Interesting football topic

[CadaverDawg]

I was talking to a buddy today about the Dawgs, and we got to discussing some of our favorite memories. I brought up the Anthony Johnson 100+ yard pick 6 against Bama, and immediately started thinking about how much I wish he had had it all together upstairs because he was a talented son of a gun. So it got me to thinking about all the guys that were talented players for MSU, or recruits of ours, that never lived up to their full potential for whatever reason....injury, transfer, kicked off, poor coaching/scheme, etc.

So we talked about a few that I'll list below, but I wanted to see who you guys thought would fall into this category?

It killed me when Clarence McDougal got hurt in the All Star game because I think he would be an NFL safety right now if that injury hadn't cost him his speed.

Sticking with the Clinton High School theme, I think CoCo Hodge would have been an awesome fullback for us....and we all know the talent JJ Grant had but he never made it to campus, even after JUCO. And of course, Dontae Walker.

I feel like Artimas Samuel is one of those guys even though he didn't make a lot of plays....he just seemed to have that old school MSU tight end look, and everybody liked him.

I wish Omarr Conner had been able to either play WR, or else played QB in a Mullen system.

I feel like Pegues was a Crxxm victim as well.

Who am I missing? Any recruits that had all world talent that slipped through the cracks? What other players do you feel like had a ton of talent but something kept them from ever living up to it?

[msstate7]

Nick turner

I loved this guy when I was at state. msstate7 was my original genespage username after my favorite player (nick). That has been a long time. I hated nick never got his act together. Hated to hear of his death as a young man

[CadaverDawg]

Nick turner

I loved this guy when I was at state. msstate7 was my original genespage username after my favorite player (nick). That has been a long time. I hated nick never got his act together. Hated to hear of his death as a young man

Man I had completely forgotten about Turner. He was a really good back. Sad story all around.

[CadaverDawg]

I guess a more recent person that would be on this list is Quay Evans.

I would have loved to see Kevin Fant play behind one of our better OL's and maybe with a WR like Moulds.

[messageboardsuperhero]

Quay Evans

He had it all- size, quickness, power, intelligence (at least off the field), etc. The guy just had no desire or will to play football.

[Barking 13]

Keffer McGee
Nick Bell

[Harrydawg]

Nick Turner and Darren Williams......Nick ran the sweep as well as anyone I've ever seen.

He had a glide and burst to him that I have not seen since.

Dapoo was a special HS player that could not shake his past

[CadaverDawg]

I wish Michael Carr would have gotten his shit together. He had promise

[War Machine Dawg]

Richard Burch. Badass on the OL, busted with enough marijuana to get a dealing charge.

[CadaverDawg]

Wasn't Mike Brown the big OL out of Florida that got the boot? Wasn't he solid in the season he played with us? I think he got hurt and still had a year or 2 left and was going to be a good one, but had a gun charge or something and got kicked off the team

[Westdawg]

Mike decided one day on campus to unload a semi-auto pistol into someone's parked car. Kinda made it easy to be let go

[PassInterference]

Richard Burch. Badass on the OL, busted with enough marijuana to get a dealing charge.

He

[Todd4State]

C.J. Sirmones had one memorable freshman year as our TE in 1999 and then fell off the planet. I still don't know exactly what happened.

Dontae Walker comes to mind. He really had the talent to be special and he showed that his freshman and sophomore years at MSU but he didn't have the discipline needed to succeed.

Todd Jordan was a highly recruited QB and then we started running the wishbone until his senior year, and even though we had Bruce Arians, it just didn't work out for him at QB for whatever reason.

David Fair was a highly rated RB that had injuries that ruined his career.

John Michael Marlin pretty much convinced me that we should never give a scholarship to a kicker again.

Josh Riddell I thought was our best QB in 2007, but he and Croom did not get along. I remember Riddell threw a TD pass, and Croom called him out in the post game because "it was the wrong read and could have gotten picked off."

Tony Burks was a really good WR that had to endure the Croom era and people like Ty Evans throwing to him.

Robert Elliott really couldn't live up to the hype even if he was productive, but it's sad that he had injuries that kept him from maximizing his potential.

[PassInterference]

Richard Burch. Badass on the OL, busted with enough marijuana to get a dealing charge.

He played well as a true freshman, so yeah he was badass. Shame he didn't make it to his So year.

Biggest bust has to be Dontae Walker. A 5 tool player. He had it all. Could have been the best RB in school history. But had no work ethic.

