Can Sustained Success be achieved with Mississippi players?

[AConstipatedMonkey]

Surfing the net, i ran across this article on Red Cup Rebellion claiming that there's no way we can achieve success in the SEC with a majority of Mississippi-grown football players. Here is the article: Hey Dan, How's That Winning The In-State Recruiting Battle

Just to provide one example, I looked over the 1999 MSU roster to see how many Mississippi players were on that team..

 2 Fred Smoot, DB 6-1 175 Jr Jackson, MS 3 Dontae Walker, TB 5-10 200 Fr Clinton, MS 4 Chris Rainey, TB 5-8 197 Sr Amory, MS 8 Kelvin Love, SE 6-3 195 Sr Clarksdale, MS 11 Scott Westerfield, PK 5-10 182 Jr Brandon, MS 12 Dicenzo Miller, TB 5-10 200 So Weir, MS 14 Eugene Clinton, DOG 6-0 191 Jr Jackson, MS 15 Terrell Grindle, WR 5-10 170 Fr Hattiesburg, MS 16 Kevin Fant, QB 6-2 190 Fr Moss Point, MS 19 Prentiss Cole, P 6-4 195 Jr Philadelphia, MS 24 Kendall Roberson, CB 6-0 205 Sr Calhoun City, MS 27 Justin Jenkins, WR 6-1 200 Fr Pearl, MS 28 Kenzaki Jones, FS 6-1 205 Sr Senatobia, MS 31 Justin Griffith, TB 5-11 220 Fr Sanatorium, MS 32 Kenny Williamson, FB 6-2 249 Jr Seminary, MS 33 Rod Gibson, FB 5-10 220 Sr Greenwood, MS 29 Pig Prather, FS 6-3 190 So Falkner, MS 35 Dorian Black, FL 5-10 172 Sr Amory, MS 36 John Townes, SE 6-0 184 So Nesbit, MS 37 Jerry Bolton, FB 5-9 225 Fr Laurel, MS 42 Jeff Walker, P 5-11 217 Sr Grenada, MS 44 Jamaal Dinkins, LB 6-0 225 Jr Jackson, MS 47 Josh Morgan, FS 6-1 180 Fr Vicksburg, MS 52 Michael Fair, OG 6-3 296 Jr Carrollton, MS 45 Barrin Simpson, LB 5-11 226 Sr Starkville, MS 55 Edward Yeates, NG 6-0 241 Jr Starkville, MS 57 Nathan Jackson, DE 6-4 215 Fr Jackson, MS 58 Steele Davis, LB 6-0 216 So Avon, MS 61 Billy Cook, OG 6-1 320 So Vicksburg, MS 64 Joey Hydrick, C 6-1 280 Jr Crystal Springs, MS 66 Jondrea Smith, OT 6-1 330 So Lexington, MS 73 Donald Tucker, OL 6-4 305 Fr Tupelo, MS 74 Paul Mooney, C 6-8 325 Sr Collins, MS 75 Kyle Wallace, OT 6-5 308 Fr Mendenhall, MS 76 Pork Chop Womack, OT 6-3 336 Jr Cleveland, MS 77 Kenric Fairchild, OG 6-4 318 So Greenville, MS 78 Eric Thompson, DL 6-6 295 Fr Itta Bena, MS 84 Donald Lee, TE 6-4 225 Fr Pheba, MS 89 Derrick Thompson, DL 6-6 275 Fr Itta Bena, MS 90 Conner Stephens, DE 6-4 241 So Ackerman, MS 79 Tron Thomas, OT 6-3 281 Jr Greenwood, MS 68 Wes Shivers, OT 6-7 325 Sr Brandon, MS 92 Ellis Wyms, DT 6-3 273 Jr Indianola, MS 93 Darius Brown, NG 6-0 262 Jr Amory, MS 94 Toby Golliday, DL 6-2 295 Jr Cleveland, MS 97 Alvin McKinley, NG 6-4 285 Sr McCool, MS 98 Mario Haggan, DT 6-3 275 Fr Clarksdale, MS 99 Dorsett Davis, DT 6-6 303 So Cleveland, MS Now I'm not saying that everyone on that list provided even a slight contribution to our football team at any point during their careers. But there is a significant amount of SEC and NFL quality talent just from the state. That shows at least a shred of evidence that Mullen's plan could actually be pulled off. Oh, and Robert Elliot, even coming off an injury, had a higher YPC than Brandon Bolden against SEC teams, albeit in significantly less action. Look at Bolden's numbers against SEC teams, and one can't help but yawn.

