COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Raymond Wingo wants to be a Tiger.
The
standout cornerback prospect from St. Louis University High School in
St. Louis made a verbal commitment to Missouri on Tuesday morning. Well,
more accurately, he was trying to.
Wingo, who picked the Tigers
over Michigan State, Auburn and Arkansas, was attempting to call Mizzou
assistant coach Cornell Ford to make a verbal commitment, but the
coaches were at practice.
"When I went on the visit, I just fell
in love with it," said Wingo, who is a 3-star recruit by Scout.com and
Rivals.com and is rated the 30th-best cornerback prospect in the senior
class by Rivals. "I loved the coaches and the atmosphere."
Wingo,
a 6-foot-1, 170-pounder, took his official visit to Columbia over the
weekend. After thinking about it a little longer, he made his decision
Tuesday morning.
He cited the opportunity to come in and
possibly play early as a factor. The Tigers start two seniors, E.J.
Gaines and Randy Ponder, at cornerback, so those spots will be open. In
addition, a true freshman, Aarion Penton from CBC High School, was one
of their second-team cornerbacks this season -- a good sign for young
players.
"That's a key," Wingo said. "I don't know anybody that
wants to come and redshirt. Having a chance to come up and have a chance
to play, that's a plus for me."
Wingo, whose older brother
Ronnie played running back at Arkansas, has established himself as a
versatile playmaker at the high school level and is one of the fastest
prospects in the state.
He was a St. Louis Post-Dispatch
All-Metro first-team selection as a junior, when he racked up 1,733
total yards (1,379 rushing, 202 passing, 152 receiving) as a quarterback
and wide receiver and was credited with 23 tackles and a team-high five
interceptions. He accounted for a total of 27 touchdowns (20 rushing,
five on returns, two passing).
His numbers were down this fall
because he missed time with a hamstring injury, but Wingo still racked
up 723 total yards (482 rushing, 241 receiving) and scored nine
touchdowns on offense and recorded 24 tackles and two interceptions from
his cornerback spot.
Wingo was happy to have his decision over with.
After
seeing the recruiting process unfold for his brother, who picked
Arkansas over Mizzou, Wingo had a difficult decision to make after being
offered scholarships by several Southeastern Conference, Big Ten and
Big 12 schools.
"It's a relief," he said. "I feel different. There was so much stress put on me all this time."
You can follow Nate Latsch on Twitter (@natelatsch) or email him at natelatsch@gmail.com.
