Everybody settle down

[bulldognation]

Just a few random thoughts here...
Look... it's well documented that TSUN gets better recruits than MSU year after year. But get a grip people... these are HS kids with egos that are looking to be stroked. I'm just not convinced that flashy recruits always pan out once they reach the collegiate level. The expectations for TSUN last year were big, and I'm sure they were fully expecting the addition of Masoli would take them to the next level. For how many weeks had we heard that he was the Rose Bowl MVP? Now why did that turn out to be a bust? Surely he has talent on the team to do better than 4-8. What I'm seeing here looks like desperation time for TSUN. So it doesn't surprise me that they pull out all the stops to land every flashy recruit they can. It's the only battle that they know they can consistently win.

Now would you rather have a coach who coddles and showers HS kids with attention/gifts/etc to get them to play here or would you rather have a coach who walks out there with staff and proves it on the field time and again. To be honest, the 'last year was a fluke' myth that TSUN coaches sold recruits on is very believable. Couple that with how they can portray Mullen as overconfident and the sales pitch is on. Take the thread that documents Mullen's recruiting style comes across as arrogant or that he has an 'attitude problem'. Now does Dan have weak spots that can be exploited? Sure... we all do. Will this shake his confidence? I highly doubt it. Come November, I fully expect Mullen to put on a show on the field about which school fields the more competitive team.

 

[vandaldawg]

If your claim is correct, and I think it mostly is (at least on paper), that UM wins the recruitning battle every year, then it begs the question why. Why do they win it, and if there is a pattern to the reasoning for top MS recruits choosing OM over us, what is it, and can we address these deficiencies and close that competitive gap?

 

[cps36]

Ole Miss has had a couple classes where a large number of players have washed out or gone the juco route. In some cases these players have been 4 or 5 star players.
See the following listed on Scout as part of Bear recruiting classes and are not on the current roster:
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">5star:</span>
Pat Patterson
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">4 Star:</span>
Craig Drummond
Raymond Cotton
Darius Barksdale
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">3-Star</span>:
Cordell Giles
Willie Ferrell
Eric Smiley
DeMarcus Knight
Artice Kellum
Gabriel Hunter
Ryan Campbell
Stephen Houston
Montez Phillips
Jamar Hornsby

That's 14 players from the last two classes that are not on the roster. Now they have committed 8 JUCOs in the current class. In two years there will be problems. I would like to know how to get around this sort of thing.

Landing a handful of 4/5 star players is something to be proud of. It is. However, stars dont exist in a vacuum. They must be taken in the proper context. Of course you take a top player even with depth at their position, but if you don't fill holes with long term quality players then the "stars" you recruit have no help. JUCO players are good for quick depth. BUT a 4 year player who redshirted and has spent years in the program leaning the system is most of the time better for the overall health of the program, which translates to good performance on the field.

So go ahead and get worked up. We maximize JUCOs like Vick Ballard, Chris White, and Pernell McPhee and turn them into SEC leading scorers and draft picks.
Ole Miss uses JUCOs like Wayne Dorsey to ... well ... what does he do? Oh yeah he propped up the rating of their recruiting class with his 5-stars. Awesome.

We keep the players we sign in each class, redshirt them, and build depth at each position. And still manage to win. Please recognize this and see the big picture. It might take away some of the sting. Maybe.