 

[AConstipatedMonkey]

Surfing the net, i ran across this article on Red Cup Rebellion claiming that there's no way we can achieve success in the SEC with a majority of Mississippi-grown football players. Here is the article: Hey Dan, How's That Winning The In-State Recruiting Battle

Just to provide one example, I looked over the 1999 MSU roster to see how many Mississippi players were on that team..

 2 Fred Smoot, DB 6-1 175 Jr Jackson, MS 3 Dontae Walker, TB 5-10 200 Fr Clinton, MS 4 Chris Rainey, TB 5-8 197 Sr Amory, MS 8 Kelvin Love, SE 6-3 195 Sr Clarksdale, MS 11 Scott Westerfield, PK 5-10 182 Jr Brandon, MS 12 Dicenzo Miller, TB 5-10 200 So Weir, MS 14 Eugene Clinton, DOG 6-0 191 Jr Jackson, MS 15 Terrell Grindle, WR 5-10 170 Fr Hattiesburg, MS 16 Kevin Fant, QB 6-2 190 Fr Moss Point, MS 19 Prentiss Cole, P 6-4 195 Jr Philadelphia, MS 24 Kendall Roberson, CB 6-0 205 Sr Calhoun City, MS 27 Justin Jenkins, WR 6-1 200 Fr Pearl, MS 28 Kenzaki Jones, FS 6-1 205 Sr Senatobia, MS 31 Justin Griffith, TB 5-11 220 Fr Sanatorium, MS 32 Kenny Williamson, FB 6-2 249 Jr Seminary, MS 33 Rod Gibson, FB 5-10 220 Sr Greenwood, MS 29 Pig Prather, FS 6-3 190 So Falkner, MS 35 Dorian Black, FL 5-10 172 Sr Amory, MS 36 John Townes, SE 6-0 184 So Nesbit, MS 37 Jerry Bolton, FB 5-9 225 Fr Laurel, MS 42 Jeff Walker, P 5-11 217 Sr Grenada, MS 44 Jamaal Dinkins, LB 6-0 225 Jr Jackson, MS 47 Josh Morgan, FS 6-1 180 Fr Vicksburg, MS 52 Michael Fair, OG 6-3 296 Jr Carrollton, MS 45 Barrin Simpson, LB 5-11 226 Sr Starkville, MS 55 Edward Yeates, NG 6-0 241 Jr Starkville, MS 57 Nathan Jackson, DE 6-4 215 Fr Jackson, MS 58 Steele Davis, LB 6-0 216 So Avon, MS 61 Billy Cook, OG 6-1 320 So Vicksburg, MS 64 Joey Hydrick, C 6-1 280 Jr Crystal Springs, MS 66 Jondrea Smith, OT 6-1 330 So Lexington, MS 73 Donald Tucker, OL 6-4 305 Fr Tupelo, MS 74 Paul Mooney, C 6-8 325 Sr Collins, MS 75 Kyle Wallace, OT 6-5 308 Fr Mendenhall, MS 76 Pork Chop Womack, OT 6-3 336 Jr Cleveland, MS 77 Kenric Fairchild, OG 6-4 318 So Greenville, MS 78 Eric Thompson, DL 6-6 295 Fr Itta Bena, MS 84 Donald Lee, TE 6-4 225 Fr Pheba, MS 89 Derrick Thompson, DL 6-6 275 Fr Itta Bena, MS 90 Conner Stephens, DE 6-4 241 So Ackerman, MS 79 Tron Thomas, OT 6-3 281 Jr Greenwood, MS 68 Wes Shivers, OT 6-7 325 Sr Brandon, MS 92 Ellis Wyms, DT 6-3 273 Jr Indianola, MS 93 Darius Brown, NG 6-0 262 Jr Amory, MS 94 Toby Golliday, DL 6-2 295 Jr Cleveland, MS 97 Alvin McKinley, NG 6-4 285 Sr McCool, MS 98 Mario Haggan, DT 6-3 275 Fr Clarksdale, MS 99 Dorsett Davis, DT 6-6 303 So Cleveland, MS Now I'm not saying that everyone on that list provided even a slight contribution to our football team at any point during their careers. But there is a significant amount of SEC and NFL quality talent just from the state. That shows at least a shred of evidence that Mullen's plan could actually be pulled off. Oh, and Robert Elliot, even coming off an injury, had a higher YPC than Brandon Bolden against SEC teams, albeit in significantly less action. Look at Bolden's numbers against SEC teams, and one can't help but yawn.

