This state produces a lot of HS football talent. Why is it that we have so few OL

[RC3]

Players coming out of the high school ranks? We really need an upgrade in talent up front. Ole miss routinely struggles at this position as well. It's not all on the coaches imo. The kids just aren't here to recruit. What's the reason for this? And what's the solution

[defiantdog]

Players coming out of the high school ranks? We really need an upgrade in talent up front. Ole miss routinely struggles at this position as well. It's not all on the coaches imo. The kids just aren't here to recruit. What's the reason for this? And what's the solution

Hardest position to evaluate

[Sacrifice]

This state definaltly doesn't produce enough stud O-linemen to split between 2 SEC schools.

[RC3]

I get that it's hard to evaluate but there doesnt seem to be many quality prospects out there to even evaluate. We are going to have to spread our recruiting footprint for this position imo. We can rely on MS talent for the most part at most positions but I don't think that strategy is going to work for this position

[defiantdog]

Also, how often is it that you find a kid that's 6-6, weighs 300+ lbs, but still has the quickness of a gazelle? RBs and WRs are a dime a dozen. When you find a big athlete like Raekwon Davis in the state, every school in america tries to grab him.

[dawgclub99]

Because except for a couple of the bigger schools in the state, the HS coaching in Mississippi is bad compared to other states and most other states have more coaches per HS so the kids get more technique in zone blocking schemes where inMississippi, it is mostly man on man blocking and the linemen take more time to develop.

[Maroonthirteen]

This state definaltly doesn't produce enough stud O-linemen to split between 2 SEC schools.

2? We are usually battling LSU, Bama Auburn and OM (with thier bag of cash) for SEC quality linemen.

[Maroonthirteen]

Also, how often is it that you find a kid that's 6-6, weighs 300+ lbs, but still has the quickness of a gazelle? RBs and WRs are a dime a dozen. When you find a big athlete like Raekwon Davis in the state, every school in america tries to grab him.

This...there is a reason Bama offer $200K for Means.. 15 years ago. Wonder what the rate is now?

[Taog Redloh]

I think it is what it is as far as talent. We go as MS goes as far as how talented our OL is. Same with Ole Miss. We may can add talent from the JUCOs, but I don't see us going out of state and picking up BETTER talent. We can do that at QB, since MS typically doesn't produce many of those.

I think we should go for OL depth, try to innovate there. Run out 3 strings of OL or something, I don't know. Out-talenting the opposition is an exercise in futility IMO.

[Liverpooldawg]

It's hard to get really talented kids to play on the offensive line in Mississippi. That might be a problem everywhere but it know it is here. The talented big guys want to play defense. Your HS offensive linemen in Mississippi tend to to be the big boys with the least athletic ability. The ones that can run and move their feet play defense. That's partially on the coaches for not making them play offense. There are exceptions of course but as a general rule, it's true.

[Out of Bounds]

Because except for a couple of the bigger schools in the state, the HS coaching in Mississippi is bad compared to other states and most other states have more coaches per HS so the kids get more technique in zone blocking schemes where inMississippi, it is mostly man on man blocking and the linemen take more time to develop.
Dawgclub99 nailed it. There's a reason damn good 3-star off lineman come from Midwest.

[HoopsDawg]

2? We are usually battling LSU, Bama Auburn and OM (with thier bag of cash) for SEC quality linemen.

Ole Miss has signed the 2 best linemen from MS the past couple of years in Javon Patterson and Rod Taylor. Both guys played as true freshman I believe.

[RC3]

What's stopping us from recruiting the Midwest? Might as well try something new

[defiantdog]

Ole Miss has signed the 2 best linemen from MS the past couple of years in Javon Patterson and Rod Taylor. Both guys played as true freshman I believe.

We're getting the best OL from MS in this recruiting class.

[Sacrifice]

Ole Miss has signed the 2 best linemen from MS the past couple of years in Javon Patterson and Rod Taylor. Both guys played as true freshman I believe.

Right, we're not battling Bama, LSU and Auburn for our best OL players. Those 3 teams only have 3 OL players from MS combined on there rosters. We're battling OM for the little OL talent we have in this state and it's not even close.

[PendingTransaction]

We need to invest $1,000,000 in linemen every three yrs.

[Mutt the Hoople]

It's hard to get really talented kids to play on the offensive line in Mississippi. That might be a problem everywhere but it know it is here. The talented big guys want to play defense.

