Ok, so Mullen has clearly made a change to his recruiting strategy

[Seinfeld]

If you look back to his last 4 classes, it's been the same formula. A slow start, half the class commits between June-Dec, and then the latter half commits between Jan and signing day. This year, he already has about 1/3 of a typical class committed, and we haven't even made it to Spring yet. Is he just offering much earlier that usual as part of an "it's easier to hold on to a recruit than to sway one" philosophy? Whatever the case and no matter how this works out for him, I'm glad to see that he's recognized that the status quo is not getting him over the hump, so something needed to change.

Lastly, can someone explain the difference between the two different star rankings on 247? We've apparently got mostly 3-star commits per the top line ranking whereas they're mostly 4-star per the bottom line ranking.

 

[Hump4Hoops]

I think it's a difference in opportunity, not strategy.

Apparently lots of "ins" with these 2015 kids.

Also, the 247 top line is their site's evaluation, the bottom line is the consensus among all recruiting sites - so that's the line you want to see the highest.

Edit: the lines are not always in the same order, just look for the word composite.

 

[OzarkaNSW]

are we still talking about this?

 

[AFDawg]

Do you mean the 247 ranking vs the 247 composite? The latter is an average of all the services.

 

[johnson86-1]

If you look back to his last 4 classes, it's been the same formula.

I'm not in the know, but I've heard several people comment that Brewster convinced Mullen to focus on recruits earlier. Not sure there is any truth to that, but if so, it's combined with having a stronger Mississippi class than usual.

 

[uptowndawg]

Was the recent junior day not indicative of a change in strategy?

Or is that something we've always done and I've just never paid attention to it?

 

[FormerlyHighLifeRebel]

Getting to recruits early is essential for schools for the OM/MSU/Vandy/Kentucky type schools. There are going to be late flips/commits, but being the first to offer and getting the commit is crucially important. This was Eddie O's strategy and Freeze has tried to do the same. I am a bit disappointed to see Mullen is finally catching on. He must have caught up on some reading during the dead period

 

[121Josey]

These juniors are becoming too young to remember the Crxxm years. They've known 4 of 5, 5 straight, sellouts, new facilities, etc.

 

[Digging dog]

^^^ this.
Hard to believe these recruits were still coloring and going to recess during this era.

 

[Philly Dawg]

Also, this is supposedly a good class for Mississippi, so there may be more kids that are good enough that we are comfortable taking their commitments early.

 

[DirtyDog]

I have been following our recruiting for a number of years, and we are definitely offering more kids earlier than we typically do. It also appears that we are casting a wider net, and offering more kids at once which means that the staff is working harder to stay engaged with more recruits at one time. In addition, it looks as if our strategy is to offer the out of state kids that we are highest on first because they are probably being recruited by their local programs, and then we are focusing in our Mississippi guys who we have ties with and a longer recruiting relationship. I also concur that we have several good relationships that are showing up in the 2015 class in terms of either commitments or rating us high on their interest lists. For instance, Chris Stamps at Warren Central is coached by Josh and Rob Morgan, both former state players. These guys commiting early is awesome for the program because it allows our staff to focus on the recruits that need the most convincing, and they can serve as recruiters themselves in encouraging others to commit. The point about the end of the Kang's reign and the Croom era being a distant memory to these recruits is also helping. I just hope some of the other Bulldog leans continue to commit early and help recruit the other players that are truly undecided.

 

[esplanade91]

I think having a stable and young staff definitely helps. We've had a lot of coaches leave or be under fire since Mullen's been here. They all want to play for Hughes, Collins, and Deshea.

 

[57stratdawg]

You can thank Tim Brewster.