Interesting Draft Quotes by Mullen this Morning

[ShotgunDawg]

Bo Bounds had Mullen on the show this morning & Mullen talked about Tony Hughes, threw some fire at Ole Miss when speaking about the Egg Bowl by saying, that we played terribly in the first 10 minutes, but dominated the game afterwards & all the players understood that, & then he made an interesting comment about potential players declaring for the draft.

He said that he can't think of any of our players that would be projected to go in the top 2 rounds, which I found interesting, then went on to explain that he has not met with any current players about their draft status. Lastly he talked about how some past JRs, like McKinney & Cox, made outstanding decisions to go pro early, others like KJ Wright, Preston Smith, & Banks made great life changing decision to come back for their SR years, & lastly others have made poor decisions to leave early.

Anyway, the feeling I got from listening to Mullen beat around the bush about it was that, this process is just beginning & that it's far from decided. Additionally, after hearing him talk, I came away believing that, even if Wilson & Jones have made their minds up to go pro, at this point, it's an uninformed/uneducated decision & one in which the coaches haven't even really discussed with the kids yet.

That being said, if Mullen is truly getting feedback that neither Wilson or Jones are projected to go in the 1st or 2nd round & Mullen has yet to discuss this decision with players & their families, I think we all could be jumping to early to conclusions just because we know that the kid wants to go pro. Just because a kid wants to go pro, doesn't mean that he doesn't have enough common sense to make the best possible decision when presented with all the information.

[Jack Lambert]

So do you all think Josh Robinson made a bad decision's? I don't. He made a rosters for a while and I don't think one more year would have helped him. It would have helped us.

[msstate7]

So do you all think Josh Robinson made a bad decision's? I don't. He made a rosters for a while and I don't think one more year would have helped him. It would have helped us.

Did josh get his degree? If not, I think coming back would have beneficial... Wouldn't have hurt draft stock and then had a degree too. If he got degree, he probably made the correct decision

[maroonmania]

So do you all think Josh Robinson made a bad decision's? I don't. He made a rosters for a while and I don't think one more year would have helped him. It would have helped us.

Josh's situation was a bit different. First, he came from poverty. Any paycheck for him and his family was needed YESTERDAY. I don't believe Jones or Wilson are in anything like that type of situation. Secondly, JR was a running back which is a position with the most risk of injury and shortest NFL shelf life. Robinson was very unlikely to help his draft stock by coming back but was risking a potential serious injury. Given his position and personal situation I think he likely did make the best decision for himself. However, that doesn't mean that its necessarily best for Jones and/or Wilson to leave early.

[Big4Dawg]

The knock on Josh is always going to be size. Coming back another year won't fix that.

The knock on Jones and Wilson are a) taking plays off and b) still raw. Both of those can be fixed coming back.

[ShotgunDawg]

So do you all think Josh Robinson made a bad decision's? I don't. He made a rosters for a while and I don't think one more year would have helped him. It would have helped us.

I've gone back & forth on this, but in the end I think he made a poor decision & here is why:

We make entirely too much out of draft stock & treat it as if it's the destination rather than part of the journey. The destination should be for a player to have a long, successful career.

The truth is that, while Robinson did maximize his draft stock, he wasn't ready to be an NFL football player & NFL coaches have no time or desire to develop players, unless they are an elite talent. So Robinson was caught in a situation where he maximized his draft stock, but needed a another year of learning to pass block, learning to hold onto the football, & becoming generally more mature & developing, in order to offer himself the best possible chance of having a fruitful NFL career. Instead, because he didn't gain those valuable extra reps, he was demoted to the practice squad.

You could look at this different ways & I don't think one way is correct & the other is wrong. It just depends on what you value. Perhaps Robinson didn't want to take the risk, but I feel fairly comfortable saying that I an extra year of reps, experience, & maturity could have really benefited him in his quest to have a fruitful, extended NFL career.

[FISHDAWG]

dominated after the first 10 minutes ???

[ShotgunDawg]

Josh's situation was a bit different. First, he came from poverty. Any paycheck for him and his family was needed YESTERDAY. I don't believe Jones or Wilson are in anything like that type of situation. Secondly, JR was a running back which is a position with the most risk of injury and shortest NFL shelf life. Robinson was very unlikely to help his draft stock by coming back but was risking a potential serious injury. Given his position and personal situation I think he likely did make the best decision for himself. However, that doesn't mean that its necessarily best for Jones and/or Wilson to leave early.

