
Miller, a 6-3, 190-pounder who has 27 catches for 522 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, has offers from Michigan, Tennessee, Miami, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Purdue, Minnesota, Indiana, Kansas and UNLV.
Cardinal Ritter tops Hillsboro in battle of Missouri high school football unbeaten squads
EUREKA 2025 OL ADDS BIG OFFERS
Eureka junior left tackle Jack Lange has emerged as one of the fastest rising prospects in the midwest in the Class of 2025.
A 6-8, 275-pounder, Lange received his first offer from Nebraska on June 11. Since then he’s picked up offers from Missouri, Kansas State, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and Ole Miss.
He took a game day visit to Iowa earlier this month and is headed to Kansas State this weekend.
The offers from Michigan and Ole Miss came in the past few days and Lange, who has put together impressive film this season, is sure to receive more attention and offers when college coaches see his junior film and see him in person.
HERMANN 2025 EDGE RUSHER ATTRACTS ATTENTION
Hermann, located roughly halfway between St. Louis and Columbia, hasn't been a hotbed for college football prospects over the years, but Daeden Hopkins may make it a destination for coaches over the next 12 months.
A long and lean 6-6, 210-pound junior edge rusher and tight end, Hopkins has emerged as a legitimate Power 5 prospect this season and is garnering more and more attention – and scholarship offers.
Hopkins picked up his first offer, from Iowa State, on September 9. Then he added an offer from Kansas State on Sept. 29 and an offer from Kansas on Oct. 3.
Hermann is 6-2 this season going into Friday's regular season finale at Union and Hopkins has made an impact on both sides of the ball.
He's credited with 44 tackles, five sacks and a fumble recovery on defense and has a team-high 33 receptions for 553 yards and nine touchdowns. He is also the Bearcats' kicker and punter.
Hopkins will be a big name to watch this offseason as more schools find out about him, watch his junior film and see him in person.
DE SMET JUNIOR QB OFFERED BY DUKE
De Smet junior quarterback Dillon Duff has excelled in his first year as the Spartans’ starting quarterback, helping them to a 7-0 record, a Metro Catholic Conference championship and the No. 3 spot in the SBLive Missouri Power 25 rankings.
The 6-3, 190-pounder is also gaining momentum on the recruiting trail.
Duff picked up offers from Miami-Ohio, Kent State, Indiana and Minnesota in June and recently added offers from Central Florida and Duke.
Through the first seven games this season, Duff completed 55.6 percent of his passes (55 of 99) for 809 yards, with nine touchdowns against three interceptions, and ran for 378 yards and five TDs.
The Spartans are averaging 41 points per game – 51.75 per game in four MCC victories – and have primarily leaned on their powerful offensive line and strong rushing attack. Duff has attempted more than 16 passes only once this season.
LIBERTY NORTH SPEEDSTER COMMITS TO SEMO
Liberty North senior Jacorey Love established himself as one of the Show-Me State's top running backs the past two seasons at KC Center, including rushing for 1,747 yards and scoring 34 total touchdowns a year ago, before transferring.
Now the 5-10, 185-pound speedster is thriving as part of a loaded Liberty North squad that is 7-1 and ranked second in the SBLive Missouri Power 25.
Love committed to Southeast Missouri State this week.
Love was offered by Southern Illinois and SEMO in June and added an offer from Missouri State in September. He also has several Division II offers.
HOLT STANDOUT FLIPS COMMITMENT
Talented Holt defensive lineman Mason Burke committed to Murray State earlier this year but flipped his commitment to Lindenwood University on Oct. 3.
Burke, a 6-4, 275-pounder, was offered Murray State and Western Illinois before picking up an offer from nearby Lindenwood on September 20.
Burke is having a breakout senior season with 63 tackles, including 18 for losses, and nine sacks through the first eight games. He had 54 tackles, three sacks and four fumble recoveries as a junior after primarily playing running back as a sophomore.
Burke recently added an offer from Missouri State, so schools are continuing to recruit the Holt standout defensive lineman.
Missouri high school football Top 25 scoreboard (10/20/2023)
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- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz