Missouri DE talks favorites

Springfield (Mo.) Hillcrest defensive end Chris Earnhardt might be the top player in Southwest Missouri to come out in quite some time.

With offers from teams like Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri, it's easy to see why he's earned that reputation.

But when you watch the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder on film it's also easy to see why the schools have offered him. He's aggressive and tough and also does a good job of getting after the quarterback, racking up 110 tackles as a junior.

Practices start in Missouri on Monday of next week, but Earnhardt will have to kind of take things easy because he fractured a couple of knuckles on his right hand a camp last Wednesday.

"I couldn't feel my hand at all," Earnhardt said. "It was my upper knuckle. I'm basically out for four weeks, but the good news is that I won't miss any games. The doctor said I could still practice, but I can't get too physical. I can do all the conditioning and instruction, but I can't have too much contact."

But Earnhardt has had plenty of contact with college coaches the past few days. He took unofficial visits to both Kansas State and Kansas on Monday. He's slated to head to Missouri and Illinois on Wednesday.

Heading into the unofficial visits, Earnhardt had listed K-State as his top team. Did the visits to Manhattan and Lawrence change things?

"They're still No. 1 right now," Earnhardt said. "They're doing the best job of recruiting me. They're building new offices, locker room and weight room. They also provide good academic support. I'm being recruited by Mo Latimore, and I really like him.

"The whole staff is so down to earth, and I could feel comfortable playing for them."

But the Jayhawks also impressed and KU will be a factor in this battle that's expected to last all the way until December when he takes official visits.

"I saw a lot of the same things at Kansas, that I saw at K-State, but they're not doing any construction," Earnhardt said. "They have a really good academic program. I met the academic advisor. I learned a lot. I talked a lot to Coach Q (Nick Quartaro). I got to talk to all the coaches.

"I spent some time with Mark Mangino, too. I'm really high on their list, they say."

Earnhardt is heading to Mizzou and Illinois tomorrow if things go as planned.

"I'll probably stop at Missouri first since it's on the way," he said. "I'm also going to Illinois, so I can learn more about the academics and see what they have to offer. I don't know much about them. I haven't talked to Missouri in a while, so it'll be good to see what's going on up there."

Earnhardt expects to line up December official visits and take his time making up his mind.

"I don't want to rush this," he said. "This is a big decision."