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Commute: Who is declaring for the NFL draft?

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The Morning Commute for Friday, January 3rd, 2024.

Welcome to the Morning Commute

We all need our moment, right? That’s the benefit of social media, it allows everyone to play the title role in their own script. With that said I’m not sure I fully understand declarations for the NFL Draft coming from players who don’t really have another choice as their eligibility is expiring. First we got Marcus Carroll, below is Johnny Walker’s announcement, and then Nate Noel did the same.

I’m happy for these guys. And for whomever else is to follow. I actually like letting players take their moment to say thanks to those who supported them, fans, family, coaches, and more. I think even fitting in something about looking forward to your next chapter in the NFL makes sense. Maybe it’s reading too much into it, but it’s always been odd to me that anyone with no further eligibility would have an announcement declaring for the draft.

I’m not even sure on the rules for declaring for the draft. Do you even really need to declare if you’re out of eligibility to play college? I honestly don’t know. I would think that the NFL would know you’re available to draft if you played in college and had used up all the years.

I mean I’m sure there’s paperwork involved at some point.

Again, I like guys taking a moment to say farewell. It’s a great gesture. But we know you’re gunning for a job in the NFL, guys. 😉

Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+

It was an Olympic sports kind of day yesterday, starting with the biggest news:

Welker has led the gymnastics program to unprecedented success in his 11 seasons with the Tigers, taking the team to four consecutive NCAA Regional Finals and a fifth place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2022.

I know it’s a bold take to say that I think you should do your best to lock up good coaches when you have them. Missouri has one with Welker, pay that man his money.

The Beauty & The Beast meet itself was last contested in January 2019, when the wrestling Tigers took on Central Michigan and the tumbling Tigers took on Auburn. This year’s meet will be considerably bigger, as the tumbling Tigers will be facing three teams for triple the excitement!

Mizzou Gym welcomes Ball State, Illinois State & SEMO. While Wrestling welcomes Cornell, stay tuned for Matthew’s preview of that this morning.

  • Rory previewed the Swim & Dive meet happening this morning so get your preview read before 11am:

Both the Cardinal men and women have had phenomenal success this season. The only time the Cardinals have not been at the top of the podium was the SMU Classic (the women won, the men took second) and the Ohio State Invitational (men took second, women took third). Both squads also have a commanding win on their resume: an upset win over Tennessee.

Williams IV earned more and more play time as the 2024 season progressed. And he did it at one of the most important positions on the field – left tackle. Williams grades out as a very good pass blocker (important for a left tackle, I’d say!) and an average-to-below run blocker at this point in his career. Given his age, however, one would expect him to improve on his overall game as he gets older.

Before we dig in, I need to mention scale. Coach Dennis Gates has used 219 lineups during non-conference play, but only a third amassed more than two minutes of playing time. If there’s a combination you have in mind, chances are Gates gave it a test drive.

However, he’s only allocated 6.9 percent of minutes to his most-used lineup. His top-10 groups have only logged 25 percent of available minutes. So, it’s safe to say that Gates and his coaching staff haven’t identified core groups to anchor the Tigers’ rotation.

Matt’s insight into the rotation plays well into a precursor / look ahead at Auburn. RockM+ gets better day by day. We also did a Live show for Dive Cuts last night!

Rock M Radio: SEC play is here for Dive Cuts!

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