Jordan Sims

[defiantdog]

Looks like we're making strides with Sims. He was really surprised by our facilities and hit off well with fellow recruit S. Rawlings. Hopefully we stay on him as he visits OM on the 24th.

Also to note .... he really enjoyed the family atmosphere.

[Saltydog]

nt

[defiantdog]

Looks like us, OM, and Florida.... he visited Auburn back in the Fall but didn't name them to his final three. He hasn't visited Florida and isn't sure if he will. May be down to us and OM.

[CadaverDawg]

Would be a HUGE get in my opinion. I feel like we need one more good high school OLineman in this class to make it complete. This guy is listed as a really high 3 star on 247. This is the type of guy that our twitter guys need to show the love.

http://247sports.com/Player/Jordan-Sims-28230

[Saltydog]

nt

[maroonmania]

I know that OL recruiting can be dicey and hopefully some of the guys we are getting will be solid for us but so far we do not have ONE OL commit out of Johnson, Rawlings, Harris or Cooper that appear to have ONE other BCS offer between all four. Assuming we pick up Stallings he would be in the same situation. Are we THAT good at finding sleeper OL talent as compared to who other BCS teams are offering??? Hevesy does a pretty good job with the talent he has to work with but our OL recruiting overall is just plain NOT at the level of our recruiting in most all other areas. If we want our program to step up a notch then getting better OL recruits will be a big part of that. On paper, if we could get Sims, he would be the most in demand OL we would get this year. Sounds like he is more likely to go to OM though or at least was leaning that way before our visit.

[CadaverDawg]

I know that OL recruiting can be dicey and hopefully some of the guys we are getting will be solid for us but so far we do not have ONE OL commit out of Johnson, Rawlings, Harris or Cooper that appear to have ONE other BCS offer between all four. Assuming we pick up Stallings he would be in the same situation. Are we THAT good at finding sleeper OL talent as compared to who other BCS teams are offering??? Hevesy does a pretty good job with the talent he has to work with but our OL recruiting overall is just plain NOT at the level of our recruiting in most all other areas. If we want our program to step up a notch then getting better OL recruits will be a big part of that. On paper, if we could get Sims, he would be the most in demand OL we would get this year. Sounds like he is more likely to go to OM though or at least was leaning that way before our visit.

I agree, and have the same questions. Our OLine recruiting must get better.

[AlSwearengen]

if he enjoyed our family atmosphere, will hugh be taking him to revival while the other olemiss recruits are in the library bathroom with the hookers? Olemiss is all things to all people.

[SDDawg]

I know that OL recruiting can be dicey and hopefully some of the guys we are getting will be solid for us but so far we do not have ONE OL commit out of Johnson, Rawlings, Harris or Cooper that appear to have ONE other BCS offer between all four. Assuming we pick up Stallings he would be in the same situation. Are we THAT good at finding sleeper OL talent as compared to who other BCS teams are offering??? Hevesy does a pretty good job with the talent he has to work with but our OL recruiting overall is just plain NOT at the level of our recruiting in most all other areas. If we want our program to step up a notch then getting better OL recruits will be a big part of that. On paper, if we could get Sims, he would be the most in demand OL we would get this year. Sounds like he is more likely to go to OM though or at least was leaning that way before our visit.

Some of them do have BCS offers, Stallings does (UK).

[Todd4State]

I know that OL recruiting can be dicey and hopefully some of the guys we are getting will be solid for us but so far we do not have ONE OL commit out of Johnson, Rawlings, Harris or Cooper that appear to have ONE other BCS offer between all four. Assuming we pick up Stallings he would be in the same situation. Are we THAT good at finding sleeper OL talent as compared to who other BCS teams are offering??? Hevesy does a pretty good job with the talent he has to work with but our OL recruiting overall is just plain NOT at the level of our recruiting in most all other areas. If we want our program to step up a notch then getting better OL recruits will be a big part of that. On paper, if we could get Sims, he would be the most in demand OL we would get this year. Sounds like he is more likely to go to OM though or at least was leaning that way before our visit.

Well, let's see...

C- Day- offer from La Tech and is now a Remington Award candidate.
G- Gabe was committed under Croom, but definitely give Hevesey credit for developing him. Clayborn was not heavily recruited, but played as a true freshman and looks very promising.