 

[AConstipatedMonkey]

Surfing the net, i ran across this article on Red Cup Rebellion claiming that there's no way we can achieve success in the SEC with a majority of Mississippi-grown football players. Here is the article: Hey Dan, How's That Winning The In-State Recruiting Battle

Just to provide one example, I looked over the 1999 MSU roster to see how many Mississippi players were on that team..

 2 Fred Smoot, DB 6-1 175 Jr Jackson, MS 3 Dontae Walker, TB 5-10 200 Fr Clinton, MS 4 Chris Rainey, TB 5-8 197 Sr Amory, MS 8 Kelvin Love, SE 6-3 195 Sr Clarksdale, MS 11 Scott Westerfield, PK 5-10 182 Jr Brandon, MS 12 Dicenzo Miller, TB 5-10 200 So Weir, MS 14 Eugene Clinton, DOG 6-0 191 Jr Jackson, MS 15 Terrell Grindle, WR 5-10 170 Fr Hattiesburg, MS 16 Kevin Fant, QB 6-2 190 Fr Moss Point, MS 19 Prentiss Cole, P 6-4 195 Jr Philadelphia, MS 24 Kendall Roberson, CB 6-0 205 Sr Calhoun City, MS 27 Justin Jenkins, WR 6-1 200 Fr Pearl, MS 28 Kenzaki Jones, FS 6-1 205 Sr Senatobia, MS 31 Justin Griffith, TB 5-11 220 Fr Sanatorium, MS 32 Kenny Williamson, FB 6-2 249 Jr Seminary, MS 33 Rod Gibson, FB 5-10 220 Sr Greenwood, MS 29 Pig Prather, FS 6-3 190 So Falkner, MS 35 Dorian Black, FL 5-10 172 Sr Amory, MS 36 John Townes, SE 6-0 184 So Nesbit, MS 37 Jerry Bolton, FB 5-9 225 Fr Laurel, MS 42 Jeff Walker, P 5-11 217 Sr Grenada, MS 44 Jamaal Dinkins, LB 6-0 225 Jr Jackson, MS 47 Josh Morgan, FS 6-1 180 Fr Vicksburg, MS 52 Michael Fair, OG 6-3 296 Jr Carrollton, MS 45 Barrin Simpson, LB 5-11 226 Sr Starkville, MS 55 Edward Yeates, NG 6-0 241 Jr Starkville, MS 57 Nathan Jackson, DE 6-4 215 Fr Jackson, MS 58 Steele Davis, LB 6-0 216 So Avon, MS 61 Billy Cook, OG 6-1 320 So Vicksburg, MS 64 Joey Hydrick, C 6-1 280 Jr Crystal Springs, MS 66 Jondrea Smith, OT 6-1 330 So Lexington, MS 73 Donald Tucker, OL 6-4 305 Fr Tupelo, MS 74 Paul Mooney, C 6-8 325 Sr Collins, MS 75 Kyle Wallace, OT 6-5 308 Fr Mendenhall, MS 76 Pork Chop Womack, OT 6-3 336 Jr Cleveland, MS 77 Kenric Fairchild, OG 6-4 318 So Greenville, MS 78 Eric Thompson, DL 6-6 295 Fr Itta Bena, MS 84 Donald Lee, TE 6-4 225 Fr Pheba, MS 89 Derrick Thompson, DL 6-6 275 Fr Itta Bena, MS 90 Conner Stephens, DE 6-4 241 So Ackerman, MS 79 Tron Thomas, OT 6-3 281 Jr Greenwood, MS 68 Wes Shivers, OT 6-7 325 Sr Brandon, MS 92 Ellis Wyms, DT 6-3 273 Jr Indianola, MS 93 Darius Brown, NG 6-0 262 Jr Amory, MS 94 Toby Golliday, DL 6-2 295 Jr Cleveland, MS 97 Alvin McKinley, NG 6-4 285 Sr McCool, MS 98 Mario Haggan, DT 6-3 275 Fr Clarksdale, MS 99 Dorsett Davis, DT 6-6 303 So Cleveland, MS Now I'm not saying that everyone on that list provided even a slight contribution to our football team at any point during their careers. But there is a significant amount of SEC and NFL quality talent just from the state. That shows at least a shred of evidence that Mullen's plan could actually be pulled off. Oh, and Robert Elliot, even coming off an injury, had a higher YPC than Brandon Bolden against SEC teams, albeit in significantly less action. Look at Bolden's numbers against SEC teams, and one can't help but yawn.

