Can a championship program be built with majority of MS players?

[Hector.sixpack]

I brought this up sometime ago, I think it was before Mullen came in and just wanted to rehash it a little since its something Mullen has harped on. I have always thought that we could, in fact, build a championship program with 75%-80% MS players. This state has enough SEC talent to fill most positions on the field- the entire defensive side of the ball, RB, slot, some WR spots. There are probably not as many true SEC OL and definitely not enough SEC QBs. It hurts having 3 major universities (well, 2.5) fighting for those top prospects plus LSU, BAMA, AU, but I have always believed the players were there if we could get most of them in maroon and white. I like that Mullen really believes in this strategy. There are some downsides: small state with fewer players, possible low talent years, filling certain positions some years, etc. But there is a lot of upside too- one to hope for would be becoming the default school for most D1 prospects.

Thoughts?

 

[Hector.sixpack]

I brought this up sometime ago, I think it was before Mullen came in and just wanted to rehash it a little since its something Mullen has harped on. I have always thought that we could, in fact, build a championship program with 75%-80% MS players. This state has enough SEC talent to fill most positions on the field- the entire defensive side of the ball, RB, slot, some WR spots. There are probably not as many true SEC OL and definitely not enough SEC QBs. It hurts having 3 major universities (well, 2.5) fighting for those top prospects plus LSU, BAMA, AU, but I have always believed the players were there if we could get most of them in maroon and white. I like that Mullen really believes in this strategy. There are some downsides: small state with fewer players, possible low talent years, filling certain positions some years, etc. But there is a lot of upside too- one to hope for would be becoming the default school for most D1 prospects.

Thoughts?

 

[FlabLoser]

I doubt Mullen's goal is to have all-MS players on the roster. Instead, his goal is for MSU to be the go-to school for MS's best players.

You think he's not going to recruit a good player from out of state just because a lesser player in MS says he wants to come here? Exhibit A: Dylan Favre. He was option C against options A and B from out of state.

 

[futaba.79]

sought outsome dude nobody has ever heard of to say it can't happen.

Not to hijack your thread, but the difference tone of the two CL articles is interesting. Mullen "lost out" on Thompson and Sanders, per Veazey. According to Brandt, Nutt got everybody in state that he targeted - except Coleman. And that my firends in complete BS.

 

[Hector.sixpack]

You think he's not going to recruit a good player from out of state just because a lesser player in MS says he wants to come here? Exhibit A: Dylan Favre. He was option C against options A and B from out of state.

No.
1. I said 75%-80%.
2. I said QB spots are hard to fill with MS players.
3. You really didnt answer the question.

 

[chew1095]

FlabLoser]I doubt Mullen's goal is to have all-MS players on the roster. Instead, his goal is for MSU to be the go-to school for MS's best players.

You think he's not going to recruit a good player from out of state just because a lesser player in MS says he wants to come here? Exhibit A: Dylan Favre. He was option C against options A and B from out of state.

I totally agree. I think some of our Webel friends have sort of twisted this around a little to make it look like Dan wants a team made up exclusively of Mississippi kids.
The simple fact of the matter is that there will always be Mississippi kids that are going to Ole Miss and there will always beMississippi kids that are going to State, regardless of the other schools recruiting efforts.
My one complaint about this years recruitingis that I dont think we cast a large enough net out of state. One significant difference between our class and Ole Miss' class was that down the stretch (the last few weeks or so), Ole Miss was bringing in 3/4 star players and we were bringing in 1/2 star players. You can do that if you are Ole Miss because you are coming off back to back Cotton Bowl wins. We, on the otherhand, do not have that luxury right now. We need to start winning. Period.
Other than those last few recruits that each school signed, I would take our top 20 (qualified)or so over theirs (qualified)any day of the week.

 

[BigLeagueChew]

1. Multiple SEC schools in MS. If there were only who got everyone they wanted, then.....
2. There's not enough players in MS who are SEC caliber to fill a signing each year. There are 10-12 legit SEC prospects each. Legit = multiple BCS other than State and OM (Vandy, KY don't count too).
3. You can't stop outside schools from taking stud athletes from the State.

 

[randystewart]

Because Nutt never wanted Johnson, Eulls, or Robinson........ I can promise you, that contrary to what is being reported, Nutt stayed after Robinson until about 8:30 yesterday morning. They also publicly begged Johnson to visit for months, that is of course until they became concerned that he was going to be the "MSU spy"

 

[Beatdown]

We definitely wanted Johnson and Eulls. I don't have any doubt about that. Both are very good players. But we didn't want Robinson. That may upset you guys to hear, but we didn't want him. And in a couple of years, I don't think you'll want him either. I believe he's the second coming of Aubrey Phillips.

 

[futaba.79]

the two SEC quality D-Lineman from MC. The two guys thatsat back and watched S. Panola rush for 400 yds.