G- Beckwith- Walk-on who is solid, replaced Malone who didn't have very many if any offers and is going to be a solid starter.

T- Clausell has been a four year starter and is solid and likely will be in the NFL after his senior year.

T- Siddoway was serviceable. We'll see how Jocquell Johnson turns out. Damien Robinson has not lived up to his 4-5 star rating, but has one more year to turn it around.

We've certainly had our share of misses- Daniel Knox, Nick Redmond, Eric Lawson, probably should/could have handled the Deon Mix situation better, Dylan Holley and Joey Trapp who were JUCO's that were no more than reserves, and Norman Price this year.

It looks to me as if we are about 50% at one of, if not the most difficult position group to evaluate, and I don't know how that compares to schools in similar situations. It does seem like we are hitting better lately- I like the potential of Desper, Clayborn, Flowers, Thomas, Senior, Cole Carter....and then if we bring in a class of Rawlings, Stallings, Calhoun, Sims, Harris, and then Jocquell Johnson- I'd give that group an A.

[smootness]

I know that OL recruiting can be dicey and hopefully some of the guys we are getting will be solid for us but so far we do not have ONE OL commit out of Johnson, Rawlings, Harris or Cooper that appear to have ONE other BCS offer between all four. Assuming we pick up Stallings he would be in the same situation. Are we THAT good at finding sleeper OL talent as compared to who other BCS teams are offering??? Hevesy does a pretty good job with the talent he has to work with but our OL recruiting overall is just plain NOT at the level of our recruiting in most all other areas. If we want our program to step up a notch then getting better OL recruits will be a big part of that. On paper, if we could get Sims, he would be the most in demand OL we would get this year. Sounds like he is more likely to go to OM though or at least was leaning that way before our visit.

Harris has offers from Iowa St, South Florida, Cincinnati, and Syracuse.

Rawlings may be getting an Ole Miss offer soon.

Cooper is a LB. If you mean Calhoun, he has a Louisville offer.

[maroonmania]

Some of them do have BCS offers, Stallings does (UK).

Yep, had forgotten that he does at least have the UK offer. I think the general point still remains though.

[maroonmania]

Harris has offers from Iowa St, South Florida, Cincinnati, and Syracuse.

Rawlings may be getting an Ole Miss offer soon.

Cooper is a LB. If you mean Calhoun, he has a Louisville offer.

Yep, meant Calhoun. Though I may have technically shortchanged an offer here or there the fact remains that all of our OL prospect commits seem to be lightly recruited. Sims, on the other hand, at least shows offers on his 247 profile from OM, AL, Aub, FL and us. That's significantly better than any offer list our other OL prospects have.

[SDDawg]

Johnson had an OM offer according to 247. So that makes Stallings, Johnson and Calhoun as all guys with at least one other BCS offer. Don't get me wrong, we do tend to focus more on "developmental" guys at that position but I think it's more about going with in-state guys or guys with ties to MS most often. Flowers and Thomas last year both had OM offers as well but no other big ones and Clayborn's only other offer was Southern. By all accounts, at least 2 of those guys will be in the 2 deep next year and indications are that Clayborn has a high ceiling. I think we're moving in the right direction with OL recruiting.

[Coach34]

I dont get it either- our OL recruiting has been pretty good. The only year our OL has struggled was in 2011 when we had all the injuries.

The OL problems are more internet legend than anything else. Take Clausell for example- all we heard this offseason was how Clowney was going to rape him. Instead, Clausell handled business.
Siddoway was one of the top juco OT's in the nation that we brought in. He gave us two solid years

I look for us to work Malone at RT this Spring. Malone is a guy that can play that position and do it well with his athleticism.
Staff thinks Clayborn is Gabe Jr and he likely moves to LG
We brought in the two top linemen in Miss last year in Flowers and Thomas- both of them look to be coming on they say.
Senior will be more ready to play this coming year- now that he is no longer in his teens.

Our WR recruiting was what has held us back for so long. It damn sure hasnt been the OL

[SDDawg]

Our WR recruiting was what has held us back for so long. It damn sure hasnt been the OL

And WRs are looking like a SQUAD next year, excited to see what that group can do. Just not much to complain about imo, Mullen is going to end up with a top 29-ish (small) class this time around as well if he can pull these last prospects. Sims would be GREAT, would love to have him but I think we'll have a good group either way for next year.

