So Sean Rawlings has had visits from Todd Wade and Matt Luke this week.

[Thick]

OM has done nothing but keep Sean warm will recruiting bigger "stars". Now after Nix has pissed off their entire family during the process they are going to offer him? Something is not right, but from what I've been told that we are not going to hold a spot for him. I totally understand that they are OM people, but we have recruited him from the start as someone we wanted to sign, not a plan B or C. If what I have been told is true, then kudos to the staff for taking a hard stand. The sad thing about this is if Sean does go and gets no offer then he might only have ULL to fall back on. Any thoughts?

[SDDawg]

You sure Hud hasn't pulled his scholly?! **

In all seriousness, I think this situation will be over by Sunday night. Either Sean will be on record as staying a Dawg or he'll flip and we'll plug another strong player into the slot, we have some really good ones that we were concerned about having spots for and I think people will really like the guys that end up on the final list of commits. Bottom line, we don't need a kid who wouldn't truly want to be here and would have second thoughts so this situation is going to work out fine either way.

;)

[FlabLoser]

Rawlings is clearly Ole Miss's plan C or D. What happens if Rawlings decides to go to Ole Miss and then Ole Miss has somebody higher on the board step up and sign with Ole Miss on national signing day? Rawlings should not trust Ole Miss.

[Thick]

You sure Hud hasn't pulled his scholly?! **

In all seriousness, I think this situation will be over by Sunday night. Either Sean will be on record as staying a Dawg or he'll flip and we'll plug another strong player into the slot, we have some really good ones that we were concerned about having spots for and I think people will really like the guys that end up on the final list of commits. Bottom line, we don't need a kid who wouldn't truly want to be here and would have second thoughts so this situation is going to work out fine either way.

;)

Nicely put.

[SDDawg]

Rawlings is clearly Ole Miss's plan C or D. What happens if Rawlings decides to go to Ole Miss and then Ole Miss has somebody higher on the board step up and sign with Ole Miss on national signing day? Rawlings should not trust Ole Miss.

They'll just offer a gray shirt and then he'll end up at ULL. The downside is real but I don't think he'll end up without a place to go. Hell, he may end up walking on at OM. I think anything can happen at this point but hopefully sanity will prevail and he'll end up in Starkville. If he wants to have a shot at the NFL, that's what he'll do.

[Harrydawg]

Thick, so you have heard that MSU has told him IF he visits UM, Sean runs the risk of having his offer pulled (spot not held)......I don't think our coaches have much choice other than play it like this.

[msstate7]

If we pull his offer publicly, then I feel certain OM would only offer him greyshirt. If we're gonna lose him, I think we should leave the offer out there to force OM to offer him.

ALL SPECULATION

[Homedawg]

All thick is saying is if he visits his spot is no longer guaranteed. He didn't say we had already pulled it. Correct me of I'm wrong thick.

[deltadawg99]

Todd Wade and Matt Luke visited him?

[Thick]

I am saying that IF he visits, then his spot will be available. Matt Luke was waiting for him when he returned from Starkville, and Wade spoke to him sometime this week. I think that the Rawlings have told our staff that up until this point that the recruitment by OM has been less then desirable, so when we find out that Sean might visit this weekend then that raises red flags...period! Mr. Rawlings was all over us in early fall about an offer, we extended, they accepted, and SUDDENLY, there's maybe a change of heart. I'll be honest, it's hard for me to believe that they would leverage our offer to get an OM offer. They really are good people, but I guess crazier things have happened.

[Bothrops]

OM will offer Rawlings this wknd, you can book it. I think they might get Sims also.

[CadaverDawg]

If I were an OM fan, it would concern me that Freeze has to rely on Mullen to find top talent. Freeze is a star gazer, and without development, that won't cut it. Orgeron 2.0

[SDDawg]

If I were an OM fan, it would concern me that Freeze has to rely on Mullen to find top talent. Freeze is a star gazer, and without development, that won't cut it. Orgeron 2.0

I am insulted that you would compare Coach O. to Freeze, at least O has heart. Freeze is a just a soul-less schmuck.

