Gary Pinkel looks the same as he did when he strolled on the JFK Stadium turf this time last year. He still has the khaki shorts with a University of Missouri-colored shirt -- this time, it's yellow.
But as Pinkel evaluated the local talent at Monday's one-day camp in Springfield, reality is hardly the same for the coach and his Tigers football program after the best year in the school's history.
The Tigers (12-2) reached No. 1 in the national polls, won the Big 12 North championship for the first time and were the only team to have wins over two Bowl Championship Series schools (Kansas and Illinois).
The profile has been raised. And the first fruit of that labor? It has shown up in Mizzou's recruiting.
"There's no question that we've seen the recruiting aspect of it notched up,"
Pinkel said. "That comes with success. Still, our priority is to keep the top players in Missouri."
"We've made a lot of strides here, as well as make strides in Oklahoma and Texas."
With a freshly renegotiated annual paycheck of $1.85 million for the next seven years, Pinkel has enhanced the Mizzou brand name, securing the No. 24 recruiting class in the country, according to Rivals.com --the highest in school history.
While Pinkel said he doesn't take a lot of stock in ranking recruiting classes, there's no doubt he's close to turning the borders into steel walls.
Among the Tigers' top recruits were St. Louisans who spurned out-of-state oral commitments to stay in Missouri, Parkway West High School quarterback Blaine Gabbert (Nebraska) and DeSmet wide receiver Wes Kemp (Wisconsin). Add in former DeSmet star Munir Prince, who has transferred to Missouri from Notre Dame, and it's obvious the profile is rising.
Because of that, Glendale's Alex Sanders said he was excited and nervous Monday.
"I want a scholarship there. I feel like I'm trying out for the team,"
Sanders said.
Sanders, an All-Ozarks wide receiver with a Division I body (6-foot-5, 205 pounds), said he's being recruited by Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Vanderbilt and Missouri State.
Only MSU has offered Sanders a scholarship, but the others have told him his size and his statistics -- 71 receptions for 1,171 yards and 12 touchdowns last year -- are attractive.
But besides Hillcrest's Chris Earnhardt --who will be a redshirt freshman next season -- Division I football recruits from Springfield are rare. Earnhardt, a defensive end, was the first Springfield D-I football player since Kickapoo's Jared Helming in 2000, who went to Nebraska.
But neither Missouri's higher profile nor Springfield's history has stopped Sanders from going after what he wants.
"I've been going to MU games since I was little and I've grown up being a fan,"
Sanders said. "I have other schools I like, too, but I'm here to get a scholarship."
So were others. Pinkel said the 115 players at JFK were the most here since he began the statewide camps in 2001. He also set a record with 625 at St. Louis on Sunday and expects today's Kansas City camp to break records, too.
Once the players are recruited and the season starts, Pinkel knows that is when the real expectations kick in. And he couldn't be happier.
"We win in Missouri now,"
he said. "But can you win at a higher level in Missouri? Can you finish nationally ranked most every year? Can you make a run at it? That's the consistency we'd like to have."
The Tigers are locks to be ranked high in the preseason top 25 polls, quarterback Chase Daniel will look to win the Heisman Trophy -- rather than settle for a nomination -- and the school again will fight for its first Big 12 championship, which would land the school's first BCS bid.
"I don't look at it as pressure; I look at it as something you want,"
Pinkel said. "If you're scared of success, you should do something else."
