Dorial Green-Beckham signs with Missouri on 2012 National Signing Day

Once Dorial Green-Beckham placed the ball cap on his head, revealing his college of choice, MaxPreps' top-ranked football player in the Class of 2012 turned to a patient but packed house, and a national television audience, to reveal his school of choice.

As the crowd erupted and the mantra D-G-B, M-I-Z…D-G-B, M-I-Z echoed through the gymnasium at Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.), it became apparent that his decision to play football for Gary Pinkel at Missouri was the right decision in their hearts.

"I think it's exciting," said Hornets fan Thomas Moeller, who has known Green-Beckham since he was 5 years old. "With him being born around I think St. Louis and now being here in Springfield he has a lot of following."

Ultimately, Green-Beckham's decision came down to remaining close to home and the relationship he had built with the Missouri coaching staff.

"I just wanted to be close to home and to be close to my friends and family," Green-Beckham said at a press conference following his announcement, "and to have everybody come out here and support me.

"I slept on it Monday and it felt good the next day, so I woke up and told my parents where I wanted to attend college."

During the recruiting process, the 2012 U.S. Air Force All-American had built a solid relationship with all of the other coaching staffs in his final five, which included Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and Arkansas. And that was important to Green-Beckham.

While all of the coaching staffs at these schools bent over backwards for the nation's No. 1 recruit, who also had a large following on Twitter as well as Facebook, Missouri seemed to stand out.

"There was a comfort level there that I think we all felt comfortable with," John Beckham, Green-Beckham's adoptive father and football coach, said. "It seemed in the final days leading up to his announcement, that he was becoming more comfortable with Missouri.

"I really think it came down to he felt very good with the coaching staff and the people there, and it was a good fit for him."

Unlike most parents in the recruiting process, Beckham was never in a position to get away from it all. Doubling as Green-Beckham's coach, it seemed there was always a phone to pick up, an email to answer or mail to open. In other words he was fair game to the media blitz.

Beckham was hoping for a more formal announcement, but he knew that was unrealistic. Instead of bringing in the media blitz that took over the Hillcrest campus Wednesday morning, Beckham simply wanted Green-Beckham to sign his National Letter of Intent, fax it in and then have the school district send out a press release.

"This has been a great honor for him," Beckham said of all of the publicity surrounding his son's career. "He had a great high school career. But this chapter is over and the next chapter will begin real soon. He's going to have to work hard to prepare himself for that next chapter."

During the recruiting process, Green-Beckham never concerned himself with which school had the largest stadium, and the craziest crowd. Or who had the most trophies in their larger-than-life trophy cases.

The MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year from 2010 just wanted to surround himself with a coach and coaching staff that believed in a lot of the same values that he learned while growing up under the same roof as John and Tracy Beckham.

"His personality is what I liked about him," Green-Beckham said of Pinkel. "I liked how humble the coaching staff is and how they treat their players."

By siding with Pinkel and Mizzou, Green-Beckham will be joining an athletic program that will be wading through the waters of change alongside Green-Beckham. As he walks onto the Columbia, Mo., campus for the first time as a student, the Tiger athletic program will be jumping ship from the Big 12 Conference and into the SEC.

Green-Beckham said he's ready for change and that he's up to the challenge.

"It's going to be a big-time atmosphere, to play those types of teams," he said. "But, then again, I think we're going to be able to hold our own."

While football is the sport that has been his podium for the better part of the last three years, it may not be the only athletic endeavor he tackles in college.

In fact, many of the schools that recruited the 6-foot-6, 225-pound speedster from southwestern Missouri visited with Green-Beckham about playing basketball and competing in track and field.

Missouri was no exception, often nudging the 4.4-second in the 40-meters speedster in the direction of basketball. Green-Beckham, however, was very clear Wednesday that he just wants to have a little time to consider his options and to finish out his prep basketball season on a winning note.

A lot like fellow Mizzou signee, dual threat quarterback Maty Mauk out of Kenton, Ohio, Green Beckham rewrote local, state and national records while playing for the Hornets. But he insisted that he and the MaxPreps No. 8 dual threat signal caller didn't get together and make a pact to go to the same school.

On the eve of his signing, Twitter was going crazy with speculation as to where the nation's best football player may finally call home. It appeared that anyone that had ever heard his name wanted to weigh in on Green-Beckham's final destination.

"People thought they knew, of course, and Twitter was going crazy," Moeller said of the rumors. "Last night people thought they knew for sure. The schools had already been notified and it was a done deal. Just a week ago I heard he was going to Alabama.

"I think he'll be a good fit at Missouri. Missouri turns out pros too. He's got a bright future ahead of him."

MaxPreps 2012 National Signing Day page