M-I-Z ... D-G-B, indeed.
Gary Pinkel and Missouri pulled in the big one Wednesday morning when Dorial Green-Beckham --- a 6-6, 220-pound wide receiver from Springfield Hillcrest --- signed his national letter-of-intent to join the Tigers.
This guy was more sought-after than a cup of water in the desert.
He was ranked the top recruit --- at ANY position --- by Rivals. His decision was announced nationally on ESPN.
"It was an eventful morning," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. "I was in my office, but I didn't want to watch it. I was just hoping somebody would start screaming."
They did.
"Certainly, it was a great moment for the University of Missouri, our football program and the fans. It's a statement about where we've come from, where we're at and most importantly, where we're going to go."
The announcement came at Hillcrest.
"This morning," Green-Beckham said, "it is an honor to announce I will be continuing my education this fall at ..."
He then turned and put on a Mizzou hat, to the roar of the crowd.
"I jumped out of my seat, man, I was pretty excited when I heard the screaming," Pinkel said.
Pinkel later watched the video.
"When he put that hat on and had a smile as big as could be and the place went crazy, that was awesome."
Green-Beckham, who has 4.4 speed, put up some staggering numbers at Hillcrest.
He amassed a national prep record of 6,353 receiving yards and 75 receiving touchdowns in his career, closing it out with 119 receptions for 2,233 yards and 24 touchdowns as a senior.
He was Named the National Player of the Year in 2011 by Sports Illustrated, Parade Magazine, and USA Today, and he's a two-time First-Team USA Today All-America.
"He's a great football player," Pinkel said. "The Mizzou stock market went up a little bit today."
Green-Beckham was recruited by virtually every college in the country, but it came down to Missouri and Arkansas.
How's this for irony: Pinkel addressed the media in the Clinton Room on Wednesday. No, not that one, but still ...
"The fans, the people around me ... just to stay home and have these guys support me is great," Green-Beckham said. "I have a great relationship with the (Missouri) coaches, the players the people ... the atmosphere's just been outstanding for me."
Part of that atmosphere came last Saturday during Missouri's basketball game with Texas Tech. Green-Beckham was on hand, was spotted, and received the biggest cheer of the day.
"Our student body knew he was at the game and they got involved, and that was cool," Pinkel said. "We walk a lot of our recruits through, but a lot of people don't know who they are.
"But they obviously knew who he was."
There was another helping hand in this process --- another recruit, Maty Mauk, a 6-2, 200-pound quarterback from Kenton, Oh.
"He's got a great arm and he's a leader ... he's a very talented guy," Pinkel said of Mauk. "He's also a great basketball player, but he hasn't been playing because he had a strained back and they wanted him to rest it.
"His first game was last Friday night. Then he jumped in the car with his brother and drove all night to Columbia, so he could help recruit.
"That's a team guy, that's leadership."
Pinkel and his staff took a helicopter on some recruiting trips, including one to Springfield. Convenience or effect?
"I would suggest," Pinkel said, "that it's a little more for effect."
But like anything else in life, it wasn't easy.
"We were just flying around, looking at the beautiful Missouri landscape and the animals, and we decided to go to Springfield," Pinkel said with a smile. "The electricial system went out completely and we couldn't communicate with the airport.
"So talk about someone putting their life on the line for a recruit ..."
Green-Beckham will likely hit the ground runnning. And catching. And scoring touchdowns.
"I don't think there's any question that he can make an immediate impact and be in a position to make big plays, because he's so athletically gifted," ESPN's Tom Luginbill said after Green-Beckham's announcement.
"It means something that he doesn't go to Alabama, he doesn't go to LSU, he doesn't go to Florida To have this caliber of player stay home as Missouri heads to the SEC, that's huge."
It can only help. Missouri's recruiting class was ranked 20th in the nation --- but just eighth in the SEC.
Wow.
"There's a lot of football in the country, but there's one place that really plays football, and that's the Southeastern Conference," Pinkel said.
"There's a lot of pride in those states about their football, and that's all good."
Here's the complete list of Missouri's signees on Wednesday:
Evan Boehm, OL, 6-3, 290 (Lee's Summit West)
Torey Boozer, LB, 6-3, 210 (Everman, Tex.)
Harold Brantley, DL, 6-2, 280 (Hershey, Pa.)
Levi Copelin, athlete, 6-2, 180 (Broken Arrow, Okla.)
Chaston Cuffee, DB, 6-1, 185 (Cleburne, Tex.)
Sean Culkin, TE, 6-5, 226 (Largo, Fla.)
John Gibson, DB, 5-10, 175 (Missouri City, Tex.)
Markus Golden, LB, 6-3, 240 (Hutchison CC)
Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, 6-6, 220 (Springfield Hillcrest)
Russell Hansbrough, TB, 5-9, 180 (Arlington, Tex.)
Rickey Hatley, DL, 6-4, 245 (Atlanta, Tex.)
Maty Mauk, QB, 6-2, 200 (Kenton, Oh.)
Michael Sherer, LB, 6-2, 230 (MICDS)
Donavin Newsom, LB, 6-2, 2290 (Parkway North)
Morgan Steward, TB, 5-11, 182 (Staley)
Ka'Ra Stewart, DB, 5-10, 190 (O'Fallon, Ill.)
Jordan Williams, OL, 6-4, 270 (Denton, Tex.)
Darius White, WR, 6-3, 200 (Transfer from Univ. Texas)
Evan Winston, DL, 6-3, 270 (Muskegon Heights, Mich.)
"It's a very, very good class overall ... most of these guys could have gone a lot of other good places," Pinkel said.
But the prize catch is Green-Beckham, who was heavily recruited by the entire staff, not just Pinkel. One of the main men was offensive coordinator David Yost, who sports a mop-top of long, blond hair.
"I'd like for coach Yost to cut his hair," Green-Beckham said, "but I don't think that will be happening anytime soon.
"That's okay, he's a good man."
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