Tag: Mizzou

Dru Smith Q&A: ‘There were plenty of days of frustration’

Dru Smith, a two-way guard for the Miami Heat, is rumored to be soon converted to a standard multi-year contract after the team traded Thomas Bryant creating cap flexibility. At 6-foot-3, Smith has impacted coach Erik Spoelstra’s rotation with his …

Dru Smith, a two-way guard for the Miami Heat, is rumored to be soon converted to a standard multi-year contract after the team traded Thomas Bryant creating cap flexibility.

At 6-foot-3, Smith has impacted coach Erik Spoelstra‘s rotation with his defensive energy, a knack for hitting open looks, and ability to play on-or-off ball. After an impressive college career at Evansville and Missouri, he has spent the past four years bouncing between the NBA and the G League with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (and briefly with the Long Island Nets), where he was consistently a standout performer.

In an interview with HoopsHype, Smith shared how he has been navigating his career obstacles like recovering from a torn ACL, making the most out of every chance he gets and more.

Where the New Orleans Saints were scouting 2025 draft prospects this week

Where were the New Orleans Saints scouting 2025 draft prospects this week? Their scouts were spotted at a couple of high-profile matchups:

Where were the New Orleans Saints scouting during this week’s college football games? Their scouting department is spread out nationwide catching  games and filling out reports on 2025 NFL draft prospects, but we only know where they are when it’s reported. This week’s news had them at several high-profile matchups.

Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Eli Hoff, the Saints were one of six teams scouting Mizzou’s game with Auburn. It’s at least the second time this season they were watching Missouri live, and the school’s best prospect is wide receiver Luther Burden III, a likely top-10 pick in the 2025 draft class. The 5-foot-11, 208-pound wideout totaled 6 receptions for 49 yards against Auburn and is up to 168 catches, 2,034 yards, and 19 touchdowns in his career. He’s also gained 209 rushing yards and scored four times on just 30 carries as a runner.

But that’s not all. The Saints joined half the league in scouting all of the early-round prospects competing in Texas-Georgia on Saturday night, a game the Bulldogs won handily. Quarterbacks Carson Beck and Quinn Ewers have both also earned top-10 buzz, but they took a step back against the future NFL players on each other’s defenses. Beck was intercepted three times and Ewers was briefly benched in favor of Arch Manning after throwing an interception and taking several sacks.

This may not be the year to look for a quarterback early on. The Saints need help at multiple positions, and it could be worth taking the best player available if they hold onto their position with a top-10 pick. We’re waiting for the rest of Week 7’s games to resolve, but Sunday morning’s Jacksonville Jaguars win put the Saints at No. 6 overall.

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Saints among 10 teams with scouts at Texas A&M vs. Missouri

The New Orleans Saints were among 10 teams with scouts at Texas A&M’s game with Missouri on Saturday. Who could they have been scouting?

There’s always a strong contingent of NFL scouts at Kyle Field, but the New Orleans Saints were in that number for Saturday’s matchup between Texas A&M and Missouri, per Joey Van Zummeren at Missouri Tigers on SI. Which 2025 draft prospects could the Saints have their eye on?

Defensive end/outside linebacker Nic Scourton is the top prospect for the Aggies, and he has the size the Saints covet at a listed 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds. Before transferring from Purdue he led the Big 10 in sacks (10) in 2023, and he’s seen as a sure thing for the first round. His teammates along the defensive interior, Shemar Stewart and Shemar Turner, are also likely to be picked early next year, and quarterback Conner Weigman is high on some draft boards, too.

But the best prospect in the game was wide receiver Luther Burden. A potential first overall pick in his own right, Burden broke out with 85 receptions for 1,212 yards and scored 9 touchdowns last year, and he’s since picked up where he left off with four scores in as many games. Right tackle  Armand Membou has an NFL future, too, and his matchup with Scourton could do a lot to impact his draft stock.

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Notre Dame Football: Drew Pyne Through the Years

Photos of former Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne as he now heads to Missouri to continue his college football career.

It’s been quite the ride for former Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne.

Pyne committed to the Fighting Irish back in April of 2018 before enrolling and being a part of the 2020 team that wound making the College Football Playoff.

Pyne helped save the day against Wisconsin in the 2021 game at Soldier Field and after an injury to Tyler Buchner, started the final 10 games of the 2022 regular season that saw the Irish go 8-4.

After that regular season he transferred however, spending last fall at Arizona State.  He re-enrolled at Notre Dame this semester to take classes and reports have him on the move again as he’s headed to Missouri to continue his football career.

Below are some of the best photos of Drew Pyne during his time at Notre Dame from 2020-2022 when he threw for 2,257 yards and 24 touchdowns in 17 games.

Despite Razorbacks’ win at Mizzou, social media still focused on rumors

Social media not so harsh after Arkansas gets needed win at Missouri.

It wasn’t exactly all positive vibes coming from social media after Arkansas’ basketball victory Wednesday night. But, at least, the feedback provided less jabs than usual at the struggling program,

Although it was against a winless conference team, the Razorbacks (11-10, 2-6 SEC) looked much more motivated on the road in the 91-84 win over Missouri (8-13, 0-8 SEC). The win also stopped a three-game losing streak.

Even with the positive outcome of the game, most of the scuttlebutt continuing to surface on social media remained focused on the rumor mill that has been churning around the program, about some off-the-court issues with the team and a few players.