Well he could have been our best RB assuming we couldn't go back and undo David Fair's injury. What a monster he was. Massive and very fast. He was as good at football as Bo Jackson, but his career was cut very short with a knee.

[Todd4State]

Nick turner

I loved this guy when I was at state. msstate7 was my original genespage username after my favorite player (nick). That has been a long time. I hated nick never got his act together. Hated to hear of his death as a young man

I was in OT school when the counterfeit money stuff happened. One of my classmates was a big Ole Miss fan. He comes running up to me at UMC and goes "I heard five football players and Joe Lee Dunn were counterfeiting money."

He was probably reading Yancy's Manning Missles.

[War Machine Dawg]

C.J. Sirmones had one memorable freshman year as our TE in 1999 and then fell off the planet. I still don't know exactly what happened.

Dontae Walker comes to mind. He really had the talent to be special and he showed that his freshman and sophomore years at MSU but he didn't have the discipline needed to succeed.

Todd Jordan was a highly recruited QB and then we started running the wishbone until his senior year, and even though we had Bruce Arians, it just didn't work out for him at QB for whatever reason.

David Fair was a highly rated RB that had injuries that ruined his career.

John Michael Marlin pretty much convinced me that we should never give a scholarship to a kicker again.

Josh Riddell I thought was our best QB in 2007, but he and Croom did not get along. I remember Riddell threw a TD pass, and Croom called him out in the post game because "it was the wrong read and could have gotten picked off."

Tony Burks was a really good WR that had to endure the Croom era and people like Ty Evans throwing to him.

Robert Elliott really couldn't live up to the hype even if he was productive, but it's sad that he had injuries that kept him from maximizing his potential.

Dammit, you had to remind me of that, didn't you? Of the many times I was pissed at Crxxm's dumbassedness, that was one of the biggest. Riddell was definitely our best QB that year, Wesley Carroll's performance notwithstanding. Speaking of Carroll, how much did he **** up choosing to leave Mullen's offense, which would've been perfect for him, and transfer to FIU. Or was it FAU?

Also gotta mention Co-Eric Riley in this list. You know he wishes he'd gone to Okie State instead of Miss State.

[Todd4State]

Dammit, you had to remind me of that, didn't you? Of the many times I was pissed at Crxxm's dumbassedness, that was one of the biggest. Riddell was definitely our best QB that year, Wesley Carroll's performance notwithstanding. Speaking of Carroll, how much did he **** up choosing to leave Mullen's offense, which would've been perfect for him, and transfer to FIU. Or was it FAU?

Also gotta mention Co-Eric Riley in this list. You know he wishes he'd gone to Okie State instead of Miss State.

Carroll ended up at FIU I'm pretty sure. His transfer was very bizarre to me. I was surprised that he didn't even give Dan a shot. Just stay and see what happens, and he had the luxury of a transfer year since he didn't redshirt. I just didn't see what he had to lose.

I think Carroll was better than Tyson Lee (Bless his heart) even though Tyson gave us everything that he had. And Carroll was sure better than Relf at that point. Carroll transferring might have cost us a bowl appearance.

[CadaverDawg]

How have we forgotten Montrell Conner? I thought that guy was going to be Boobie 2.0, and he never played a snap. There was a lot of buzz about him too.

And wasn't there a DE or LB named Jazzmen Guy that we all thought would be a beast, and never did anything? What happened with him, did he even make it to campus?

[CadaverDawg]

If is thread was about OM players it would already be 42 pages long

[Dawg61]

Carroll ended up at FIU I'm pretty sure. His transfer was very bizarre to me. I was surprised that he didn't even give Dan a shot. Just stay and see what happens, and he had the luxury of a transfer year since he didn't redshirt. I just didn't see what he had to lose.

I think Carroll was better than Tyson Lee (Bless his heart) even though Tyson gave us everything that he had. And Carroll was sure better than Relf at that point. Carroll transferring might have cost us a bowl appearance.

Wes Carroll ended up at the starter at FIU and led them to a bowl game.
Problem with this topic is that from 2002-2008 we went through a gigantic drop off in talent that we signed. Almost all of the players were unranked, 2* and a few 3* sprinkled in each season. That's how bad our recruiting was at that time. The few 4* we ever saw for the most part paned out. Anthony Dixon, Pegues, Norwood etc… Just look at this PUTRID 2004 signing class for example. But I'll throw out a name that I thought was going to be a stud for us and never was. Ray Ray Bivens.

http://mississippistate.scout.com/a.z?s=136&p=9&c=8&yr=2004

[War Machine Dawg]

Carroll ended up at FIU I'm pretty sure. His transfer was very bizarre to me. I was surprised that he didn't even give Dan a shot. Just stay and see what happens, and he had the luxury of a transfer year since he didn't redshirt. I just didn't see what he had to lose.

