I was arguing with some sad State fans on Reddit, and I ended up compiling this

[hacker]

There are some sad State fans in the world, who just don't realize what is actually going on with our team. I was arguing with a couple on Reddit, and I decided to put together a list of who I think will be returning and getting most playing time at all positions on the field. I figured I'd post it here in case anyone wanted to see.

Here's the reddit thread in case anyone wants to see the background of where this came from: http://www.reddit.com/r/Msstate/comments/1vqzwk/a_few_questions_about_dan_mullen/

Offense

QB: Dak Prescott -- getting preseason heisman talk from several outlets, will probably end up being the best QB in MSU history. Gets an entire offseason with the 1s. We saw how good he looked in the bowl game after just a month of prep.

RB: Josh Robinson -- did not get enough touches last year behind Perkins. His stats are very similar to Ballard's. Our RB position will be improved.

RB: Ashton Shumpert -- 4 star freshman in the mold of Dixon. Power running beast.

WR: Jameon Lewis -- turning into one of the best slot receivers in the SEC.

WR: Derunnya Wilson -- I think only Treadwell at Ole Miss was a better freshman WR. He's only played 3 years of organized football. He's gigantic -- 6'6". The sky is the limit.

WR: Fred Ross -- 4 star, true freshman out of Texas, will be improved.

WR: Robert Johnson -- 4 star, much better year last year

WR: Joe Morrow -- 4 star, much better year last year for Stonehands, made some big plays when we needed it

WR: Jamoral Graham and Jesse Jackson are two more 4 star incoming WR recruits that may make an impact

TE: Malcolm Johnson -- Mackey Award candidate, one of the more athletic TEs in the SEC, made some huge plays this year

TE: Darrion Hutchinson, 6'7" 4 star juco TE that signed with Auburn out of high school

LT: Blaine Clausell -- 2 star, 4 year player that we've turned into an NFL player. Solid.

LG: We lose Gabe Jackson here. This is the biggest loss on the team. We're bringing in some jucos, hopefully we will have a solution for this position.

C: Dillon Day -- Remington Award candidate, turned into a great player for us

RG: Justin Malone / Jamaal Clayborn -- good competition here. Malone was injured in 2012. Clayborn was a true freshman who got a lot of playing time, he looks like he's going to be a really good one.

RT: We lose Siddoway here. He wasn't a world beater, but was serviceable. Can 4-star Damien Robinson step up? I think we'll find a replacement just fine -- maybe another juco.

Defense

DE: Preston Smith -- will be in the NFL next year, been our best DE for two years

DE: Chris Jones -- Ranked #2 recruit in America out of high school, proved he was better than Nkemdiche in their first year. I don't really need to say much. He will be one of the best players to ever play at MSU. I think he moves back out to DE since we're losing Denico. Huge improvement here.

DE: AJ Jefferson -- 4 star undersized but super explosive

DE: Ryan Brown -- not very heralded recruit, but came on strong last year. Had the best play of the bowl game IMO (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10223867)

DT: P.J. Jones -- 4 star senior next year. Will be a beast.

DT: Kaleb Eulls -- 4 star senior who has played out of position at DE most of his career. He's very athletic for DT, a touch too slow for DE. Will be improved after getting an offseason at DT.

DT: Nick James -- 5 star, when asked which player at MSU could have a program changing impact, Mullen said Nick James. If he gets his head screwed on right, and all indiciations are that he has, he will be another like Chris Jones.

DT: Quay Evans -- 5 star, but hearing he's having trouble with off the field and attitude issues. Has all the talent in the world, but may not make it due to his issues. Question mark here.

LB: Matthew Wells -- 4 star, NFL draft pick. One of the fastest players on the team and has the size of a LB.

LB: Dez Harris -- in the mold of Wells, one of the fastest players on the team.

LB: Benardrick McKinney -- 2 star recruit that Mullen has turned into a first round draft pick. coming back for his Junior year after getting a 2nd round NFL grade after his sophomore year. Will be one of the best LBs in the SEC next year, if not the best.

LB: Richie Brown -- 4 star freshman that will be backing up McKinney.

LB: Beniquez Brown -- 4 star freshman that took Skinner's spot later in the year. Huge upgrade at speed from Skinner, and Skinner will likely make a NFL team as a free agent.

LB: Dee Arrington -- 4 star that will be backing up Beniquez.

CB: Taveze Calhoun -- another 2 star recruit that Mullen has turned into a big time SEC player as a sophomore.

