Gene's Parker Ford commitment article

[messageboardsuperhero]

For anyone who has a scout.com subscription and hasn't read Gene's article on Parker Ford- you should go check it out. I actually feel pretty good about keeping him, even though he's a top 50 prospect.

The guy talks about how he wants to major in mechanical engineering and how his parents are big on schoolwork. He talks about visiting other schools (he has offers from pretty much everywhere)- but that we were his number one choice. Loves the fans, the LFL, etc.

The fact that Ford already has a major in mind (and engineering at that) tells me he likely has every intention of coming to school as of now- and he said that it would take a very large amount to get him to sign. Our 2015 class is just sick- by far the best of the Cohen era. If we can escape the draft without losing more than a couple of guys, look out.

[Todd4State]

I think we have a pretty good chance at keeping Ford, Riley, and Marrero. I don't know really know about Pickett- he has kind of blown up on the scene.

Us having three commits at the Perfect Game All-Star Classic or whatever it's called and then at least one at the Under Armour All-Star Game is pretty good needless to say.

We have gotten a lot of pitching in this class, and Ford is the kind of a guy you don't turn down. We still need at least another corner infield guy or two. I'm thinking it's not likely that Cole Gordon and Brent Rooker are going to be around for their senior years to go with this group.

[MsStateBaseball]

Interesting that Cohen mentioned PG rating and how he could help recruit. I definitely feel the philosophy has changed. He is going after high end guys.

[State82]

It would be very interesting to see how Cohen & staff approach the recruiting game from the standpoint of their pitch to prospective players and their parents. I would love to hear their presentation for choosing MSU over pro ball for a few years. That's a serious sales pitch you have to make and everyone is different in how they perceive such. Do they have some elaborate video presentation? Do they lay out detailed, factual fiscal numbers comparing the two choices? Is it the same pitch for each potential recruit or do they try to customize each presentation? Man, that's a tough, tough job right there. Football coaches can complain all they want about the grueling, underhanded business of college football recruiting, but they don't have it nearly as tough as high level D1 baseball coaches when it comes to the recruiting game.

[MetEdDawg]

If we are able to keep those guys mentioned, that will be the foundation of something very special. This is one of the things that top tier programs can do and that's offer viable college alternatives to playing pro baseball out of high school. We can do that and it's great to see Cohen going after multiple guys that could go in the first 10 to 20 rounds of the draft, which we really haven't done in the past. We can get enough of those kids on campus to make it worth the time spent to go after them. I really like this clear change of strategy and I think it's going to pay off.

[Jacksondevildog]

One thing that keeps getting mentioned in all of these commitment articles is how the player loves how the school is a baseball school and the fan base supports baseball big time. I don't mean this negatively, but our previous baseball coached almost mocked the large crowds and how it hurt the players in games. Our coaching staff now embraces our game day crowds and experience and sells it to the recruits. We are recruiting at an extremely high level right now in baseball and we have not completed our baseball renovation yet. Truth be told, we are around 8-10 right now in the SEC in facilities (baseball field), but the winning culture of our program, proactive recruiting philosophies of our coaches, and our passionate fans help fill the gap.

[Todd4State]

If we are able to keep those guys mentioned, that will be the foundation of something very special. This is one of the things that top tier programs can do and that's offer viable college alternatives to playing pro baseball out of high school. We can do that and it's great to see Cohen going after multiple guys that could go in the first 10 to 20 rounds of the draft, which we really haven't done in the past. We can get enough of those kids on campus to make it worth the time spent to go after them. I really like this clear change of strategy and I think it's going to pay off.

Exactly. There are some players that are high end talents that do want to go to college.

That's why I guess it irritates me- I don't know a better word, it's not like I throw things around the house- when I see our fans in general say "Oh, just go take the money. You're foolish not to." when we have everything a player would need to increase and better themsleves and their draft stock here at MSU. We have all the resources. Really, the only thing we don't have as an advantage is something like the Hope Scholarship, but we work around that about as well as we can.

To me, with our resources, there is no reason why we can't produce big time players just as well as LSU, Vanderbilt, Florida, etc.

[Todd4State]

It would be very interesting to see how Cohen & staff approach the recruiting game from the standpoint of their pitch to prospective players and their parents. I would love to hear their presentation for choosing MSU over pro ball for a few years. That's a serious sales pitch you have to make and everyone is different in how they perceive such. Do they have some elaborate video presentation? Do they lay out detailed, factual fiscal numbers comparing the two choices? Is it the same pitch for each potential recruit or do they try to customize each presentation? Man, that's a tough, tough job right there. Football coaches can complain all they want about the grueling, underhanded business of college football recruiting, but they don't have it nearly as tough as high level D1 baseball coaches when it comes to the recruiting game.

It would basically be like competing against bagmen that can offer a recruit a million dollars compared to the normal 7-11 salary that Ole Miss offers. And do it legally per NCAA rules.

[Todd4State]

One thing that keeps getting mentioned in all of these commitment articles is how the player loves how the school is a baseball school and the fan base supports baseball big time. I don't mean this negatively, but our previous baseball coached almost mocked the large crowds and how it hurt the players in games. Our coaching staff now embraces our game day crowds and experience and sells it to the recruits. We are recruiting at an extremely high level right now in baseball and we have not completed our baseball renovation yet. Truth be told, we are around 8-10 right now in the SEC in facilities (baseball field), but the winning culture of our program, proactive recruiting philosophies of our coaches, and our passionate fans help fill the gap.

Well said. It's also important that we have guys like Stratton, Renfroe, and Lindgren go high in the MLB draft. When they see a guy like Lindgren go from the 12th to the 2nd round, or a guy like Renfroe go from the 26th to the 1st and then to the Future's Game that says a lot about our coaches. Consistent production of both pitchers and hitters.

And as far as the crowds, if you are going to play pro baseball they better get used to them. Which is probably another good reason to come to MSU over a place like Vanderbilt. You have that "good pressure" built in because our players do get to deal with our fans and have to deal with people that care.

[starkvegasdawg]

Do they have some elaborate video presentation? Do they lay out detailed, factual fiscal numbers comparing the two choices?

Power point presentation.

[smootness]

Interesting that Cohen mentioned PG rating and how he could help recruit. I definitely feel the philosophy has changed. He is going after high end guys.

I think he's seeing more an more guys choose college baseball over MLB, which didn't used to happen, and realizes it isn't a bad move anymore.

[Homedawg]

Power point presentation.

There is also a video showing a typical game day, workouts, etc. takes 15-20 mins. This is in addition to the power point from Cohen.