 

[Hector.sixpack]

A slightly longer one is MS will consistently produce adaquate talent to cover the defensive side of the ball and the RBs, slot receiver. However, MS is behind on developing and producing QBs and probably not as many good OL that it would take. But I think you can consistently build a good football team with 70% MS players.

Also,the camps changed the recruiting game because it gives coaches a much better look at a player and Mullen has stated numerously that player evaluation is the foundation of finding good players.I'm not sure we've ever had a system of evaluation near to this level.

 

[patdog]

Yeah, they do produce almost 4 times as many NFL players as Mississippi does (187 for FL vs. 49 for MS), but UF, FSU and Miami are going to take about 60 of the top ones each year, then schools like Alabama, Georgia, etc. are going to take another 10 or so. So by the time you get to ones that would come to a middle-tier out-of-state BCS school, you're down around the #70 player in Florida. You'd be a lot better off focusing your recruiting on the top 20 players in Mississippi than the #70-100 players in Florida.

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

if it's7 or8 regular season winsand a mid to low level bowl game every year, YES...if you pooled all the MS athletes...

if it's winning the conference and BCS bowling, no....

save Florida, Texas and Cali, no state has enough homegrown talent to sustain success...

 

[OMlawdog]

That at most in a given year there are 20 SEC caliber athletes in the state.

In a given year out of that 20 only 10 have LSU/AL/AUoffers. And that is being generous.

Also it is simply too inconsistent at positions. Some years it may have plenty of WR's (Like this year) but very little in the way of DL (Like this year) and you will have a difficult time balancing your class.

Look, if you dominated the state and Im talking the way LSU dominates a state in recruiting, I think you could field a very competitive SEC team. Im not sure it is BCS worthy, but it would be damn good team. Problem is that unless something changes very dramatically, neither OM or MSU are going to dominate the state in that manner. Just won't be done.In the 10 years I have followed recruiting in MS, neither school regardless of W/L record, probation, head coach, available playing time, or any other conceivable advantage that one school would have over the other, the talent in MS has been split between the two schools fairly evenly.