I think Carroll was better than Tyson Lee (Bless his heart) even though Tyson gave us everything that he had. And Carroll was sure better than Relf at that point. Carroll transferring might have cost us a bowl appearance.

There's no doubt about that at all, Todd. If things play out nearly the same, Wes probably gets in or *gasp* actually pitches it to Boobie and we beat LSU. Might've even been worth 1 more win somewhere else. That would've been 5 straight bowls for Mullen.

[TheRef]

There's no doubt about that at all, Todd. If things play out nearly the same, Wes probably gets in or *gasp* actually pitches it to Boobie and we beat LSU. Might've even been worth 1 more win somewhere else. That would've been 5 straight bowls for Mullen.

I love Tyson just because of what he gave to this University. He may not have been an SEC build, but he gave what he could.

[War Machine Dawg]

How have we forgotten Montrell Conner? I thought that guy was going to be Boobie 2.0, and he never played a snap. There was a lot of buzz about him too.

And wasn't there a DE or LB named Jazzmen Guy that we all thought would be a beast, and never did anything? What happened with him, did he even make it to campus?

Yeah, I remember signing Jazzmen Guy.

Another guy who deserves mention: Chris Hughes. Insane talent, complete head case who couldn't stay out of the doghouse. Denico Autry, for a very obvious one. Another Captain Obvious: Damein Robinson. Anthony Summers. Eric Lawson. (Crazy how many of the "can't miss" guys from that supposedly badass OB team didn't pan out)

[PassInterference]

I think Tyson Lee had it between the ears even though he didn't pitch it to Dixon. The replay shows he had a gap to jump through. But Chad Jones for LSU made a hell of a play.

I think Caroll was a better passer, but Lee was pretty decent between the ears.

I don't know which one would have been better in Mullen's first year.

And you have to remember the refs beat us vs Houston when on 3rd down they called a forward lateral on Lee after he completed a pass that was thrown a full yard south of the LOS.

[msstate7]

I love Tyson just because of what he gave to this University. He may not have been an SEC build, but he gave what he could.

I'd take Tyson lee's heart and intelligence over the majority of our players. I wouldn't take his talent over any. Loved the guy, but he wasn't an sec qb.

[shoeless joe]

Ray Ray...dontae walker...nick turner

Even tho he had an awesome career the one guy that could've changed a lot of things in the history of MSU woulda been if JJ's hammy had held up and he coulda played in the championship game. With him playing at even 90% we win that game, go to the sugar bowl and UT doesn't sniff their national championship.

Can't believe we've made it this far without a mention of sleepy.

[RC3]

^yep. One player came to mind. Sleepy robinson. I believe he'd have basically every qb record at state At this point if not for the injury

[shrimp]

Antonio Hargro.

[Martianlander]

I guess a more recent person that would be on this list is Quay Evans.

I would have loved to see Kevin Fant play behind one of our better OL's and maybe with a WR like Moulds.

I agree. Fant took a lot of grief but he never had any protection from the OL. Really never had a chance to show what he could do.

[Tbonewannabe]

Marvin Byrdsong was about the best LB in Texas. Transferred to some IAA school never heard from again.

[Tbonewannabe]

Jazzman Guy didn't even make it through 1 semester at Hinds. He just didn't want to do the work.

[Tbonewannabe]

Kevin Fant had 2 of the worst OT in college football. I remember a DE from AU getting like 4 sacks because Burch couldn't even touch him.

[War Machine Dawg]

Kevin Fant had 2 of the worst OT in college football. I remember a DE from AU getting like 4 sacks because Burch couldn't even touch him.

Uhhh......Fant played before Burch got to State. I've never seen a QB get sacked 2-2.5 steps into his drop so many times in my life. He took some absolute beatings.

[War Machine Dawg]

Marvin Byrdsong was about the best LB in Texas. Transferred to some IAA school never heard from again.

Nailed this one. Meant to mention him last night and totally forgot. Also gotta add Paul Broussard to this list. Murder before he ever got to campus. Tragic.

[Reason2succeed]

Is this a troll post? Why are we giving this fodder to trolls during recruiting season. Shouldn't we be talking about the players that did have great careers at State?

[CadaverDawg]

Is this a troll post? Why are we giving this fodder to trolls during recruiting season. Shouldn't we be talking about the players that did have great careers at State?