 

[RebelBruiser]

You won't sweep the top talent in the state ever, but if you continue your current strategy, your team will be about 75-80% Mississippi players in another 3 years or so. That'll be your first test case.

 

[randystewart]

what Yancy fed you... but Nutt was still trying to get Robinson yesterday morning. I am not sure how that qualifies as "not wanting" him. I am not saying that he is going to be all world, or that we won a huge recruiting battle to get him, just that you have been fed BS on this one. The only reason that you were told that Nutt did not want him, is because it never looked good for OM with Robinson. Talk to anyone at OB close to the football program, and you will find that Nutt was still contacting Robinson yesterday.

 

[RebelBruiser]

I doubt Mullen's goal is to have all-MS players on the roster. Instead, his goal is for MSU to be the go-to school for MS's best players.

You think he's not going to recruit a good player from out of state just because a lesser player in MS says he wants to come here? Exhibit A: Dylan Favre. He was option C against options A and B from out of state.

I totally agree. I think some of our Webel friends have sort of twisted this around a little to make it look like Dan wants a team made up exclusively of Mississippi kids.
The simple fact of the matter is that there will always be Mississippi kids that are going to Ole Miss and there will always beMississippi kids that are going to State, regardless of the other schools recruiting efforts.
My one complaint about this years recruitingis that I dont think we cast a large enough net out of state. One significant difference between our class and Ole Miss' class was that down the stretch (the last few weeks or so), Ole Miss was bringing in 3/4 star players and we were bringing in 1/2 star players. You can do that if you are Ole Miss because you are coming off back to back Cotton Bowl wins. We, on the otherhand, do not have that luxury right now. We need to start winning. Period.
Other than those last few recruits that each school signed, I would take our top 20 (qualified)or so over theirs (qualified)any day of the week.

On qualifying, we'll probably only have 3 or 4 non-qualifiers at most. The others will be walk-ons or grayshirts to bring us back to the 22.

 

[Beatdown]

I do know this. North Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech, and Kentucky all wanted Bennett. Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan State, and Texas Tech all wanted Martin.

So that's good enough for me. You can be as high on Damien Robinson as you want. I'm just telling you we didn't want him. If that hurts your feelings, then take solace in the fact that we did want Eulls, Wells, and Johnson. I'm not trying to be a jerk here and act like you didn't get anyone that we wanted. You did. We just didn't want Robinson in particular. From what I've read, most schools backed off of him before it was over, so we aren't alone in that. We'll find out in 2 or 3 years whether or not he's any good. You say yes, I say no. No big deal.

 

[Banned Goat]

f**king idiots. Please go away.

 

[ckDOG]

But, we would have to absolutely dominate the in-state resources for that to happen. There are too many major programs to compete with in a small radius. That, or Mullen and staff have to be world class evaluators of overlooked talent.

So, yes it's possible, but it would have to be executed perfectly.

At any rate, let's not misinterpret this for what it really is - a marketing campaign. The easiest people to recruit will ALWAYS be people in your home state. There is no arguing that. Selling the in-state recruits on the image that "MSU is the place to go for MS kids" is only a way to make obtaining the talented kids a little easier. We'll always rely on out of state recruits as well - the MS numbers just aren't there.

I think is a great strategy considering Ole Miss has made a shift to out of state recruiting in recent years. It's simply trying to take advantage of what the opposition gives you. I applaud the strategy.

 

[Beatdown]

We didn't send the guy a LOI. You can pretend we were after him if you want to, but the fact is we weren't. Just weren't interested. We weren't alone. The talk is that most everyone pulled their offers to the guy. We absolutely DID want Coleman.

I'm trying to be completely up-front with you here. You can fight the battle all you want. But I'm not going to continue to discuss it with you when your only argument is "talk to anyone at OB close to the football program". Oldest line in the book.

 

[Banned Goat]

And I'm pretty sure nobody will EVER sweep the entire state of the top talent. USC can't even do that in their own state. Geez.

Do you really think the MS player stuff is anything more than coach-speak? Or are you just that damn stupid?

 

[Beatdown]

...and I'm still off the deep end. You take this way too seriously, friend.

 

[Banned Goat]

but saying you didn't want Damein Robinson is pure delusion. Absolute ********. Funny how a stereotype bleeds through everybody in a fanbase to an extent, and yeah I'm talking about your superiority complex.

 

[futaba.79]

is that I don't have any idea if we actively pursued any of the MC guys. Even though they rolled over in the big game,I stillassume we would've signed both. Thus my post was in sarcasm.

You, on the other hand, are dead serious about Robinson. Simple logic tells me that Nutt certainly would've signed Robinson.

</p>

 

[Banned Goat]

You can use Bennett and Martin's offer list religiously, not differentiating between verbal offers, who backed off, etc.......but Robinson's list wasn't legit? Even though they both had a bunch of schools on them, and Robinson was heavily recruited right to the very end?