 

[AConstipatedMonkey]

has been thrown into the toilet for so long that we have to work our asses off now to think about pulling top 80 recruits from Florida makes me upset We're going to have to win with what we have here in MS before we can pick off the occasional top recruit or 2 from another state. Luckily if that talent is developed properly (and we seem to be on the right track) it can be done.

 

[patdog]

And the differences between Mullen's and Nutt's recruiting are exaggerated. They both realize that you have to have both and they both recruit and sign both. But by the time you get past the players that UF, FSU, Miami, and the outside major powers take, you're usually just as well off if not better with a top-15 player from Mississippi.

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

just a "quick and dirty" db on quality* high school athletes available in 2011for five following states...

Alabama - 7
Mississippi - 7
California - 27
Texas - 38
Florida - 49

* four stars or better on Rivals

 

[patdog]

If Rivals saysFL produces 7 times as many quality players as MS or AL, then why don't they produce even 4 times as many NFL players? Not that every productive college player will go on to the NFL, but if MS is producing 25% as many NFL players as FL is, it stands to reason that it should produce somewhere near 25% as many near-NFL players as FL does.

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

however, i do think it's a down year in talent for both MS and AL...

and while recruiting rankings are skewed, biased, subjective or whatever you want to add....one thing holds true:

"You may not be able to win with high ranked recruits, but you can't win without 'em".

 

[AConstipatedMonkey]

I think competing for the West is possible in a down conference year. Hey, if it happened once, it can happen again.

 

[codeDawg]

MSU simply does not have the time and money to spend recruiting nationally for every position even if we could garner the interest from out-of-state players. With the 3, 4, and (occasional) 5 star guys you have an automatic in by simply being close to home. You are going to get early commits and recruiting help from those guys. Even on the guys we are reaching for, we wouldn't have a chance in hell picking them up if they played in another state. We would never have a shot at CJ Johnson if he lived in Louisiana. We almost lost Morrow to LSU and he lives in MS.

When you figure out how the locals and other guys with high interest fill your roster, then you can go out of state and spend the resources to fill in the blanks. You have to do the extra work for those guys and spend those valuable limited number of calls, visits, etc. On top of that, you have to have an angle with these guys. Either the home team is full at their position. Maybe they want to play earlier than they would at Florida. An angle that appears to be working is promising qualification for kids that are grade risks.

 

[AConstipatedMonkey]

[No message]

 

[8dog]

is that more players are qualifying. That's huge.

And a 3 star from Florida is not better than a 3 star from MS (if you assume for this example the star system is accurate). That seems to be a theory that has gained momentum around here.

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

nm

 

[GloryDawg]

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">We really have not had a high talent year in a while. Sooner or later it will happen again. Hopefully with Coach Mullen laboring now, when that does happen he will be in a good position to win the recruiting war.I think it will pay off. If you get enough Miss guys on the team sooner or later they will have a under classman in high school that will commit to Miss State in order to play with a friend. All it takes is one real good recruiting class and you will have a pretty good team for a few years and hopefully you can build on that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>I think Miss High school athletes want to play football in the state but they want to play for a winning program and Miss State has not provided that in over 10 years. I think Mullen has gone a long ways in changing that perception. Yeah we only won five games last year but the atmosphere he brought to the program made it feel like an 8 win year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Other then only winning five games, it was the best feeling year since 2000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is only going to get better. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>Also what is going to help with Miss Recruits is the grading system in Mississippi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We just went to a 10 point grading system like Louisiana Arkansas and Alabama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We will have more high school athletes eligible to play in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>One bad thing about Miss High School football is the coaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Seems we lag behind Alabama and Louisiana in that arena.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Their athletes seem to be more developed in skills coming out of high school then our athletes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Someone already said that our Offensive lineman and QB’s are always behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That goes back to coaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Line man are easy to correct through coaching but QB I think is harder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A lot more thing have to be developed in that position then OL.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"></p>

</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Just BD opinion! </p>

</p>

 

[OMlawdog]