The Razorbacks seemed to have blocked out the noise, which has apparently been affecting the program of late, and jumped to a quick lead that they never relinquished.

Makhi Mitchell celebrated his 24th birthday on the court with a stellar performance for the Hogs, chalking up 19 points and 14 rebounds, for his second consecutive double-double.

Here are some of the posts that appeared on X, following the game:

Ohio State flops in Cotton Bowl as Lou Holtz again trends on social media

Pssst – Lou was right.

Lou Holtz may be just a week shy of his 87th birthday but that doesn’t mean the legendary former head football coach at Notre Dame doesn’t still see the game well.

Holtz made comments about Ohio State not being physical enough during an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show” the day before Notre Dame battled the Buckeyes in September.  Notre Dame didn’t win the game, but that doesn’t mean what Holtz said wasn’t true.

Holtz mentioned Ohio State had a bunch of wins under Ryan Day, but that the common theme in each of their losses under their head coach was the team was out-physicaled.

That was once again the case in Friday night’s Goodyear Cotton Bowl as the Buckeyes fell to Missouri, 14-3.

Ohio State’s defense played well, but the biggest difference in the game came late. Ohio State ran for 97 yards all night. Missouri gained 94 yards on 17 rush attempts in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line.

Out-physicaled in money time again.

Oh, and social media had a field (Ryan) Day on the Buckeyes head coach while referencing Lou Holtz. Check out some of the best below.

Kirby Moore signs contract extension at Missouri

Seems like you can cross him off the list…

One offensive coordinator who has gained a ton of national respect in the last two seasons is Kirby Moore.  2023 was Moore’s first at Missouri as he helped the Tigers to a 10-2 regular season and berth in the Cotton Bowl to take on Ohio State.

Here at Fighting Irish Wire we named him as a possibility to be Notre Dame’s next offensive coordinator.

As of Thursday night that doesn’t seem to be the case as Moore has signed a contract extension at Missouri.

Terms were not yet disclosed and stranger things have certainly happened but it would appear that Moore isn’t leaving Columbia, Missouri this off-season.

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Notre Dame offensive coordinator candidate: Kirby Moore

Will Notre Dame’s offense be Kirby’s dream land?

Rather unexpectedly, at least by those that watched Notre Dame’s offense up close in 2023, Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Gerad Parker has taken the head coach job at Troy.

Him doing so leaves a vacancy for Notre Dame at offensive coordinator yet again as the Irish will spend part of the off-season searching for a new play caller.  This is the third time in four off-seasons that Notre Dame has had to conduct such a search.

Here at Fighting Irish Wire we will be researching any and all of the names that get rumored or linked to the opening to arm you with the best information on each candidate.

A hot name in coaching circles is Kirby Moore, the current offensive coordinator at Missouri.  What makes Moore such an intriguing candidate?

Here’s what you need to know about the man currently calling plays for Elijah Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers:

Chiefs LB Nick Bolton spotted attending Mizzou football kickoff at Faurot Field

Nick Bolton was in attendance for #Mizzou’s season kickoff ahead of the #Chiefs’ first regular season game against the Detroit #Lions next week

Linebacker Nick Bolton is something of a hero in the Show Me State after playing his college ball at the University of Missouri and being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs back in 2021.

He is a hard-hitting presence on the Chiefs’ defense and rose to prominence last season as Kansas City made its way toward Super Bowl LVII. Bolton’s scoop-and-score in the championship game cemented his place in Chiefs history forever, but the tenacious linebacker hasn’t forgotten his roots in Columbia, Missouri.

He was spotted attending Mizzou’s 2023 season kickoff at Faurot Field on Thursday, marking a homecoming that is sure to please fans of both teams ahead of Kansas City’s regular season kickoff next week.

The Tigers achieved victory with Bolton in attendance, outscoring the South Dakota Coyotes by a 35-10 margin to start their season 1-0.

Bolton will be sure to bring the Tigers’ competitive fire with him when the Chiefs face the Detroit Lions on September 7.

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Missouri gets commitment from No. 1 ranked DL recruit in class of 2024

33 other programs made Nwaneri offers, including Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Alabama.

Missouri had been quiet throughout the 2024 recruiting cycle. However, on Monday, they got a commitment from the best defensive line prospect in a class that is positively stacked with them.

Here’s how Lee’s Summit North (Mo.) five-star defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri announced that he’s staying in-state and committing to Mizzou.

Nwaneri (6-foot-5, 250 pounds) is not only ranked No. 1 at his position, he’s first overall in the state of Missouri and No. 3 nationally in his class behind Dylan Raiola and Jeremiah Smith.

According to Hayes Fawcett at On3, Nwaneri says he has a good relationship with the coaches at Missouri.

“Really how comfortable I was with the coaching staff. Knowing that I’ll have the opportunity to come in and have a chance to play as a freshman was also big and to do it at home makes it even better… I’m pretty close with Coach Drink and Coach Peoples. We talk often, almost everyday. They see me fitting into the defense rushing off the edge and maybe drop me into coverage sometimes.”

Thirty-three other programs made Nwaneri offers, including Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Alabama.

The Tigers’ class of 2024 now has 12 hard commits, of which Nwaneri is the only five-star recruit so far. This group ranks No. 55 in the nation.

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