[maroonmania]

I dont get it either- our OL recruiting has been pretty good. The only year our OL has struggled was in 2011 when we had all the injuries.

The OL problems are more internet legend than anything else. Take Clausell for example- all we heard this offseason was how Clowney was going to rape him. Instead, Clausell handled business.
Siddoway was one of the top juco OT's in the nation that we brought in. He gave us two solid years

I look for us to work Malone at RT this Spring. Malone is a guy that can play that position and do it well with his athleticism.
Staff thinks Clayborn is Gabe Jr and he likely moves to LG
We brought in the two top linemen in Miss last year in Flowers and Thomas- both of them look to be coming on they say.
Senior will be more ready to play this coming year- now that he is no longer in his teens.

Our WR recruiting was what has held us back for so long. It damn sure hasnt been the OL

Production with our OL and level of prospects we are signing in my view are totally different things. We do really well with OL development apparently and we certainly have done a good job with identifying some sleepers that have been productive (Clausell and Day come to mind) but that is a totally separate issue than the fact that we don't seem to do worth a flip when battling other SEC schools or other better BCS programs for OL. That's just a fact and we don't really have that problem at other positions at least not to the same degree. You seem to be indicating our OL is "good enough" with what we are recruiting now whereas I think if we could elevate our recruiting level with the OL position we might could likely move from adequate to dominant with our coaching and development. I mean does somebody actually believe that if we could mix in some solid 4 star OL or at least some guys with multiple other SEC offers with what we already have we wouldn't be better?

[Goat Holder]

Seems to be a recurring theme about people being 'surprised' about our facilities and MSU/Starkville in General. Especially in Birmingham.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Only downside on Sims is he needs to lose 40-50lbs. He measured in at the Army game at 6'2 370lbs.

[defiantdog]

Seems to be a recurring theme about people being 'surprised' about our facilities and MSU/Starkville in General. Especially in Birmingham.

Not gonna lie.... Bobby Humphrey did tell me over the summer he was very impressed with the development of our athletics. And yes, I do seem him quiet often where I work.

[Coach34]

Production with our OL and level of prospects we are signing in my view are totally different things. We do really well with OL development apparently and we certainly have done a good job with identifying some sleepers that have been productive (Clausell and Day come to mind) but that is a totally separate issue than the fact that we don't seem to do worth a flip when battling other SEC schools or other better BCS programs for OL. That's just a fact and we don't really have that problem at other positions at least not to the same degree. You seem to be indicating our OL is "good enough" with what we are recruiting now whereas I think if we could elevate our recruiting level with the OL position we might could likely move from adequate to dominant with our coaching and development. I mean does somebody actually believe that if we could mix in some solid 4 star OL with what we already have we wouldn't be better?

But here is my problem with all that:

OL talent is so hard to judge for RR accountants, drug rehab graduates, and guys that love xanax, wine, and hanging out in the bathroom at the Library. So many of these guys have to mature as they get into college because OL is so hard to play. Just because the Jean's, Rosebowl's, and Fancy's of the world rate these guys incorrectly doesnt mean we arent recruiting well there.

I'll use Benardrick McKinney as an example again. He was always a 4-5 star talent. Mullen and crew didnt give him any more talent- all they did was add a weightlifting program and teach him to play LB.

Gabe Jackson was a 3-star and he's been NFL bound since his Freshmen year.
Clayborn is in the same mold- he's NFL bound in 3 more years

What Jean, Steve-o, and Fancy rate them doesnt matter.

Now, I'm not saying "stars dont matter"- but Corky from Life Goes On can tell you Aeris Williams is a 4-star player. Anybody can see the more polished, mature, athletes coming out of HS. But just because we are getting 3-star guys- doesnt mean we arent getting very talented players upfront. Could we use more? Sure, we can always use more talent at any position. But as a whole- our OL hasnt been a problem. Our lack of talent at the WR position has held us back the most on offense. We're about to have our 2nd OL player go in the 1st or 2nd round since 2010, but we dont have a WR that can make a 53 man roster- much less be drafted at all.

