Yes, most of them committed to Croom but were even more solidified when Mullen got there. Remember, Mullen was the OC at Florida and was playing for a National Championship.
Cox and Boyd weren't going anywhere anyway, no matter the coach. Mullen's staff (Koenning) solidified Russell and Pernell McPhee. McPhee actually chose MSU, not an actual coach. Ask him, he'll tell you, he loved NE MS for some weird reason. We ABSOLUTELY DO NOT get Sanders, Slay, Perkins, Thames, Bumphis, Berry, Langston and Brauchle without Mullen. Saying Mullen did nothing in that class is ludicrous at best. You're just rationalizing as usual.
A better comparison is Croom's first class to Freeze's first. Similar situations, program in turmoil, lameduck coach. Freeze definitely outperformed him, most likely because he actually came to work instead of dicking off until mid-January.</p>