[engie]

They actively recruit by the websites. That's the crazy thing. Freeze has admitted in the past how much recruiting rankings mean to him...Could you imagine if one of our coaches were on twitter commenting on "beating the crystal ball"?

Still not worried about Rawlings. He's either a Dawg or he isn't. I'm confident that we've evaluated well and planned ahead. We are about to pump out our second early round draft pick OL under the current staff. Got a total stud out of a 2* with no offers that many questioned us taking when we did last year. The way I see it -- the next one can be Rawlings or it can be someone else.

[CadaverDawg]

They actively recruit by the websites. That's the crazy thing. Freeze has admitted in the past how much recruiting rankings mean to him...Could you imagine if one of our coaches were on twitter commenting on "beating the crystal ball"?

Still not worried about Rawlings. He's either a Dawg or he isn't. I'm confident that we've evaluated well and planned ahead. We are about to pump out our second early round draft pick OL under the current staff. Got a total stud out of a 2* with no offers that many questioned us taking when we did last year. The way I see it -- the next one can be Rawlings or it can be someone else.

Bravo. Couldn't have said it better than the bolded part you just said.

[SDDawg]

http://klipd.com/screenshots/cd5e8a85967f556d736eff45c506d4f6-1.jpg

[Bothrops]

If I were an OM fan, it would concern me that Freeze has to rely on Mullen to find top talent. Freeze is a star gazer, and without development, that won't cut it. Orgeron 2.0

This^ is very true. This is why I really don't worry about their class rankings.

[codeDawg]

I think public speculation is not constructive. I would be thrilled for Sean to be a Dawg, but it's a choice he has to make. I hope he makes the right choice for him in a timeframe that accommodates what he wants to do. It's not as simple as we would all like it to be.

[Thick]

I think public speculation is not constructive. I would be thrilled for Sean to be a Dawg, but it's a choice he has to make. I hope he makes the right choice for him in a timeframe that accommodates what he wants to do. It's not as simple as we would all like it to be.

Normally, I would agree with your statement, but this situation is not normal. This was not 2 schools competing head-to-head for a player that both wanted. This is one school sees the potential and feels he can be a real contributor. While the other has really just kept the player and his family Luke warm as a plan c if their "star" players don't pan out. This is not public speculation. Me and several others on this board have spoken to the Rawlings through the process. FWIW, Greg Knox has done a fabulous job representing our program with the Rawlings!

[basedog]

Die-hard OM mother. It isn't his Dad who became concerned when he found out his son was going to visit OM. I really believe Rawlings wants to be a Rebel. We have told him exactly what you say about him visiting and we may not have a spot for him which I believe we have moved on from him now, I would cause of the doubt in Rawlings mine as well as his heart.

If OM doesn't offer which they probably will, I would walk on and try to get a scholarship.

[msstate7]

Die-hard OM mother. It isn't his Dad who became concerned when he found out his son was going to visit OM. I really believe Rawlings wants to be a Rebel. We have told him exactly what you say about him visiting and we may not have a spot for him which I believe we have moved on from him now, I would cause of the doubt in Rawlings mine as well as his heart.

If OM doesn't offer which they probably will, I would walk on and try to get a scholarship.

If the kid is actively pursuing an OM offer, I think we should go after jervontius stallings harder. He has a decent offer sheet.

[engie]

Surely there is no way he leaves Madison toward Oxford without a firm offer and guaranteed spot for them.

[msstate7]

Surely there is no way he leaves Madison toward Oxford without a firm offer and guaranteed spot for them.

I agree. Then we can agree that if he goes, he's gone, right?

[engie]

Surely there is no way he actually leaves Madison toward Oxford without a firm offer and guaranteed spot for them. Especially if he's assured he may lose his spot with us for visiting.