CB: Jamerson Love -- made huge plays all year in 2013

CB: Will Redmond -- 4 star recruit that was suspended most of his career, but played well in his first few games in the second half of the season

S: Justin Cox -- 4 star recruit, made one of the most athletic interceptions I've ever seen in the Egg Bowl (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10051982), will be even better after another offseason in the SEC and moving back to his natural position at safety

S: Jay Hughes -- starting safety that was injured in one of the first games of 2013, is one of the true leaders on the team. Will be great to get him back.

S: Kendrick Market -- another 2 star that Mullen has turned into a great player. undersized but is a great player.



I have NEVER seen this much talent on an MSU team. We are deep at every single spot on the field. The only position we lose talent is LG.

We also have some beasts coming in that will see playing time next year -- MS player of the year Aeris Williams, Gerri Green, etc.

Please just be excited for this team. They deserve it.

[smootness]

I love the guy who said Croom was a great recruiter and that Mullen won with his players.

The 2009 class was very good, but his first few classes were probably the worst in school history.

And Preston Smith/Dak Prescott/Benardrick McKinney/Chris Jones/De'Runnya Wilson/Jameon Lewis, our entire team going forward...all Mullen players.

ETA: Seriously, how many players last year were still Croom players? Gabe Jackson, Tyler Russell, Nickoe Whitley, Deontae Skinner...and? I'm pretty sure that was it, and only one of them started the bowl game.

[Coach34]

I look for Malone to end up being the RT. He is going to get a look there and my guess is that he handles it like a boss.
I think Clayborn is going to be the LG- Gabe Jackson Part Deaux
The staff likes Flowers and thinks he might be in the mix by kickoff at guard
Our Juco signee could end up at G or T

There is also rumor of a TE possibly going to work at OT this Spring- we can eliminate Hutcherson, Samuel, and MoJo

[gtowndawg]

I read it somewhere yesterday. Can't recall where though.

[Johnson85]

I look for Malone to end up being the RT. He is going to get a look there and my guess is that he handles it like a boss.
I think Clayborn is going to be the LG- Gabe Jackson Part Deaux
The staff likes Flowers and thinks he might be in the mix by kickoff at guard
Our Juco signee could end up at G or T

There is also rumor of a TE possibly going to work at OT this Spring- we can eliminate Hutcherson, Samuel, and MoJo

Did you mean to say Senior? I assume not since you said "get a look there", which implies a change of position, but I thought you wrote the other day you expected Senior to nail down the RT spot. Was that another poster/

[Coach34]

So we are looking at Clausell and Malone at the Tackles- with Senior, Warren, Robinson, Thomas, and maybe J. Johnson backing up.

Clayborn at one guard...maybe Johnson works at a guard along with Flowers...wonder if Beckwith has decided if he will go one more year or not?

I like our OL

[Belegal]

Left out Dt Adams and the safety from Florence who went to Hargrove- both will be outstanding!

[Coach34]

Did you mean to say Senior? I assume not since you said "get a look there", which implies a change of position, but I thought you wrote the other day you expected Senior to nail down the RT spot. Was that another poster/

No, Malone.

Senior will be given a chance to win a spot of course, but I cant see him outplaying Malone. I look for Senior to be able to give Clausell some more rest this year, playing more snaps. Then taking over at LT in 2015.

[BrunswickDawg]

Man, reading that thread, that Barrett51 character must have been Croom's headset holder or something.

[FISHDAWG]

Kivon Coman

[godlluB]

tl;dr

[hacker]

tl;dr

why even post?

[FlabLoser]

Mercy. How many days to kickoff?

Already having withdrawals.

[Jack Lambert]

why do people still defend Croom? He was horrible.

[smootness]

I don't think Croom was ever going to have a lot of success as a college HC, but I don't think his tenure overall was horrible. The results were, I'm just talking about the fact that he did do a lot of necessary things, like clean up the culture of the team, and he left Mullen with some good young talent to work with.

He definitely left the program in such shape that Mullen's transition wasn't overly difficult. I think it was in better shape when he left than when he arrived. Some may disagree, but I think he built a decent foundation, though his shortcomings kept him from really experiencing a lot of success himself because of that foundation.

I think the fact that Mullen hasn't had to deal with a lot of malcontents and the fact that we're a program built on guys with high character, on average, who come in and are ready to work hard, is at least partially due to Croom. Mullen had to continue that, but it had already been set up that way. Mullen just had to keep increasing the talent level and then coach them up and draw up a better offense.