[Todd4State]

But here is my problem with all that:

OL talent is so hard to judge for RR accountants, drug rehab graduates, and guys that love xanax, wine, and hanging out in the bathroom at the Library. So many of these guys have to mature as they get into college because OL is so hard to play. Just because the Jean's, Rosebowl's, and Fancy's of the world rate these guys incorrectly doesnt mean we arent recruiting well there.

I'll use Benardrick McKinney as an example again. He was always a 4-5 star talent. Mullen and crew didnt give him any more talent- all they did was add a weightlifting program and teach him to play LB.

Gabe Jackson was a 3-star and he's been NFL bound since his Freshmen year.
Clayborn is in the same mold- he's NFL bound in 3 more years

What Jean, Steve-o, and Fancy rate them doesnt matter.

Now, I'm not saying "stars dont matter"- but Corky from Life Goes On can tell you Aeris Williams is a 4-star player. Anybody can see the more polished, mature, athletes coming out of HS. But just because we are getting 3-star guys- doesnt mean we arent getting very talented players upfront. Could we use more? Sure, we can always use more talent at any position. But as a whole- our OL hasnt been a problem. Our lack of talent at the WR position has held us back the most on offense. We're about to have our 2nd OL player go in the 1st or 2nd round since 2010, but we dont have a WR that can make a 53 man roster- much less be drafted at all.

I would say that the stars matter the least with o-linemen. They have no clue how to rate them. And as far as Aeries Williams- Corky could tell you that he's a four star guy, but scout had him rated a three star until he won Mississippi POY- so I don't know what that says about them, but I thought it was pretty funny.

But back to the o-line- Sherrod was a first round pick, Gabe will be a first or second round pick, and then Day and Clausell will probably be NFL bound next year. And like you said- we've got more on the way.

[CadaverDawg]

Production with our OL and level of prospects we are signing in my view are totally different things. We do really well with OL development apparently and we certainly have done a good job with identifying some sleepers that have been productive (Clausell and Day come to mind) but that is a totally separate issue than the fact that we don't seem to do worth a flip when battling other SEC schools or other better BCS programs for OL. That's just a fact and we don't really have that problem at other positions at least not to the same degree. You seem to be indicating our OL is "good enough" with what we are recruiting now whereas I think if we could elevate our recruiting level with the OL position we might could likely move from adequate to dominant with our coaching and development. I mean does somebody actually believe that if we could mix in some solid 4 star OL or at least some guys with multiple other SEC offers with what we already have we wouldn't be better?

Exactly. Coach and others always want to point out that we have done well at OL...but recruiting well and developing well are 2 different things. Yes, we can take a 2 or 3 star and turn them into a serviceable lineman in the SEC...so imagine what we could do with a 4 or 5 star or two. Not saying we haven't been ok, but we can definitely get better.

For whatever reason, you can discuss talent level at any position, but don't you dare question the talent level on our OL or you will get snapped into place by the OL patrol. Chill out, folks, we're just saying that giving Hevesy a little bit better talent on the front end would make things a lot better than having to count on him developing diamonds in the rough his whole career...because typically those things have a way of evening themselves out.

[Coach34]

Exactly. Coach and others always want to point out that we have done well at OL...but recruiting well and developing well are 2 different things. Yes, we can take a 2 or 3 star and turn them into a serviceable lineman in the SEC....

but that's what you are not getting- my point is that we have had talent on the OL. You guys are worried too much about stars and not the actual talent.

Gabe Jackson has been NFL bound since he was a Freshman- everybody saw his talent. He hadnt had any development at that point. Same for Clayborn now- he's hardly had any development- but he is NFL bound in 3 years. It's obvious when you watch him play.

When I think of where we havent had talent- it's QB and WR. WR hasnt sniffed a draft pick. QB hasnt either. Russell was always a longshot at best. So if I was going to complain our the talent level on offense these last 5 years- its been at QB and WR. Tyson Lee, Chris Relf, Chris Smith, etc...that's what has kept us from moving up into the top 1/3 of the SEC- not the OL

[MetEdDawg]

It's all about perception. It would be nice for us to get more highly rated guys so that we can get the publicity about our class and our school and get people to realize what we are building. We don't get the flashy guys, we don't get the highly recruited guys, but we get the hard workers that can be molded into whatever role it is we want them to play and they excel. Kids don't see that and media doesn't care about that until we go out and win a ton of games, which we finally have the chance to do next year.