I think there are plenty of good players that UF, FSU, and Miami pass over in Florida. Much better than players that probably don't have any other BCS type offers. Now this isn't a hard and fast rule, but there are just so many players that UF, FSU, and Miami pass on that go on to have great careers at schools like USF, Iowa, Nebraska, West Virginia, Louisville and Arkansas. UF has really gone national in its recruiting. Last year 11 of their 27signees weren't from Florida. In 2009, 9 of their 17 signees weren't from FL. In 2009, 8 out of FSU 21 commits weren't from FL, and in 2010, 12 of their 25 weren't from Florida. For Miami, 13 of their 30 last year weren't from FL, and in 2009, 8 out of their 19 signees weren't from FL.

So in 2010 the big three signed a total of: 46 players from FL signed with the big three, in 2009 it was 32 players.

2010 - 46 players by the big three
2009 - 32 players by the big three

There is way more talent in Florida than 40 players. Sure GA and AL are going to grab some, but to me a lot of those players are fair game, and should be where Nutt/Mullen spend their time out of state.

I think Mullen and Nutt want to sign the best players available and if Mullen could sign 25 players from Georiga that were better than every player in MS, Im pretty sure he would do it, and so would Nutt.

 

[8dog]

against a tough schedule. Would they go undefeated? No. But that' not what anyone is talking about.

Hell, Boise has taken down Oklahoma and Oregon in the last 3 years. Utah took Bama to the woodshed.

 

[spacecataz]

Sorry to get all JortFrosPage here, butunder those circumstances, it is an unwinnable argument. No matter what MSU does, it will always be wrong as far as they are concerned.

 

[patdog]

nm

 

[8dog]

good players get overlooked by schools.

 

[OMlawdog]

It doesn't happen as much anymore. Proof of that is USM. They are no where near what they were 10 years ago, and a lot of that has to do with players that may not get pub, getting the pub and getting offers they normally wouldn't. With 37 summer camps by rivals and scout, the days of a diamond in the rough slipping through the cracks is damn difficult.

I think their QB is the only player that was looked over that is worth a crap from MS. Everyone wanted Deandre.

In Florida there are simply more overlooked kids that are really good. If you are a good judge of talent you can do really well in florida, if you aren't, well you probably would have signed the wrong MS kid as well.

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

6-3, I was there.

as an 11 year old, I didn't really remember a loss...</p>

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

I didn't think the hangover from the SECCG would be that big of a factor under Saban... I was wrong... they mailed it in....</p>

 

[patdog]

nm

 

[8dog]

in MS and you can in Florida. There may be more players, but there are also more schools, coaches, fans and the internet works there as well.

The overlooked problem is less about identifying someone and more about talent evaluation.

I know the websites knew about JC Brignone, Addison Lawrence, Craig Jenkins, and Quentin Saulsberry, 4 of the 5 starters that helped lead the league in rushing last year.

Yet they had offers from almost no one.

As for Southern, Im not sure they are really getting any different caliber athlete than before. They are still taking the guys from the 15-40 range in MS.

 

[AConstipatedMonkey]

alone in the late 1990's. That seems to have dried up with the exception of South Panola. Being from Clarksdale I remember them moving down to 4A and dominating North 4A for a good 5 years. There was tons of talent on those teams, going toe to toe with South Panola every year and I think beating them once back in 1999. The problem with coaching at the high school level is it all boils down to the educational system and having enough money to attract and pay quality high school coaching. We've been lagging in the educational system for a long time, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that our high school coaching system is lagging as well.

 

[8dog]

Just like Boise, Utah, and TCU are pretty damn good.

 

[patdog]

then they are of covering FL players. As for USM, they made their name in the 1980's which was for the most part a decade when both MSU and UM pretty much mailed it in in football. Also, UAB and Troy (and soon South Alabama) are taking a lot of players that USM used to have some success with.