[FISHDAWG]

agree here .... his stubborn refusal to keep Woody McCorvey prevented him from any further improvement ... adaptability is key

[The Croom Diaries]

I don't think Croom was ever going to have a lot of success as a college HC, but I don't think his tenure overall was horrible. The results were, I'm just talking about the fact that he did do a lot of necessary things, like clean up the culture of the team, and he left Mullen with some good young talent to work with.

He definitely left the program in such shape that Mullen's transition wasn't overly difficult. I think it was in better shape when he left than when he arrived. Some may disagree, but I think he built a decent foundation, though his shortcomings kept him from really experiencing a lot of success himself because of that foundation.

I think the fact that Mullen hasn't had to deal with a lot of malcontents and the fact that we're a program built on guys with high character, on average, who come in and are ready to work hard, is at least partially due to Croom. Mullen had to continue that, but it had already been set up that way. Mullen just had to keep increasing the talent level and then coach them up and draw up a better offense.

You're right on all fronts, but it was still a terrible hire where Templeton gave into Slive with the poor ole State way of thinking. There were plenty of other coaches that could have cleaned up the program as well, and not been so stubborn and bone-headed. It was a political hire. Whatever, we're passed it, but if we did have any real chance of hiring Jimbo Fisher I would like to kick LT in the nuts.

[Coach 57]

Good thread hacker. That's the typical Miss-Stake fan right there. People just amaze me at the idiocy they walk around with. Goodness gracious! The guy Barrett51 just needs to be a Bammer & get it over with. If they can't see this coming year as a monumental type year for this school. They ain't EVER going to see it! There are a few on here but at least they aren't THAT bad!

[Coach34]

Dont make Woody a scapegoat. We ran the Sylvester Crooms offense and we ran it just like he wanted. Let's not forget this is a man that said we were going to run straight at LSU "even if we only made 6 inches at a time"

And my favorite quote and the one that eventually got him fired (besides wins and losses)- "I'll retire before switching to the Spread offense"

[Goat Holder]

I think it was in better shape when he left than when he arrived.

Depends on how you look at it. He definitely built up the talent level and increased discipline, ie all those things you said. Personnel wise, the program was in better shape for sure when Mullen got it than when Croom got it. Even still, it wasn't as much as it SHOULD have been.

But in another way, he left the job worse than when he found it. We could have attracted a number of pretty good names in 2003. People saw the job as one where you could win reasonably, as Jackie had demonstrated. When Croom left, the job was seen as a joke job that nobody could ever win with, because if the savior CROOM could do it (he was such a GREAT man), then NOBODY could. We were very luck that we got Mullen, who was smart enough to see the situation and realize it wasn't that big of a joke.

[smootness]

Depends on how you look at it. He definitely built up the talent level and increased discipline, ie all those things you said. Personnel wise, the program was in better shape for sure when Mullen got it than when Croom got it. Even still, it wasn't as much as it SHOULD have been.

But in another way, he left the job worse than when he found it. We could have attracted a number of pretty good names in 2003. People saw the job as one where you could win reasonably, as Jackie had demonstrated. When Croom left, the job was seen as a joke job that nobody could ever win with, because if the savior CROOM could do it (he was such a GREAT man), then NOBODY could. We were very luck that we got Mullen, who was smart enough to see the situation and realize it wasn't that big of a joke.

I don't think it was that big of a joke in 09. Some State fans may have seen it that way, but there were some good candidates being thrown around even outside of Mullen, better than I remember seeing in 03.

[bluelightstar]

I don't think it was that big of a joke in 09. Some State fans may have seen it that way, but there were some good candidates being thrown around even outside of Mullen, better than I remember seeing in 03.

Yeah, the only person I remember saying that they just weren't interested in a job like State was then-OU offensive coordinator, Kevin Wilson. Who has been stuck at Indiana ever since.

[Johnson85]

I don't think Croom was ever going to have a lot of success as a college HC, but I don't think his tenure overall was horrible. The results were, I'm just talking about the fact that he did do a lot of necessary things, like clean up the culture of the team, and he left Mullen with some good young talent to work with.

He definitely left the program in such shape that Mullen's transition wasn't overly difficult. I think it was in better shape when he left than when he arrived. Some may disagree, but I think he built a decent foundation, though his shortcomings kept him from really experiencing a lot of success himself because of that foundation.

I think the fact that Mullen hasn't had to deal with a lot of malcontents and the fact that we're a program built on guys with high character, on average, who come in and are ready to work hard, is at least partially due to Croom. Mullen had to continue that, but it had already been set up that way. Mullen just had to keep increasing the talent level and then coach them up and draw up a better offense.

