Is Mullen/MSU football taking another step?

[CadaverDawg]

Guys this Mayden pick up is big time. Dan Mullen, whose biggest criticism is recruitung, just snagged the top QB in Texas after getting the Louisiana player of the year QB last year. We also have Malik Heath on board and a good shot with Guidry and others.

If the recruiting continues to progress as it has lately, we could be witnessing a Frank Beamer Virginia Tech type step like we've hoped for, where starting in 2018-2020 we may be a perennial 9+ win team and potentially jump a few teams in the SEC. By holding on to Dan, we now have a top coach in this league, and the timing is good with the troubles in Oxford, to get the best in the State the next several years.

I'm not going to get too excited yet, but I really like the trend, and feel like we could be witnessing the beginning of another step up the ladder for our football program.

Your thoughts?

[CadaverDawg]

I almost left out, we also seem to have a Dan Mullen that has accepted MSU as "home", and I feel like he is all in, which probably helps that recruiting progress some too

[Dawgface]

I almost left out, we also seem to have a Dan Mullen that has accepted MSU as "home", and I feel like he is all in, which probably helps that recruiting progress some too

I was thinking the same thing. I'm quietly optimistic about our future. Not expecting a lot this year(hopefully decent), but better seasons are in front of us I believe.

[msbulldog]

This years recruiting is exciting, would love to get Bohanon too. Bohanon is an excellent athlete that can play anywhere on the field and who knows maybe he can beat Mayden out. I don't remember the last time we had this many quality commits this early, plus it makes it more fun knowing Mississippi only has 2 commits right now.

[Reason2succeed]

Yes, Mullen has been slowly progressing this program as opposed to OM trying to rig the system and jump to perennial greatness. History will show that Mullen's method has paid off.

[mparkerfd20]

We still have Hevesy so that 1 step forward, 2 steps back thing is still in play.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

As long as "The Country Club" is still intact, I can't see us taking the next step. Hevesy is an Albatross that very few high school coaches can tolerate, much less like.....I talked to a HS coach that attended one of our spring practices and he said the one thing that stood out in his mind was Hevesy and how he wouldn't want any of his kids playing for him....

[ShotgunDawg]

I talked to a HS coach that attended one of our spring practices and he said the one thing that stood out in his mind was Hevesy and how he wouldn't want any of his kids playing for him....

Not a Hevesy fan here, but I wonder if the myth of him being a bad coach has surpassed the reality.

1. How come none of our former players ever have a bad thing to say about Hevesy? Not saying he's great, but if he were awful, wouldn't one of the former players have said something publicly by now?

2. I would question if your HS coach friend was an MSU fan & if he already had a poor perception of Hevesy before attending practice. Just seems like their could have been a heavy dose of confirmation bias here if your HS coach friend was able to attend one single practice & determine that he wouldn't want his kids playing for Hev. Again, not a fan here & not saying he's wrong, but it seems like the myth may have surpasses reality at this point. I mean, the guy has now been an SEC OL coach for 8 years &, unless we have the wrong RB or QB playing, we've virtually been able to run the football the entire time. So he can't be awful & accomplish that.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Not a Hevesy fan here, but I wonder if the myth of him being a bad coach has surpassed the reality.

1. How come none of our former players ever have a bad thing to say about Hevesy? Not saying he's great, but if he were awful, wouldn't one of the former players have said something publicly by now?

2. I would question if your HS coach friend was an MSU fan & if he already had a poor perception of Hevesy before attending practice. Just seems like their could have been a heavy dose of confirmation bias here if your HS coach friend was able to attend one single practice & determine that he wouldn't want his kids playing for Hev. Again, not a fan here & not saying he's wrong, but it seems like the myth may have surpasses reality at this point. I mean, the guy has now been an SEC OL coach for 8 years &, unless we have the wrong RB or QB playing, we've virtually been able to run the football the entire time. So he can't be awful & accomplish that.

The High School Coach is a MSU Grad....we have never been able to run the ball against an upper tier SEC defense...

[ShotgunDawg]

The High School Coach is a MSU Grad....we have never been able to run the ball against an upper tier SEC defense...

No one runs against those guys. Your friend being an MSU fan tells me that he had preconceived notions about Hevesy and likely used a healthy dose of confirmation bias.

Not saying he's wrong, but I'd be much more interested in the opinion of someone not associated with anything MSU. A fresh set of eyes. Your buddy maybe a great coach, but even great coaches are still fans of their favorite team and become emotional.

[Tbonewannabe]

No one runs against those guys. Your friend being an MSU fan tells me that he had preconceived notions about Hevesy and likely used a healthy dose of confirmation bias.