[Original48]

I really would hate to lose Sean for personal reasons. But this tweet I saw last night kind of put things in perspective for me...@bobounds: this >> RT @OzarkaNSW: @bobounds Last year Chris Jones, this year a private school 2 star. How times change so quickly

[codeDawg]

I really would hate to lose Sean for personal reasons. But this tweet I saw last night kind of put things in perspective for me...@bobounds: this >> RT @OzarkaNSW: @bobounds Last year Chris Jones, this year a private school 2 star. How times change so quickly

Seriously. This is not a case of benefits or other shady activity. Let the kid pick where he wants to go to school. If we have to drop him because we can't hold a spot, so be it. He's obviously wanted and welcome, but he's replaceable. I don't understand why there is such drama around this.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

We plan on taking Stallings with or without Rawlings.



If the kid is actively pursuing an OM offer, I think we should go after jervontius stallings harder. He has a decent offer sheet.

[cubswillwinitonedaydawg]

Seriously. This is not a case of benefits or other shady activity. Let the kid pick where he wants to go to school. If we have to drop him because we can't hold a spot, so be it. He's obviously wanted and welcome, but he's replaceable. I don't understand why there is such drama around this.

I agree. And I'll be much less concerned about this than with CJ Johnson and others because like you said, this one won't be about last minute handouts that were too hard to pass up.

BUT, can you imagine how many articles/blogs/tweets there will be from Talty, Kellenberger, Stevens, etc. May have to avoid twitter and Clarion Ledger if this happens.

[msstate7]

We plan on taking Stallings with or without Rawlings.

Good

[msstate7]

I really would hate to lose Sean for personal reasons. But this tweet I saw last night kind of put things in perspective for me...@bobounds: this >> RT @OzarkaNSW: @bobounds Last year Chris Jones, this year a private school 2 star. How times change so quickly

Well if I could choose 1 of the 2 to lose, it'd be Rawlings.

No knock on Rawlings. Jones is a potential all-time player. Jones is the definition of special

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

OMG...I CAN'T BELIEVE Y'ALL ARE INSINUATING THINGS ABOUT THESE PEOPLE AND THEIR SON, THEY MIGHT READ THIS BOARD AND GET THE WRONG IMPRESSION OF OUR FANBASE...GAH WORST FANS EVER********

[bully99]

Anybody who takes bo bounds seriously should have their head examined. He's a buffoon and a notorious race card peddler. This is the same guy who has said in the past that college football was not legitimate before the early 70s because there were no black players. So when he calls Rawlings a private school two star player, it's a code word for white guy can't play. I wish people would quit giving credibility to this guy.

[codeDawg]

I agree. And I'll be much less concerned about this than with CJ Johnson and others because like you said, this one won't be about last minute handouts that were too hard to pass up.

BUT, can you imagine how many articles/blogs/tweets there will be from Talty, Kellenberger, Stevens, etc. May have to avoid twitter and Clarion Ledger if this happens.

People freaking out and driving traffic about insignificant events is why those articles are written.

[engie]

Except no one has said a single thing negative about them and their son. That was just you.

[smootness]

Matt Luke was waiting for him when he returned from Starkville

This is the stuff that would tick me off if I were a recruit, and I realize all teams do it to some degree. But first, you're going to continue to sit here and waste my time when you haven't even given me an offer yet? You're going to tell me all about how great Ole Miss is and how much they want me while clearly not yet wanting me enough to offer?

Second, you're going to intrude on me immediately after I visit another school and not even let me get settled in after the trip? If schools handled me that way as a recruit, it would pretty much be game over for them. I'm not picking a coach because he smothered me and told me how much they just had to have me and tried to play games and hinder another school's chances. I'm picking the school I want to attend where their coaches seem like good people who will treat you well and coach you hard.

Of course, to handle things that way you have to understand that these coaches will all tell you how much you're needed, then the second you're on campus attending classes, they're the same ones who will treat you like a dog. Tough to discern for a lot of HS kids, though.

And none of this has anything to do with Rawlings, just my observations on the way coaches play the recruiting game sometimes.