In Texas, it's the other way around-all the talented linemen and backs want to play offense. Maybe State needs to start recruiting Texas.

[Coach34]

I say go to the midwest and West- push the for Pro ball vs SEC DL guys to get them ready for Pro ball

[RC3]

I say go to the midwest and West- push the for Pro ball vs SEC DL guys to get them ready for Pro ball
Agreed. We can sell it

[CadaverDawg]

You would think Mullen's Yankee ass could find some good Big10 type corn fed bastards up North. We used to always have big badass OL'men. I just assumed that with a system like Mullen's with a dual threat power QB, we would attract good linemen. Why do linemen not want to play for us? Is Hevesy that big of a dick? If so, let's push for his ass to be fired...because his OL kept our best QB in history's last season from being a success.

[dawgoneyall]

Mississippi is the fattest state in the nation.

Those big boys are often too fat.

I jest....but only a little.

[Big Daddy Dawg]

I can tell you that in the 9th grade at petal, Javon Patterson almost quit football because Steve Buckley told him he was gonna play offensive line. Buckley told him that he would be a college guard and have nfl potential if he listened. I heard that conversation, and was thinking "whaaatt?". Javon was dead set on defense, look at him now!
I think the talent is spread out so much that coaches just place kids where they want to be.
One other thing, Petal graduated 3 big ol last year(Javon included) that started 4 years! One was starting center at emcc and was the meanest toughest sob I ever seen play ol in high school, he just wasn't 6'7". He was tough though and could play! That's what we need, some mean-ass sob's spitting in some 5* dl 's faces and making them like it!
Sorry, I rarely post, but we never, in 5-6 yrs dominate the offensive front, and that's where it all starts! IMHO!

[Taog Redloh]

You would think Mullen's Yankee ass could find some good Big10 type corn fed bastards up North. We used to always have big badass OL'men. I just assumed that with a system like Mullen's with a dual threat power QB, we would attract good linemen. Why do linemen not want to play for us? Is Hevesy that big of a dick? If so, let's push for his ass to be fired...because his OL kept our best QB in history's last season from being a success.
Damn ya'll mfers freak out over one game.

How in the holy hell is this season not a success for Dak Prescott? Plenty of other MSU QBs can testify as to what the MSU Senior QB Curse is REALLY about.....Dak Prescott is not one of them.

OL did not keep us from beating LSU. OL did not keep us from beating Texas A&M. Yes, it did vs. Alabama but Alabama pretty much does that to everyone. The whole game would have changed if we had punched that first TD in. I'd like a better OL too, because without it you aren't winning much. But they've done pretty well with what they've got.

[ShotgunDawg]

I can tell you that in the 9th grade at petal, Javon Patterson almost quit football because Steve Buckley told him he was gonna play offensive line. Buckley told him that he would be a college guard and have nfl potential if he listened. I heard that conversation, and was thinking "whaaatt?". Javon was dead set on defense, look at him now!
I think the talent is spread out so much that coaches just place kids where they want to be.
One other thing, Petal graduated 3 big ol last year(Javon included) that started 4 years! One was starting center at emcc and was the meanest toughest sob I ever seen play ol in high school, he just wasn't 6'7". He was tough though and could play! That's what we need, some mean-ass sob's spitting in some 5* dl 's faces and making them like it!
Sorry, I rarely post, but we never, in 5-6 yrs dominate the offensive front, and that's where it all starts! IMHO!

Being tough and mean only takes you so far when trying to block A'shawn Robinson. Our recruiting strategy is working at every position except OL. Either Hev needs to go or we need to adjust our stradegy for that position.

[ShotgunDawg]

Damn ya'll mfers freak out over one game.

How in the holy hell is this season not a success for Dak Prescott? Plenty of other MSU QBs can testify as to what the MSU Senior QB Curse is REALLY about.....Dak Prescott is not one of them.

OL did not keep us from beating LSU. OL did not keep us from beating Texas A&M. Yes, it did vs. Alabama but Alabama pretty much does that to everyone. The whole game would have changed if we had punched that first TD in. I'd like a better OL too, because without it you aren't winning much. But they've done pretty well with what they've got.

The OL absolutely cost us from beating both LSU and A&M. If we'd been able to run the ball or Dak didn't spend half the night on his ass in both games, we'd have won.

[CadaverDawg]

Damn ya'll mfers freak out over one game.

