Serious question for the board, really serious.

[Thick]

If you were recruiting for OM, how do you sell that your program is improving to WR's, and any defensive players? What can you say to a wr about how OM has improved the qb situation after Masoli?

How do you sell a defensive player, LB, that OM has improved their defensive front line over the studs that they lost to graduation? How do you tell a high school DB that he is going to get a lot of playing time when you have 6 DB's committed and 3 are juco? How can you as a coach look at any of the parents of these kids, and tell them that your program is heading in the right direction?

The answer is that you can't tell any knowledgable athlete, parent, or guardian that you have improved in any of those areas at this point. These are the kind of questions that our coaching staff I hope is pointing out to some of this athletes that think OM is the place for them. If I were a qb or rb, I would be interested in OM because they will have a serviceable line, and they definitely have no true front runner with experience at qb except Stanley. One more thing, their schedule is not getting any easier from here on out.

 

[gravedigger]

the defensive positions...I have no answer. </p>

 

[Thick]

concern to a wr. Can he deliver the ball to my hands, can he read a defense in this league of nasty, athletic, fast defenses?

 

[Goat Holder II]

Probably the same way we convinced a bunch of stud recruits to come to MSU after they beat us 45-0 and EVERYTHING seemed to be in their favor. Do you remember Arrowdawg's post about how our program was going to shut down?

Their program was supposedly trending upwards at that time too. Same damn thing is happening right now. It seems we're destined to do this cripple fighting forever.

Fortunately for us, we have a coach who is hot and has some fire. Nutt thought he was going to get another gig after 2009. Of course, the rebels will say Mullen is trying to skip out of town.

Who the #@!% cares anymore. We'll likely beat them next year so by the time these recruits pan out or bust, we'll have at least enjoyed one more season in the sun.

 

[mcdawg22]

Nm

 

[RebelBruiser]

Shay Hodge, Mike Wallace, and Dexter McCluster to WR recruits.

And you could do similar on defense. Just gloss over 2010 as an aberration and point to our very strong 08/09 units. Then say we were young on defense in 10 and we just need a few players to get us back on top.

It's not hard to come up with something to sell if you have a clue how to recruit. If you can recruit you can sell the most bleak situation to a player and at least have them buy it whether they come or not.

And our situation isn't as bleak as you perceive it. Fans tend to over-dramatize.

Just saying it isn't exactly a hard sell. It just depends on what each player's hot button is.

 

[gravedigger]

I'm sorry, but your offense did put up similar numbers to a team that made the cotton bowl. The defense **** the bed and turned those wins into losses.

</p>

 

[msstatebd5]

but ever think that they just feel more comfortable andlike it better there than at state? I've lived in both places. Of course I'm biased to MSU, but I honestlycan't really question why someone who is neutral would take visits to both and choose Ole Miss.

 

[Goat Holder II]

I didn't see just a boatload of talent or depth out there. I saw Masoli and Shackleford. Look, I'm not going to hate on your recruiting class because you can't judge them yet and you seem to have the stars, but let's not go overboard.

We knuckleheaded around a good bit in the Egg Bowl and still whipped you pretty good. Look what Tennessee did to you. Jax State? Vanderbilt? Nutt/Nix didn't just become a bad coach overnight, he just didn't have any players. And you lose most of your important ones off this team.

 

[Xartox]

nm

 

[GoolsbysHairWorld]

Yes, our defense did underperformed tremendously this year, but you can't act like Nix wasn't having to replace a lot of talent himself.<div>
</div><div>2009 graduates</div><div>Marshay Green- Signed by the Cardinals as a free agent, still there</div><div>Cassius Vaughan- Signed with the Broncos, still there (3rd string)</div><div>Kendrick Lewis- 5th round pick by the Chiefs, played a good bit</div><div>Greg Hardy- 6th round draft pick by the panthers, played a lot and is a starter according to NFL.com (not sure if that's correct)</div><div>Patrick Trahan- Signed as free agent with Titans</div><div>
</div><div>And since you mentioned the cotton bowl teams, this is what he replaced after 2008</div><div>Ashlee Palmer- 2 years pro, started 5 games this year with the Lions</div><div>Peria Jerry- First round pick by Falcons, played a lot this year and was named to some team that I don't care to look up.</div><div>Jamarca Sanford- 2 years with Vikings, started 2 games this year.</div><div>
</div><div>I'm not defending Nix's coaching abilities, but nobody is going to dominate after having to replace these guys.</div><div>
</div><div>Also, this can be used as in the discussion as to how you would sell Ole Miss to the defensive players.</div><div>
</div>