[HancockCountyDog]

Surely there is no way he actually leaves Madison toward Oxford without a firm offer and guaranteed spot for them. Especially if he's assured he may lose his spot with us for visiting.

He does not have an offer as of this morning. I really hope our coaching staff tells him that if he goes on the visit that his offer is going to Stallings. They seem like a nice family, but its too close to signing day and we can't screw around with this shit.

I think the issue driving most of this is that his brother is at Ole Miss and the family wants everyone to be together. I get that, but I also don't care.

If he leaves for Oxford he better not come home without an offer. Then again - the staff may give him until Sunday - but I just don't like waiting around.

[Homedawg]

The problem with yanking his offer is we then would be letting them have him as a walk on. A good walk on. We are going to take stallings no matter what.

[CadaverDawg]

I really would hate to lose Sean for personal reasons. But this tweet I saw last night kind of put things in perspective for me...@bobounds: this >> RT @OzarkaNSW: @bobounds Last year Chris Jones, this year a private school 2 star. How times change so quickly

I may be reading too deep, but I think many of you are misunderstanding this post from O48.

I believe what he's saying is, we should all rest easy knowing that the OM "recruiting machine"has gone from trying to take the #2 player in the country from us, to trying to steal a talented 2-3 star that Mullen discovered. It shows that things are swinging back in our direction since last Feb in my opinion.

Apparently Freeze has no ability to identify talent. He relies on recruiting websites and Mullen's offer sheet to determine who to go after. It's only a matter of time with a formula like that.

[msstate7]

The problem with yanking his offer is we then would be letting them have him as a walk on. A good walk on. We are going to take stallings no matter what.

I agree with this. We have to make OM use an offer up on him

[Thick]

There were 2 reasons for posting this info. 1) Was to make you aware of what was happening, and maybe the staff already has his spot filled, and 2.) was to have a mature discussion about the situation without the name calling or degrading rants about a player's decision or his family for that matter. We should not be pissed about losing a player that has grown up as an OM fan his whole life. I hate to lose him, but I understand it too.

[msstate7]

There were 2 reasons for posting this info. 1) Was to make you aware of what was happening, and maybe the staff already has his spot filled, and 2.) was to have a mature discussion about the situation without the name calling or degrading rants about a player's decision or his family for that matter. We should not be pissed about losing a player that has grown up as an OM fan his whole life. I hate to lose him, but I understand it too.

In a sense I've already moved on. I think we should get JT gray. Assuming we get stallings

[Bully13]

what's more important to me than the Rawlings saga is that when you look at ole miss' OL commits vs ours and you have to ask why in the 17 can't we get sims in our camp? when are we going to start playing big boy ball with OL croots? people here are saying that sims is going to ole miss.. what in the living 17 are we 17ing doing?

[Bo Darville]

The problem with yanking his offer is we then would be letting them have him as a walk on. A good walk on. We are going to take stallings no matter what.

I think if he walked on he would still count against the scholarship numbers. That is because he was actively recruited (took a visit, was mailed letters, etc). That is an NCAA rule to prevent people from working around the scholarship numbers.

[mic]

We wont pull his offer. Unless we get more commits this weekend than we expect .. which isn't going to happen.
If Sean leaves with committing to them this weekend we are probably all good with him. Will know soon. if he does flip its OK we have some nice prospects left..

[smootness]

I think if he walked on he would still count against the scholarship numbers. That is because he was actively recruited (took a visit, was mailed letters, etc). That is an NCAA rule to prevent people from working around the scholarship numbers.

Yup.

[coastdoglover]

Matt Luke was paid to go as a walk on. Tubberville was short on scholarships so he got the rebel machine together to put up the money for Matt along with Sam Owen from Gulfport their first year. Then a scholarship was awarded in year 2. Don't ever think the Rebs won't find a way to do anything and if they have a pro reb family, it is even easier for them. I wish the kid well but if he thinks he was a top priority for them, then he needs to go there. They got on him after we committed him. Sad but true.

[Original48]

I may be reading too deep, but I think many of you are misunderstanding this post from O48.