How in the holy hell is this season not a success for Dak Prescott? Plenty of other MSU QBs can testify as to what the MSU Senior QB Curse is REALLY about.....Dak Prescott is not one of them.

OL did not keep us from beating LSU. OL did not keep us from beating Texas A&M. Yes, it did vs. Alabama but Alabama pretty much does that to everyone. The whole game would have changed if we had punched that first TD in. I'd like a better OL too, because without it you aren't winning much. But they've done pretty well with what they've got.

His season, not his personal performance. In other words, Dak has played well enough to where we shouldn't already have 3 losses. With any OL play and run game, we may be 9-1 or 8-2 at worst. Wish he could have gone out with a legit shot at the West in the last game or two. He deserves it since he has been so great...but in year 7 and his Senior year, our OL is about like what you'd find at Holmes Community College

[CadaverDawg]

The OL absolutely cost us from beating both LSU and A&M. If we'd been able to run the ball or Dak didn't spend half the night on his ass in both games, we'd have won.

Yep, no doubt in my mind we are better than both of those teams.

[Johnson85]

Players coming out of the high school ranks? We really need an upgrade in talent up front. Ole miss routinely struggles at this position as well. It's not all on the coaches imo. The kids just aren't here to recruit. What's the reason for this? And what's the solution

Population size and bell curve. There are tons of players between 5'10 and 6'2, even in a state like Mississippi. Even if there are going to be more freaks in that range from other states, there's not going to be so much of a difference that we can't compete there. We can fill out our own team and because there are so many more of those players than scholarships at the Bama's of the world, we can supplement our talent with leftovers from other states. All it takes is a strong class in Mississippi and/or some misevaluations from other states and we can be equal or better. But when you get to the extreme of the bell curve, where you're looking for people that are 6'5 and the frame to carry 300lbs+ and still maintain good feet and agility, the pickings get much slimmer. I suspect Alabama has to recruit at least across the Southeast to put together national championship caliber OL. UF is probably the only school in the SEC that could build a national championship caliber Oline without leaving the state, and I'm not even sure how consistently they could do it.

[RC3]

Population size and bell curve. There are tons of players between 5'10 and 6'2, even in a state like Mississippi. Even if there are going to be more freaks in that range from other states, there's not going to be so much of a difference that we can't compete there. We can fill out our own team and because there are so many more of those players than scholarships at the Bama's of the world, we can supplement our talent with leftovers from other states. All it takes is a strong class in Mississippi and/or some misevaluations from other states and we can be equal or better. But when you get to the extreme of the bell curve, where you're looking for people that are 6'5 and the frame to carry 300lbs+ and still maintain good feet and agility, the pickings get much slimmer. I suspect Alabama has to recruit at least across the Southeast to put together national championship caliber OL. UF is probably the only school in the SEC that could build a national championship caliber Oline without leaving the state, and I'm not even sure how consistently they could do it.


which all goes back to the point that we are going to have to enlarge our footprint. we can recruit locally well enough to get to 8-10 wins. we can't recruit locally well enough to beat the bamas of the world.

[Bubb Rubb]

Players coming out of the high school ranks? We really need an upgrade in talent up front. Ole miss routinely struggles at this position as well. It's not all on the coaches imo. The kids just aren't here to recruit. What's the reason for this? And what's the solution

I have always said that we should go into the midwest and recruit OL. The SEC has the best athletes for the most part, but the best OLs are typically found in the Big 10. You know some of those guys would love to come play in the SEC.

[Coursesuper]

Damn ya'll mfers freak out over one game.

How in the holy hell is this season not a success for Dak Prescott? Plenty of other MSU QBs can testify as to what the MSU Senior QB Curse is REALLY about.....Dak Prescott is not one of them.

OL did not keep us from beating LSU. OL did not keep us from beating Texas A&M. Yes, it did vs. Alabama but Alabama pretty much does that to everyone. The whole game would have changed if we had punched that first TD in. I'd like a better OL too, because without it you aren't winning much. But they've done pretty well with what they've got.

Did you watch those games? that is exactly why we didn't win the games. We couldn't block jack shat in those games and we damn lucky to be in the LSU game at the end and were never in the game at A&M because there ends and DTs were eating us alive, not as bad as the gumps, but getting beat up none the less. we couldn't run the ball against a powder puff team and that make us one dimensional and easy to defend against lesser competition, and when we play someone that has real talent we are exposed badly. Its not the backs fault it there is nowhere to go.