We should sit here and praise the staff for the recruiting they've done because they have molded many guys that nobody else wanted into NFL talent or quality SEC players. Unfortunately, until we win the big games, very few big name guys will come to us so that they can be developed into a solid football player. They can get more recognition at a Bama, LSU, Auburn, and others in the SEC.

It's a double edged sword to me. I understand that there are big name guys out there every year that are can't miss guys that we would love to have. But there are so many of these guys who have inflated ratings on recruiting sites because of a school's subscribed members to the site, college school name recognition, state/high school they come from, and other factors, that you can miss on a ton of 4 stars and some 5 stars because of how these guys get inflated based on these factors. I like the way we do things because we rarely miss on guys no matter the star. We don't star hunt and we find qualities that will allow kids to succeed at the SEC level and potentially the next level. I would like us to have a few more of those can't miss guys, but it's hard to knock what we are doing when two stars like Clausell, McKinney, Day, Slay, Jameon, Love, Calhoun, and Preston Smith all have either been drafted or could get drafted in the next two years. Think about the role these guys listed play on our team and the potential they have to play in the NFL and it's hard to knock what we are building.

[Goat Holder]

When I think of where we havent had talent- it's QB and WR.

Nobody in their right mind can disagree with this. We struggled on the OL in 2011 but that's mainly because of Croom's lack of recruiting. But overall it's the QB and WRs. We've never had the guy that can game-break for us. Russell was solid, but that's all he was. Not as bad as many say but he was somewhat dependent on the talent around him too. Relf was the same, pretty good when he had a supporting cast.

This problem has been around forever. If we'd had just an above average QB in 1999/2000 we might be national champions.

[SDDawg]

But there are so many of these guys who have inflated ratings on recruiting sites because of a school's subscribed members to the site, college school name recognition, state/high school they come from, and other factors, that you can miss on a ton of 4 stars and some 5 stars because of how these guys get inflated based on these factors. I like the way we do things because we rarely miss on guys no matter the star. We don't star hunt and we find qualities that will allow kids to succeed at the SEC level and potentially the next level. I would like us to have a few more of those can't miss guys, but it's hard to knock what we are doing when two stars like Clausell, McKinney, Day, Slay, Jameon, Love, Calhoun, and Preston Smith all have either been drafted or could get drafted in the next two years. Think about the role these guys listed play on our team and the potential they have to play in the NFL and it's hard to knock what we are building.

Great point, the ratings "inflation" is definitely a big issue. It is criminal to see the ratings for some of these guys that frankly avoid contact do better in the weight room than on the football field.

[tcdog70]

I dont get it either- our OL recruiting has been pretty good. The only year our OL has struggled was in 2011 when we had all the injuries.

The OL problems are more internet legend than anything else. Take Clausell for example- all we heard this offseason was how Clowney was going to rape him. Instead, Clausell handled business.
Siddoway was one of the top juco OT's in the nation that we brought in. He gave us two solid years

I look for us to work Malone at RT this Spring. Malone is a guy that can play that position and do it well with his athleticism.
Staff thinks Clayborn is Gabe Jr and he likely moves to LG
We brought in the two top linemen in Miss last year in Flowers and Thomas- both of them look to be coming on they say.
Senior will be more ready to play this coming year- now that he is no longer in his teens.

Our WR recruiting was what has held us back for so long. It damn sure hasnt been the OL

Agree, you are spot on. I don't get people calling Holley a bust. he has played pretty well. Just because he couldn't beat out Day doesn't make Him a bust. He has played a lot and provided good depth. Even Trapp played on special teams and provided depth. A bust to Me is someone that never plays or makes the depth chart.

[defiantdog]

We develop players very well .... I wonder if players like Patterson and Ward would have been different if they came to State instead of OM.

[Goat Holder]

Hard to say. We can't do much with Quay Evans it seems, and he's that 'type'.

[esplanade91]

Clausell has turned into a solid OT but lets not forget how horrible he was his freshman season. Look at Tunsil at OMU. If we can up our game in recruiting we won't have play like '11.

I have no serious complaints about the offensive line except when people graduate or people get hurt. Going after a couple out of state big guys could help that. In honesty could it be that hard? Look at our success with the line. Find a dad that cares about sending his kid to a school that will help him get to the NFL and recruit through him.