I believe what he's saying is, we should all rest easy knowing that the OM "recruiting machine"has gone from trying to take the #2 player in the country from us, to trying to steal a talented 2Y-3 star that Mullen discovered. It shows that things are swinging back in our direction since last Feb in my opinion.

Apparently Freeze has no ability to identify talent. He relies on recruiting websites and Mullen's offer sheet to determine who to go after. It's only a matter of time with a formula like that.
This. I want Rawlings at State. But it really is amusing to watch this last second push from Ole Miss when they have clearly been uninterested up until now. It doesn't fit their star gazing, national recruiting philosophy. Just kinda weird to me.

[Bo Darville]

Matt Luke was paid to go as a walk on. Tubberville was short on scholarships so he got the rebel machine together to put up the money for Matt along with Sam Owen from Gulfport their first year. Then a scholarship was awarded in year 2. Don't ever think the Rebs won't find a way to do anything and if they have a pro reb family, it is even easier for them. I wish the kid well but if he thinks he was a top priority for them, then he needs to go there. They got on him after we committed him. Sad but true.

If Rawlings goes to Ole Miss, I assure you it will be on scholarship. Maybe a greyshirt, but it will not be as a walk-on. I assure you of that. There is no way they could skirt the NCAA rule on this. None.

[Thick]

We wont pull his offer. Unless we get more commits this weekend than we expect .. which isn't going to happen.
If Sean leaves with committing to them this weekend we are probably all good with him. Will know soon. if he does flip its OK we have some nice prospects left..

If he visits, his spot is available. If we tell him that we are ok with him visiting this late in the game, he goes, receives an offer, and decommits, we look foolish. Visit=no scholly from MSU.

[smootness]

If he visits, his spot is available. If we tell him that we are ok with him visiting this late in the game, he goes, receives an offer, and decommits, we look foolish. Visit=no scholly from MSU.

We're even more foolish if he hasn't fully decided, wants to go on the visit to make up his mind, and we pull his scholarship while still having a legitimate shot at him.

You can't play games like this based on perception or you run the risk of losing a quality player to OM that you may have otherwise gotten.

I agree that if he visits, it's likely he flips to Ole Miss, but our coaches know the situation better than we do. If he isn't 100% flipping, then you don't pull his offer. You may tell him we could fill that spot with someone else ready to come in, but you don't just pull his offer completely.

[Coach34]

Guys, Thick isnt making conjecture.

Rawlings visits OM- then he has no certain offer. We will give other recruits that chance to take it. We're not going to wait around and be a back-up plan for him in case he doesnt get an OM offer. We will move forward

He doesnt need to visit OM to know if he wants to play there or not

[bully99]

I agree ,he's been going there all his life. Doesn't need an official visit to tell him that.

[sandwolf]

Anybody who takes bo bounds seriously should have their head examined. He's a buffoon and a notorious race card peddler. This is the same guy who has said in the past that college football was not legitimate before the early 70s because there were no black players. So when he calls Rawlings a private school two star player, it's a code word for white guy can't play. I wish people would quit giving credibility to this guy.

What are you talking about? Bounds didn't call Rawlings a private school two star......he retweeted one of our fans that called him that.

[tcdog70]

Todd Wade was His cousin's husbands roommate at Ole Miss. His Cousin's Husband played center for them. He knows all about Ole Miss. But I have to still think he is coming to State. I'm pretty sure He already knew Wade and Luke.

[Coach34]

. But I have to still think he is coming to State.

"Don't think- you can only hurt the ballclub"- Crash Davis

[Jack Lambert]

This is what I think is going on. Last year they beat us and had a real good recruiting class. They had all the momentum and excitement. ESPN on the Ole Miss wagon but then Thanks giving night all that changed. They lost the excitement, the momentum and many ESPNers jumped off the wagon. Now it seems State has taking that momentum and excitement away. The only way they think they can to take it back is to flip some of our recruits and count on their allies in the media to push the idea that they not State has the momentum. Rawlings is an easy target to get it done.