 

[mcdawg22]

..that have a chance of getting to 300 lbs on the roster. I think your D-line is going to be destroyed next year. Every team in the SEC has two deep lines to sub in and out to keep lines fresh because of the spread/ hurryup offense. That is why you are concerned with Juco DTs and not HS kids.

 

[rebelrouseri]

Chris White, Pernell McPhee, and Maurice Langston (all but one from MS). None of those guys seemed to care about the egg or cotton bowls. A lot of them committed to a coach who wasn't exactly on firm ground either.

 

[gravedigger]

underperformed.

Well now. Your defense should be right as rain now.

Oh yes, and do remind us all how that all nfl defense did the previous year against our 5-7 offensive juggernaut.

 

[RebelBruiser]

You don't think I realize that? I was down on our defense as much or more than just about anyone else. Our offense was better than yours last year. We were good enough offensively to be bowling in a decent bowl game. The defense that we all expected to be the strength of the team was historically bad, partially because it had no depth and couldn't survive the injuries we had and partially because I don't think Nix is that good. That wasn't the question though.

The question was how could you sell it to a recruit. I showed you real quickly how you could sell it. You sell it as one down year after losing a lot of talent, and you sell it as a unit that's just missing a few pieces. You sell to the recruit that all we're missing is you and a couple other players, and we'll tear it up next year.

Doesn't matter if it's true or not or how long it'll take before the unit gets back to full strength. I think it'll be 2012 before the defense gets back right, but that's not the point. If you're a coach, and you can't sell our past 3 years to a recruit, you shouldn't be in the business.

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

..whoever the person is who sometimes posts the picture of the kid praying, "Please God, Make it Stop"...


please post that picture in this thread.

 

[coach66]

say your offensive line surprised me and it will be interesting to see if their progress was more of a result of Masoli's playmaking abilities or true improvement. Your offense will not be better next year and you could see a significant decline defensively and you will be playing a slightly tougher schedule. These factors do not add up to significant improvement on wins and losses. You are a stout defender of the Rebel nation but this time I feel like you are pumping a little horseshit.

 

[patdog]

Their offense did benefit a LOT fromMasoli. But the line was decent to be so young and they've got a good RB and Nutt's a good offensive coach. They'll be hurting at WR and at QB, so I don't think they'll match this year's offensive numbers, but their offense won't suck. Defensively, they lose a lot, but it's hard to believe they could be much worse than they were last year. I think they'll win 5 games next fall.

 

[Thick]

damn good qb throwing to them, and the same for last year. How do you sell to a wr recruit that you have improved the qb position from last year? You got bupkis, nothing. Your defensive line has not and will not improve after one recruiting class. You are throwing past OM "greats" into the mix, and then some one made the comment about how many are playing in the NFL. That's great for THOSE guys, but what does that do for the recruits, because you can go to any SEC school and sell that bill of goods! That's crap, and there's only one answer to that question and you damn well know what it is!

All I am saying is don't come over here, and thump your chest as if your coaching staff are great recruiters. We all know why these kids are considering OM, and probably going to sign there, but at the end of the day you can't sell what you currently have as improving with 8 jucos, transfers, and true freshmen in your signing class. You guys won't win 6, and will be lucky to win 5, and I would say that you might be favored in one or two games on your schedule. If everything that is predicted happens in recruiting, you can bet that MSU will not be taking any knees to run out the clock in Starkville.