Athlon gets it right - Chris Jones, 1st team AA

[ScoobaDawg]

http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/college_football_2014_all_america_team/16709035/

Nkidemche is 2nd team

Credit to CL, Bonner for the link

[Esmerelda Villalobos]

And yet, the best LB in the sec and top 10 draft pick is left off.

Insane.

[GreenheadDawg]

And yet, the best LB in the sec and top 10 draft pick is left off.

Insane.

my thoughts exactly. Ridiculous

[ShotgunDawg]

They got Jones right, but completely missed on McKinney. Makes no sense.

A few days ago I listened to an interview on the radio with Phil Steele, and it gave me a better sense of where these pre-season magazines are coming from. After listening to Steele, it was clear that everything is data based and their is little room for subjectivity or talent evaluation unless the player is getting so much preseason hype that it cannot be ignored.

Steele constantly bragged about how his magazine has accurate information on 120+ football programs, everything on the same spot of on the page, the magazine is proofed 7 to 8 times, and how he works on his magazine over 100 hours a week during football season. With that many teams and players, there is no way that Steele has time to get to know players that don't play for national powers, don't get a ton of hype, or didn't put up great numbers last year.

Essentially, because we started a young team last year that got better as the season progressed, because Dak didn't play in 5 games, and because we finished 6-6, we are the exact type of good team that slips through the cracks of these magazines. We didn't have the record to make people pay attention, Dak didn't play in enough games to have stats that jump off the page, and McKinney is a great player that manages to do most things under the radar.

After listening to Steele on the radio, I don't blame these magazines because they are trying to put together a factual, comprehensive magazine that offers people information, not NFL scouting reports. You just have to know where these publications are coming from and what they are trying to do.

Nobody is trying to slight MSU, they just have so many teams to cover and use hard data to cover them 99% of the time, unless the team has players that get a ton of hype.

[MetEdDawg]

They got Jones right, but completely missed on McKinney. Makes no sense.

A few days ago I listened to an interview on the radio with Phil Steele, and it gave me a better sense of where these pre-season magazines are coming from. After listening to Steele, it was clear that everything is data based and their is little room for subjectivity or talent evaluation unless the player is getting so much preseason hype that it cannot be ignored.

Steele constantly bragged about how his magazine has accurate information on 120+ football programs, everything on the same spot of on the page, the magazine is proofed 7 to 8 times, and how he works on his magazine over 100 hours a week during football season. With that many teams and players, there is no way that Steele has time to get to know players that don't play for national powers, don't get a ton of hype, or didn't put up great numbers last year.

Essentially, because we started a young team last year that got better as the season progressed, because Dak didn't play in 5 games, and because we finished 6-6, we are the exact type of good team that slips through the cracks of these magazines. We didn't have the record to make people pay attention, Dak didn't play in enough games to have stats that jump off the page, and McKinney is a great player that manages to do most things under the radar.

After listening to Steele on the radio, I don't blame these magazines because they are trying to put together a factual, comprehensive magazine that offers people information, not NFL scouting reports. You just have to know where these publications are coming from and what they are trying to do.

Nobody is trying to slight MSU, they just have so many teams to cover and use hard data to cover them 99% of the time, unless the team has players that get a ton of hype.

Spot on. Our 7-6 team last played 3 different QBs, lost its starting RG and SS in game 1, had Auburn beat, had LSU on the ropes going into the 4th quarter, and beat a bad Arkansas team and an average OM team in overtime. We were absolutely all over the place last year, so if you are a magazine that really doesn't know a lot about us, how are you supposed to objectively evaluate individuals and us as a team?

Really the only way is like you said, based off of preseason hype guys and things you saw last year. Well outside of Chris Jones whose hype was all recruiting rankings based until people realized he has freak potential, there is only a little for Dak and McKinney, and all of that is driven regionally by SEC people who have watched us. Other than that we don't have any big names, but we've got a lot of solid players with a lot of minutes under their belts. We are in a prime spot to surprise some folks because of the relatively unknown that we are because of our inconsistencies last year. Now we all can clearly see that we were extremely consistent with Dak in because we watched every second of every game, but when you go look at the Oklahoma St, OM, Arkansas, SC, and TAMU box scores as a national media member that maybe doesn't know much about us, you aren't going to get a clear picture of what we truly are under Dak when he is THE guy, or what we look like when we have most everyone healthy.

Between Malone, Hughes, Autry, Skinner, Whitley, Russell, and Dak, we were a hot mess last year with injuries. We stay healthy this year and a lot of people will wonder where the hell we came from, even though a lot of folks in the region think we are a solid football program.

[Esmerelda Villalobos]

Well if that is the case, how is Jones first team? He didnt have eye popping stats. Neither did robert or treadwell.

[ShotgunDawg]

Well if that is the case, how is Jones first team? He didnt have eye popping stats. Neither did robert or treadwell.

Recruiting rankings out them on the radar

[MaxedOutMaroon]

And yet, the best LB in the sec and top 10 draft pick is left off.

Insane.
I completely agree with everything best LB in the SEC and disappointing that they left him off, but I don't think he's a top ten pick. I would absolutely love to be wrong, but he's a late first rounder, early second. But the whole point of this thread I agree with.

[slickdawg]

I'm completely shocked that none of our placekickers made the list. ***

[Pollodawg]

Dak actually played in eleven games, but he only started seven if I am not mistaken. That was plenty of exposure, and considering his limitations before the season with the turf toe and then with his shoulder, he did damn well. That's reason enough to get more love than he's getting from some of these so called pundits.

[Esmerelda Villalobos]

I completely agree with everything best LB in the SEC and disappointing that they left him off, but I don't think he's a top ten pick. I would absolutely love to be wrong, but he's a late first rounder, early second. But the whole point of this thread I agree with.

Ive seen mock drafts as high as 7 and as low as early 2nd.

He will go to combines. Measure 6'5" 250 and run a legit 4.55 and be drafted top 20 overall.

[Pollodawg]

And there is absolutely no excuse for not respecting McKinney.