Not saying he's wrong, but I'd be much more interested in the opinion of someone not associated with anything MSU. A fresh set of eyes. Your buddy maybe a great coach, but even great coaches are still fans of their favorite team and become emotional.

It could also be a difference in coaching styles that he dislikes. Some coaches don't like the get all in your ass yelling technique. Could be the difference between a coach like Cohen and Canny.

[BrunswickDawg]

No one runs against those guys. Your friend being an MSU fan tells me that he had preconceived notions about Hevesy and likely used a healthy dose of confirmation bias.

Not saying he's wrong, but I'd be much more interested in the opinion of someone not associated with anything MSU. A fresh set of eyes. Your buddy maybe a great coach, but even great coaches are still fans of their favorite team and become emotional.

So here is a question I've wanted to ask for a long time -
Who played a sport at a high level (top tier HS, college, or pro) who didn't have either a head coach/assistant coach/position coach that was a dick? I played top tier HS baseball and summer leagues (pre-travel ball era) in Georgia, and the number of dick coaches I encountered goes head-to-head with the number of "likeable" coaches. My HS strength coach was a dick. The OL coach, RB coach, and DB coach at my HS had reps as being dicks. But, players busted their asses for them. Some of the dickish coaches I had ended up being my favorite coaches I've ever played for. At some positions, like OL coach, the majority of coaches I've ever met had the rep as being a dick. What makes Hev such an uber dick?

[Liverpooldawg]

The High School Coach is a MSU Grad....we have never been able to run the ball against an upper tier SEC defense...

Serious question: Who does?

[ILOATHEBears]

Not a Hevesy fan here, but I wonder if the myth of him being a bad coach has surpassed the reality.

1. How come none of our former players ever have a bad thing to say about Hevesy? Not saying he's great, but if he were awful, wouldn't one of the former players have said something publicly by now?

2. I would question if your HS coach friend was an MSU fan & if he already had a poor perception of Hevesy before attending practice. Just seems like their could have been a heavy dose of confirmation bias here if your HS coach friend was able to attend one single practice & determine that he wouldn't want his kids playing for Hev. Again, not a fan here & not saying he's wrong, but it seems like the myth may have surpasses reality at this point. I mean, the guy has now been an SEC OL coach for 8 years &, unless we have the wrong RB or QB playing, we've virtually been able to run the football the entire time. So he can't be awful & accomplish that.

I would say Hev if u have ever spent 5 minutes with the guy u would think he is a jerk however once his players are in he really builds great relationships with them. I've seen him grab a couple of oline and go watch a men's basketball game and they are cutting up having a good time. Hev issue recruiting is he needs to recruit the high school coaches first. He needs a strong rapport with them first to ever get to the player because they are the gatekeeper in most instances but when u walk in all Billy Bada$$ and I'm the sec coach acting bigger/better than the gatekeeper then u don't get far

[ShotgunDawg]

We certainly making enormous strides in building a program that can sustain winning & remain competitive year after year, but, if we are truly going to start taking the program to another level, we've got to start landing higher rated OL.

As much as the Mayden commitment highlights how far our program has come, committing a 4+ star OL would potentially mean as much if not more.

[BrunswickDawg]

When Mullen arrived he had a football program with no tradition of sustained winning, no reputation for putting players into the league at skill positions, sub-par facilities, a town with a reputation of being dead, a stadium with ZERO gameday atmosphere, playing in the toughest division in the toughest conference in the country, having to recruit against perennial national powers AND the cheatingist SOBs in the history of CFB.

Even the most enlightened among us - including random posters like C34 - admitted openly that to truly build a program into a contending power would take at least 10 years of bowl games every year and occasional jumps to 10 wins, etc. to consistently get the type players and attention to reverse 100 years of bad football traditions. It was only when Mullen began producing on a national level with 3-stars (years ahead of what EVERYONE thought) that those enlightened souls began dogging began critiquing Mullen for being a bad recruiter, and blaming Dan for not "taking advantage of 2014". Well, starting last year for the first time ever, we are recruiting kids who's only visions of MSU and Starkville are POSITIVE. They have seen Dan put McKinney, Slay, Banks, Jones and Dak - among 28 total guys in NFL camps right now. Twenty-Eight. They have seen us at #1. They have seen us on GameDay. They have seen Starkville featured everywhere. They have seen us put the face of the future on the Dallas Cowboys.

What Dan has built has coming to fruition. And yes, it took 10 years. But, quality, lasting products take time. There are bumps along the way. But we are just now at the point of having everything the big boys have and kids are noticing. The next 10 will show it.

