In doing a little research guys- I was wrong. I'm sorry

[Coach34]

I've said repeatedly that Ole Miss has outrecruited us 8 of the last 10 years. They havent. According to Rivals- It's 9 out of 10 years

per Rivals:

2014- Ole Miss 19th State 41st
2013- Ole Miss 7th State 26th
2012- State 30th Ole Miss 40th
2011- Ole Miss 19th State 44th
2010- Ole Miss 18th State 38th
2009- Ole Miss 18th State 25th
2008- Ole Miss 29th State 44th
2007- Ole Miss 27th State 39th
2006- Ole Miss 15th State 46th
2005- Ole Miss 30th State 33rd


That's why we won only 1 Egg Bowl the last 10 years...and have no chance in the future

[Coach34]

Ole Miss has been inside the top 20 6 of the last 10 years- and has what- 5 losing seasons in that time?

[messageboardsuperhero]

It's funny to see it broken down like that- based on rankings/starzz alone, Freeze is recruiting only slightly better than Nutt did.

In reality, I do think Freeze is recruiting well and getting some good talent, but any UM idiot on the Spirit who tells you that they are about to "leave us in the dust" is just wrong. The question Freeze still has to answer is- does he have the personality to keep the big egos in check? Maybe, maybe not- but considering how thin his skin has been proven to be on multiple occasions, it is a legitimate question.

[Coach34]

What I also find funny is that we have been rated 40 or worse 3 of the last 4 years, yet everybody with a brain is saying this is Mullen's most talented team to date

[defiantdog]

Speaking of recruiting.... looks like we started turning Junior Day into a mini OV. We had current players matched up with recruits. McKinney was matched with Lewis.... hopefully he helped turn his attention away from Bama.

[bully99]

Regardless of what tsun is doing, those are still some ugly numbers for a sec team. Those are good enough to beat uab, Memphis, and
Tsun, but not the big boys.

[Coach34]

Regardless of what tsun is doing, those are still some ugly numbers for a sec team. Those are good enough to beat uab, Memphis, and
Tsun, but not the big boys.

We're not going to beat the big boys consistently anyway- never have.

We'll see what Mullen is made of vs Auburn and A&M this year- those are games we have to win

[Coach34]

Regardless of what tsun is doing, those are still some ugly numbers for a sec team. .

And to my point- those numbers are shit. Everybody thinks we will be in the top half of the SEC this year- which means we have talent.

[defiantdog]

Regardless of what tsun is doing, those are still some ugly numbers for a sec team. Those are good enough to beat uab, Memphis, and
Tsun, but not the big boys.

I'll admit.... you need some "Media Portrayed" stars in a recruiting class. But at the same time, you need the best players to fit your system. Example....

Missouri 2013 SEC East Champs

Recruiting Ranks:

2014 - 39
2013 - 43
2012 - 31
2011 - 57
2010 - 21
2009 - 35

Michigan 2013 Sucks At Life Team

Recruiting Ranks:

2014 - 20
2013 - 27
2012 - 6
2011 - 26
2010 - 16
2009 - 11

[Really Clark?]

Regardless of what tsun is doing, those are still some ugly numbers for a sec team. Those are good enough to beat uab, Memphis, and
Tsun, but not the big boys.

I know. If one of our players had just one more star by their name we would have not been embarrassed by Auburn. Or Alabama. Or A & M the way we were this year. True LSU did us in the second half, who got beat by OM, who we beat playing our 3rd string true freshman for most of the game. We do need more talent but the gap is not as big on the field. 15-40 in the rankings is not as big of a difference as its made out to be. Keep in perspective that we are comparing ourselves to an SEC west that has been on an historic run in College football the last 5 years. There will be a cycle that will even things back out. We just have to be ready when that happens to position ourselves that causes our floor to rise again. Think long term permanent rise of our program.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Regardless of what tsun is doing, those are still some ugly numbers for a sec team. Those are good enough to beat uab, Memphis, and
Tsun, but not the big boys.

I do agree with you in that I'd like to see us get more talented players for us to take the next step.

But in defense of Mullen and co., who is beating the "big boys" other than other big boys? It's not like we're the only team having trouble beating Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M (with JF), etc. Right now, we're beating the teams that we should, but losing to the NFL D-League teams in our division- who on our level is doing better than we are right now? Sure, UM beat LSU this year, but for all the shit they talk about Mullen not having a big win, that was their first big win since the first two Nutt seasons in '08/'09- other than that one game, they're really not doing any better than we are against the big boys.

And I like our "Moneyball" recruiting philosophy- we will never be able to consistently out recruit Bama for the stars. What we can do is evaluate undervalued talent and offer prospects early to get our foot in the door. We need to get a few more blue chips, but I like our general recruiting philosophy.

[Coach34]

Our biggest problem in recruiting has been QB and WR. We havent been able to score vs good teams over the years. We've been good enough defensively, but just couldnt get it done with the skill people.

Tyson Lee, Relf, and Tyler Russell just dont cut it vs top 10 teams
Our WR recruiting has been abysmal until the last 2 years

2014 is the first time we have had a legit QB and WR's. We should see much better results

[MainEventDawg]

I'll admit.... you need some "Media Portrayed" stars in a recruiting class. But at the same time, you need the best players to fit your system. Example....

Missouri 2013 SEC East Champs

Recruiting Ranks:

2014 - 39
2013 - 43
2012 - 31
2011 - 57
2010 - 21
2009 - 35

Michigan 2013 Sucks At Life Team

Recruiting Ranks:

2014 - 20
2013 - 27
2012 - 6
2011 - 26
2010 - 16
2009 - 11

Damn good post. This really shows that coaching and player development are far more important than how many stars a player is given by the media.

[ckDOG]

Here's the deal with rankings. Cut out over analysis of average stars and class rankings. There's basically three groups of classes. The elite group that you can predict most every season, the middle pack which is made up mainly of the non-elite BCS schools, and the rest (cusa, etc.).

Within each group, there really isn't a lot of variability. It's a matter of coaching and player development from thereon out. If you have talent that can compete game to game at MSU, you are doing a pretty solid job. With the exception of last year's OM class, we are both recruiting at that middle pack level. It's more about what you do with your talent once on campus. You aren't going to get me to believe that there is that much variability between a 20th ranked class at a 3.2 average and the 40th ranked classes at a 2.9. There are too many intangibles involved that the rankings can't consider. Pay attention to the talent on the field not on paper before it arrives to campus.

[dawg27]

Very good point. I have had the same seat for ten years,and have not missed many games at all,and i am more excited about this year than i ever have. I really think we could win 9 or 10 games this year. I agree with u coach 34. It all depends on what we do with auburn.

[Political Hack]

top 20 five out of the last six. Have they finished ranked 20 or better yet during that time?

[Todd4State]

Regardless of what tsun is doing, those are still some ugly numbers for a sec team. Those are good enough to beat uab, Memphis, and
Tsun, but not the big boys.

Didn't we just beat Auburn and Tennessee last year? And before you say they were "down", which they admittedly were- we've also beaten Georgia and Florida while Dan has been here with players from the classes Coach is referencing.

It's not recruiting that we need to improve- it's special teams.

[Todd4State]

top 20 five out of the last six. Have they finished ranked 20 or better yet during that time?

Probably 2008 when they beat Florida and won the Cotton Bowl. For all intents and purposes, that was a "dream season" for them and obviously not the norm.

[Technetium]

I'd be curious to see the same 10 year rankings list from Scout, ESPN, and 247 (if available), since ratings are so subjective.