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

however, there is a vast disparity of talent when comparing them to uppercrust SEC schools...

if you don't think so, take your delusions here:

www.nafoom.com

 

[patdog]

then the 7:1 advantage they have over MS in 4-star recruits this fall is understated and the actual ratio is greater than 7:1. And this despite the fact that FL only produces 3.8 times as many NFL players as MS does. It just doesn't add up.

 

[8dog]

so that is an indication you didn't think they were good team.

Of course there is a talent disparity....that is the point of this part of the thread. Someone said you can't win without talent. Then someone said "unless you are..." You then said that is only the case against a crappy schedule.

And Im saying they would be just fine against a crappy schedule. They wouldn't go undefeated, but they would acheive sustained success---which falls under the point of this entire thread.

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

dammit, i knew we should have hired meyer, instead

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

yes, win a game.... an upset.... yes...

I was defining "win" as cyclical...

I do agree that "on any given saturday"....

 

[AConstipatedMonkey]

Remember, 8 of the 12 schools have been to the SEC CG at least once. And who the hell knows what will happen. Meyer might have an aneurysm on the sidelines. Saban might decided to start his own independent college dedicated solely to football. Hell, Ole Miss might make it to the SEC CG. Back in 2000, Miami probably had the most NFL talent ever assembled on one roster, and they are just now finding their way back trying to fight the Meyer recruiting machine 10 years later.

 

[ckDOG]

First, don't get me wrong, the numbers aren't in MS's favor when it comes to in-state vs. out-of-state prospects. That's not to say a very solid team can't be built with 90%+ MS kids, but numbers are numbers and we don't have them to the the extent that FL, GA, TX, and CA have. Fact.

That said, how in the hell can somebody expect our staff to extend their efforts into Florida and elsewhere and convince recruits to pack up and move to Starkville? We have no recent success to sell them on. We have the SEC thing going for us, but until we can offer decent odds at competing, we aren't getting Florida kids to pack up and move to Starkville, MS - I don't care how many WRs on street corners there are in Miami. It's not a realistic strategy for us.

Thanks to Croom and LT, this program is essentially being built from scratch. You can't build anything without a solid core first. It's going to be MUCH easier to sell a local kid on MSU than a kid displaced by a thousand plus miles. You can build better relationships with kids closer to home and increase your chances you can get them to commit. We might be forgoing some talent by taking a heavily skewed in state approach, but the out of state approach will be much riskier in the event it doesn't work. I'll take the better odds with 3 star kids from MS for now. The 4 star kids from Florida aren't going to pay much attention to us at the moment. More simply put, a shot at 2 *** quality MS kids > 1 **** star quality FL kid a this point in time.

Once we establish some element of respect in the program, then we can expand our recruiting territory. Until then, we have to go after the low hanging fruit...

 

[TUSK.sixpack]

nm

 

[kired]

Our 5 best players fromMS areDB Nickoe Whitley, <font color="#000000">LB K.J. Wrigth</font><font color="#000">, OL Quentin Saulsberry, WR Chad Bumphis</font><font color="#000">, and RB Robert Elliott... aren't Charles Mitchell, J.C. Brignone, Marcus Green, & Sherrod from MS?

I think Mullen winning the recruiting battle is more about buildinga team the state can take pride in rather than depending solely on MS players to win a championship. Its a little more special when you see guys from MS play at MSU and be successful. No doubt we follow every player State puts into the NFL, but I personally take more pride in seeing guys like Dixon & Norwood succeed. There's just something neat about seeing a guy you watched in highschool go on to be successful in college or the pros.

With that said - I'll be just as happy with a 10 win season regardless of whether we have a team full of MS players or none at all. But how does MSUrecruit enough talented players from LA, AL, FL, orGA to be consistently successful when there areother SEC, ACC, & Big East schools doing the same thing? You've got to fill most positions with the best homegrown talent you can get, then take a chance at a handful of out-of-state guys. We've got the talent here to build a successful team - we've just got to keep them in state & get them qualified.</font></p>