Yea you know me...always trollin**

Our recruits hopefully won't get injured, hopefully won't be toting guns, and won't be playing for Croom...so I'm not sure how this can be used against us.

[jumbo]

I always wonder how things would have been if Tyler Russell and Omar Conner would have been switched

[FISHDAWG]

with all of our talk about TSUN player / recruits not panning out they should love this thread ... good thing they can't post here

[gtowndawg]

I was only 9 or 10 but I remember even then it being a HUGE deal that we signed him. He just blew up his knee after he signed but before he got to State (something like that). Typical MState luck.

[CadaverDawg]

Let's turn it in to a positive by listing the OM players that didn't live up to hype/potential...

Brassell
Pat Patterson
Tobias Singleton
Robert Lane
Raymond Cotton

[DudyDawg]

Let's turn it in to a positive by listing the OM players that didn't live up to hype/potential...

Brassell
Pat Patterson
Tobias Singleton
Robert Lane
Raymond Cotton


This thread is about to turn into 20 pages…...

[tcdog70]

Rodney Hudson was the #1 QB recruit in the Nation. Also Antonio Hargrave. There was also a LB from Moss Point that we stole from the Rebs on signing day and never was a player--maybe Chris Clausell??

[Dawg61]

I always wonder how things would have been if Tyler Russell and Omar Conner would have been switched

Man I never thought about it till you said it but you're right. Russell and Omar have more productive careers if you flip them in time. Weird how that ends up sometimes. Luck has a lot to do with how successful you are in certain situations.

[Todd4State]

I think Tyson Lee had it between the ears even though he didn't pitch it to Dixon. The replay shows he had a gap to jump through. But Chad Jones for LSU made a hell of a play.

I think Caroll was a better passer, but Lee was pretty decent between the ears.

I don't know which one would have been better in Mullen's first year.

And you have to remember the refs beat us vs Houston when on 3rd down they called a forward lateral on Lee after he completed a pass that was thrown a full yard south of the LOS.

I do think Tyson had it between the ears. He just made a bad mistake in the LSU game. But hey- even Joe Montana threw some picks every now and then.

If Tyson had a D-I body physically he would have been really good.

[Bubb Rubb]

Ray Ray...dontae walker...nick turner

Even tho he had an awesome career the one guy that could've changed a lot of things in the history of MSU woulda been if JJ's hammy had held up and he coulda played in the championship game. With him playing at even 90% we win that game, go to the sugar bowl and UT doesn't sniff their national championship.

Can't believe we've made it this far without a mention of sleepy.

Ray Ray from "Gooo-shay". Jackie said you couldn't catch him in a telephone booth.

[Tbonewannabe]

Ray Ray from "Gooo-shay". Jackie said you couldn't catch him in a telephone booth.

He never seemed to get over hamstring issues.

[tcdog70]

I was only 9 or 10 but I remember even then it being a HUGE deal that we signed him. He just blew up his knee after he signed but before he got to State (something like that). Typical MState luck.

on Fair's first run from scrimmage, against Tenn. I think-he broke into the open and was gone but about 40 yards downfield he just fumbled the Ball, nobody was close. That basically was His highlight film.

[Maroonthirteen]

Ha! Yes, I forgot about that tcdog. I don't recall if it was his first run. But yes, that happened young dogs. He was running down the west sideline for a TD. Ball just flew out of his hand. I don't know if the ball hit his side or leg but it was a microcosm of his career. He did break a run later in that game and out ran the TN secondary. He had a knee injury later in his career and never recovered.

I forgot all the details and they year....but we were playing Auburn at home. We gave the ball to Fair over and over and over. Auburn couldn't stop him. He scored a TD to bring us within a point of a tie. Instead of running him again for the 2pts. We attempted the Xpt for the tie and AU blocked it. We lost. I am pretty sure that is how it happened.......

I ran into to him in Columbus shortly after his MSU career. He was very nice. Took time to talk to me about his fond memories of MSU and working out for NFL teams. Poor guy. He was definitely MSU's greatest that never was.

[tcdog70]

I Reffed several of Starkville's highschool games and Fair was a Man Child--but we also sign another yellow jacket who had a great run at State--Marcus Bush

[BulldogBear]

Little Favre

....I remember him tweeting (boasting) about getting a chance. His first play from scrimmage was a scramble/sack for -17.

[Dawgcentral]

I remember the comparisons of David Fair to Herchel Walker at the time. I still think he would hold the all the MSU records to this day.