 

[Xenomorph]

...Yazoo a week before signing day trying to talk to Kaleb Eulls?

And then trying the same thing with Matthew Wells. What about it?

 

[MeridianDog]

His best chances of recruiting players at this time, with him beinga new head coach with an unproven long term record as a head coach and a poor short term record,is to put his efforts intoin-state players who have other reasons to help them decide to come toMSU. If Dancan establish a winning program with in-state players, one that goes to bowl games and plays competitively against the rest of the SEC, then he wil be able to recruit outside Mississippi.

Today, if I was a quality player from FL or GA, or TN, LA, or AK, or AL, (We all know I am not either quality or a player, just an interested old Alumni) why would I want to come to MSU if anyone else in the SEC offered me afree ride?Mullen knows that, so he does the best he can do, and managed to get an acceptable class considering what he is (5-7, 3-5) and where he is (Starkville/MSU, withno recent bowl games that big time playerscare anythingabout playing in).

What does Mullen need to recruit quality players from Florida? Beating University of Oxfordhelps that effortlittle at all, but four bowl games couldn't hurt.

The good thing I see is we are now in "Next Year", so Go Dogs! Everyone here knows what the goal is. We need a bowl game next December or January. The bigger that bowl gameis, the better players we will be able to recruit next year.

 

[Beatdown]

...and you're intent on reading things into my comments. There is no superiority complex with me. I've lived in two places - South Mississippi and Memphis, TN. I've grown to hate LSU and USM because I lived around them. I've grown to hate UT and Memphis State because I now live around them. I've never lived around a large contingent of MSU fans and, thus, any real animosity toward State is forced on my part. I've just never been in contact with enough MSU fans on a regular basis to develop a dislike or even consider a superiority complex. We haven't won enough in my lifetime to really feel very superior to anyone.

Your whole argument is based on you being mad because I've denied that we were interested in ONE of your recruits. Just one. The claim of a superiority complex, the claiming I'm off the deep end, etc. - all because we disagree on ONE recruit. One. This rivalry is obviously eating you alive inside, for some reason, and you're not going to stand for any sort of besmirching whether actual or imagined. Good for you. I don't understand it, but to each his own.

 

[Beatdown]

Isn't that what coaches are supposed to do with players they want? Drop in to see them? Would you rather he had just sat in his office and hoped the distance would create a fondness in the recruits mind and he would spontaneously wake up one morning wanting to be a Rebel?

We wanted those players. We recruited them. You got them. I'm not sure what you want me to say further on the subject.

 

[RebelBruiser]

And I'm pretty sure nobody will EVER sweep the entire state of the top talent. USC can't even do that in their own state. Geez.

Do you really think the MS player stuff is anything more than coach-speak? Or are you just that damn stupid?

Just looked it up, and here is the break down of your signee list:

26 total signees: 3 from Mississippi Jucos, 16 from Mississippi HS, 3 from Alabama HS, 2 from Texas HS, 1 from Tennessee HS, and 1 from Louisiana HS

Your 2009 class went like this:

27 total signees: 6 from Mississippi Jucos, 15 from Mississippi HS, 2 from Alabama HS, 2 from Georgia HS, 1 from South Carolina HS, and 1 from Louisiana HS

So, in total, Mullen has signed 53 players in his two classes, and 40 of those 53 players are either from Mississippi high schools or Jucos. I'd say it's a little bit more than just coachspeak at this point, unless he changes in the near future. I'm still surprised that in two classes, Mullen hasn't signed a player from Florida. That's off subject, but I thought when you hired him that you'd start hitting up Florida a good bit.

 

[Beatdown]

How do you use simple logic in this case? I'm refraining from smilies here because I'm inherently against them, but this is where I would put a laughing emoticon. Simple logic gives you an insight into a coaches opinion on a player - an opinion which is purely subjective? Please. Do tell me of this logic because I want to master it.

 

[Irondawg]

The strategy banks on basically finding a few Jonathan Banks a year - couple of players from small schools that don't go all over the place to combines but have the same athletic skill as that average 3-star player. So basically you need some very good talent evaluators.

Another problem with the avg. MS kid is they simply are behind fundamentally than kids from larger out of state programs. Less money usually equals = less coaching, facilities, etc.. Then there is the fact of the competition level - you only reach your best when you're pushed to be your best and a lot of these kids have always been "the man". You have to find kids willing to work b/c college football in grueling and extremely hard work.

 

[randystewart]

Nutt's double secret visit to OB to see Coleman AND Robinson? Or the fact that Ole Miss brought Robinson's mother in on a double secret mid week visit just two weeks ago? Or the admission from Yancy and Neal (again just two weeks ago) that Nutt tried to gain ground on Robinson, but that it was too late?
It is amazing how quickly your fan base can forget things that happened two weeks ago and proclaim that "Ole Miss never wanted Robinson" You sir are and idiot.