Missouri Tigers Football Countdown: 45 Days Until Franklin Agbasimere
There’s only 45 days left until the Missouri Tigers kick off their 2016 season at West Virginia, so today we honor number 45 for the Tigers, linebacker Franklin Agbasimere.
It’s safe to say the Missouri Tigers will be deep at the linebacker position in 2016.
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They return starters Michael Scherer and Donavin Newsom, and a cast of talented players who contributed on special teams in 2015, such as Brandon Lee, Joey Burkett, and Terez Hall, will be pushing to make their way into the team’s rotation. As those guys move from special teams roles to more significant jobs within the weekly defensive gameplan, one player who’s a candidate to pick up some of that playing time in the kicking game is linebacker Franklin Agbasimere, an insanely athletic player who’s still growing into his position to an extent at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds.
Agbasimere, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, moved to Florida in high school and picked up football, playing 18 games at the prep level while also playing soccer and participating in track. In a wholly unsurprising development, he redshirted during his first season on campus in 2015 as he continued to bulk up and become a football player, rather than just an athlete in a football uniform. Agbasimere was rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals as he came out of Montverde Academy in Florida last year.
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Agbasimere, who reportedly ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash in high school, would be a logical candidate to become part of Mizzou’s kickoff and punt teams in 2016. That’s where his fellow ‘backer and member of the 2015 recruiting class, Terez Hall, made his name, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Agbasimere do the same this year.