He left the program in different shape than he found it, better in some ways and worse in others.
- Talent-wise was probably a wash. Like the team he inherited, he left a team with some good NFL talent but also some serious holes.
- Discipline-wise it was probably a little better. Discipline was probably worse on the field as far as staying in shape and maintaining the good habits necessary to play good football, but it was also better off the field with fewer legal issues. And he left players that were dying for good coaching. I'll never forget Jamar CHaney actually stating on the record how nice it was to have a real coach.
- Perception-wise, it was worse. Jackie had proven you could win at State. Croom spent most of his 5 years telling people it was almost impossible to do and couldn't be done in 5 years.

Overall, Croom was a bad hire, but he got enough talent to Starkville to avoid completely crippling the program. We're lucky we made a good hire in Mullen; had we made another terrible hire, I think we could have established ourselves as the UK of the West, in which case we'd have had to make a particularly good hire to drag ourselves out of the basement.

[notsofarawaydawg]

Man, reading that thread, that Barrett51 character must have been Croom's headset holder or something.

My guess would be Jeremiah Short.

[sleepy dawg]

I'll never understand the mindset that Croom helped us and was what we needed because we needed to clean up the program. If your top goal is improving the character of your team, that's easy, but you will lose. If winning is not your #1 priority, you will lose. You don't have to lose nearly every game for 5 years to clean up your program. Someone like Mullen could've picked up where Jackie left off and ran with it and cleaned up the program too. We never had to go through that hellacious 5 years of misery. I am a believer in giving a coach time to prove he can do it. It wouldn't have been fair to fire him after a year or 2, but he was a terrible coach and we really weren't better off having him.

[Goat Holder]

Yeah I was going to mention that. Peterson obviously turned us down, who knows how serious that really was.

[Goat Holder]

That's the biggest pet peeve of mine, from all the Croom Disciples. It was far from just offense that got that dude fired. His special teams were horrific, much worse than anything we've seen under Mullen. It was a given that the opposition would start at the 40 yard line or better every time we kicked off. His offensive skill recrootin was beyond a joke. Fan support waned, nobody cared. We were literally laughed at, even in 2007. We had guys getting arrested all the time. Much more thuggery going on under him than Mullen. So the discipline isn't as great as it was said, either.

[Johnson85]

I'll never understand the mindset that Croom helped us and was what we needed because we needed to clean up the program. If your top goal is improving the character of your team, that's easy, but you will lose. If winning is not your #1 priority, you will lose. You don't have to lose nearly every game for 5 years to clean up your program. Someone like Mullen could've picked up where Jackie left off and ran with it and cleaned up the program too. We never had to go through that hellacious 5 years of misery. I am a believer in giving a coach time to prove he can do it. It wouldn't have been fair to fire him after a year or 2, but he was a terrible coach and we really weren't better off having him.

We really couldn't have fired him any earlier than we did. Even though it was because of the areas of the team that Croom didn't coach, the teams generally did get better through 2007. The offense always sucked, but the defense improved pretty much every year. Had we not caught lightening in a bottle in 2007 as far as the SEC being down, benefiting from fluke defensive scoring, and having a true freshman qb that limited the damage from Croom's offense, he could have and would have been fired after 2007. While he never should have been hired in the first place, I don't think we gave him too long once he got here.

[War Machine Dawg]

We really couldn't have fired him any earlier than we did. Even though it was because of the areas of the team that Croom didn't coach, the teams generally did get better through 2007. The offense always sucked, but the defense improved pretty much every year. Had we not caught lightening in a bottle in 2007 as far as the SEC being down, benefiting from fluke defensive scoring, and having a true freshman qb that limited the damage from Croom's offense, he could have and would have been fired after 2007. While he never should have been hired in the first place, I don't think we gave him too long once he got here.

Uhhhhh.....wrong. Do you forget who our AD was in '07? Good ol' LT, the guy who promised Crxxms a minimum of 7-8 years. Crxxms could've gone 0-12 in '07 and LT wouldn't have fired his fat ass. The only reason he was fired when he was is because Ninja Byrne took over in '08, combined with our worst ever Egg Bowl defeat. We'd have been stuck with that moron until at least 2010 if Doc hadn't found a way to oust LT.

[SheltonChoked]

This is the biggest complaint I have of the whole Croom era. Jumbo Fisher wanted the job, and was going to bring muschamp as dc. Instead we got Croom. Yes he was a good man. But he was a horrible coach. He could talk and eventually recruit. But not coach.