[Tbonewannabe]

When Mullen arrived he had a football program with no tradition of sustained winning, no reputation for putting players into the league at skill positions, sub-par facilities, a town with a reputation of being dead, a stadium with ZERO gameday atmosphere, playing in the toughest division in the toughest conference in the country, having to recruit against perennial national powers AND the cheatingist SOBs in the history of CFB.

Even the most enlightened among us - including random posters like C34 - admitted openly that to truly build a program into a contending power would take at least 10 years of bowl games every year and occasional jumps to 10 wins, etc. to consistently get the type players and attention to reverse 100 years of bad football traditions. It was only when Mullen began producing on a national level with 3-stars (years ahead of what EVERYONE thought) that those enlightened souls began dogging began critiquing Mullen for being a bad recruiter, and blaming Dan for not "taking advantage of 2014". Well, starting last year for the first time ever, we are recruiting kids who's only visions of MSU and Starkville are POSITIVE. They have seen Dan put McKinney, Slay, Banks, Jones and Dak - among 28 total guys in NFL camps right now. Twenty-Eight. They have seen us at #1. They have seen us on GameDay. They have seen Starkville featured everywhere. They have seen us put the face of the future on the Dallas Cowboys.

What Dan has built has coming to fruition. And yes, it took 10 years. But, quality, lasting products take time. There are bumps along the way. But we are just now at the point of having everything the big boys have and kids are noticing. The next 10 will show it.

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to BrunswickDawg again.

[Tbonewannabe]

When Mullen arrived he had a football program with no tradition of sustained winning, no reputation for putting players into the league at skill positions, sub-par facilities, a town with a reputation of being dead, a stadium with ZERO gameday atmosphere, playing in the toughest division in the toughest conference in the country, having to recruit against perennial national powers AND the cheatingist SOBs in the history of CFB.

Even the most enlightened among us - including random posters like C34 - admitted openly that to truly build a program into a contending power would take at least 10 years of bowl games every year and occasional jumps to 10 wins, etc. to consistently get the type players and attention to reverse 100 years of bad football traditions. It was only when Mullen began producing on a national level with 3-stars (years ahead of what EVERYONE thought) that those enlightened souls began dogging began critiquing Mullen for being a bad recruiter, and blaming Dan for not "taking advantage of 2014". Well, starting last year for the first time ever, we are recruiting kids who's only visions of MSU and Starkville are POSITIVE. They have seen Dan put McKinney, Slay, Banks, Jones and Dak - among 28 total guys in NFL camps right now. Twenty-Eight. They have seen us at #1. They have seen us on GameDay. They have seen Starkville featured everywhere. They have seen us put the face of the future on the Dallas Cowboys.

What Dan has built has coming to fruition. And yes, it took 10 years. But, quality, lasting products take time. There are bumps along the way. But we are just now at the point of having everything the big boys have and kids are noticing. The next 10 will show it.

You also left off Gabe Jackson who is going to be one of the highest paid guards in the league and Fletcher Cox one of if not the highest paid Dlineman. This is another thing to publicize. We are not only getting guys in the league but when their contract comes up then they are some of the highest paid in the league. KJ Wright, Slay, Jackson, and Cox all got big contracts and Dak will be there in a couple of years.

[Liverpooldawg]

When Mullen arrived he had a football program with no tradition of sustained winning, no reputation for putting players into the league at skill positions, sub-par facilities, a town with a reputation of being dead, a stadium with ZERO gameday atmosphere, playing in the toughest division in the toughest conference in the country, having to recruit against perennial national powers AND the cheatingist SOBs in the history of CFB.

Even the most enlightened among us - including random posters like C34 - admitted openly that to truly build a program into a contending power would take at least 10 years of bowl games every year and occasional jumps to 10 wins, etc. to consistently get the type players and attention to reverse 100 years of bad football traditions. It was only when Mullen began producing on a national level with 3-stars (years ahead of what EVERYONE thought) that those enlightened souls began dogging began critiquing Mullen for being a bad recruiter, and blaming Dan for not "taking advantage of 2014". Well, starting last year for the first time ever, we are recruiting kids who's only visions of MSU and Starkville are POSITIVE. They have seen Dan put McKinney, Slay, Banks, Jones and Dak - among 28 total guys in NFL camps right now. Twenty-Eight. They have seen us at #1. They have seen us on GameDay. They have seen Starkville featured everywhere. They have seen us put the face of the future on the Dallas Cowboys.

What Dan has built has coming to fruition. And yes, it took 10 years. But, quality, lasting products take time. There are bumps along the way. But we are just now at the point of having everything the big boys have and kids are noticing. The next 10 will show it.

Yep.

[msstate7]

Really liked us stepping up and hiring a known commodity at D.C.