Great points. Both CJ & Wilson could really benefit from coming back, particularly if Mullen is correct & neither is projected to go in the 1st or 2nd round.

For CJ: he ended the season well, but needs to show an entire season of that. He needs more consistency & show that he can have in impact in EVERY game.

Wilson: Wilson needs to come back & become more consistent at catching the ball & catching passes at their highest point. For a 6'5"+ guy, Wilson has very rarely shown the ability to catch passes over a DB. Wilson uses his weight well & knows how to block out, but he uses his height poorly. The plus for Wilson is that Fitz & Staley both throw better deep balls than Dak with more arch, &, due to that, Wilson should get more opportunities next year to use his height. Showing that on film will do wonder for his draft stock & also refining his skill set so that he sticks in the league.

Remember Wilson has only been playing football for 4 years.

[ShotgunDawg]

dominated after the first 10 minutes ???

That's what Mullen said. It's obviously just spin, but, in his defense, we went down 21-0 in the first 10 minutes & outscored them 27-17 afterwards.

[thf24]

dominated after the first 10 minutes ???

Although I wish he hadn't said it because it comes across as an excuse and 10 points isn't exactly "dominating," we did outscore them 27-17 after the first quarter.

[Gatordog]

So do you all think Josh Robinson made a bad decision's? I don't. He made a rosters for a while and I don't think one more year would have helped him. It would have helped us.

Thought about that for while now. I believe he left to better his situation as well as he understood how terrible our 0-line was going to be this year and he didn't want to take the chance of being injured as well as watching his draft stock sink lower due to lack of production.

[Coach34]

Wilson and Jones changing their minds and returning would be huge for this football team

[ShotgunDawg]

Wilson and Jones changing their minds and returning would be huge for this football team

No doubt. I'd love for just one to change their mind.

[deltadawg99]

Jrob was in a damned if you do damned if you don't situation. Would he have put up better numbers than his 1,238 rushing yards and 11 TDs? Maybe but doubtful.

The biggest thing he could have improved on was pass blocking and not dancing in the backfield. After Kentucky and Dak getting banged up he tried to turn everything into a highlight.

[Brahmabull]

Jones needs to come back because he can make himself a first round draft pick. Wilson should probably go because he will not be a first round draft pick due to lack of speed and separation ability. He is what he is. Nothing wrong with that because he can be a very successful NFL player, but he isn't going to be 1st round even if he comes back.

[HoopsDawg]

Although I wish he hadn't said it because it comes across as an excuse and 10 points isn't exactly "dominating," we did outscore them 27-17 after the first quarter.

Please, Ole Miss didn't care about that last TD.

[maroonmania]

Jrob was in a damned if you do damned if you don't situation. Would he have put up better numbers than his 1,238 rushing yards and 11 TDs? Maybe but doubtful.

The biggest thing he could have improved on was pass blocking and not dancing in the backfield. After Kentucky and Dak getting banged up he tried to turn everything into a highlight.

Come on folks, seriously, if JRob didn't learn how to pass block in our program 4 years is there really any chance he would have gotten significantly better as a 5th year SR? JRob was not good at pass blocking because he was not interested in pass blocking much. Based on what I've seen in the NFL he still isn't very interested in blocking.

[Johnson85]

He said that he can't think of any of our players that would be projected to go in the top 2 rounds, which I found interesting, ...
Anyway, the feeling I got from listening to Mullen beat around the bush about it was that, this process is just beginning & that it's far from decided. Additionally, after hearing him talk, I came away believing that, even if Wilson & Jones have made their minds up to go pro, at this point, it's an uninformed/uneducated decision & one in which the coaches haven't even really discussed with the kids yet.

That being said, if Mullen is truly getting feedback that neither Wilson or Jones are projected to go in the 1st or 2nd round & Mullen has yet to discuss this decision with players & their families, I think we all could be jumping to early to conclusions just because we know that the kid wants to go pro. Just because a kid wants to go pro, doesn't mean that he doesn't have enough common sense to make the best possible decision when presented with all the information.

I think this is mostly just coach speak. He's not going to jump out ahead of any players and publicize their announcement or which way their leaning. The only thing that makes me question that is his statement saying he "can't think of any of our players that would be projected to go in the top 2 rounds." I would have expected him to say he hasn't received any feedback or that they're in the process of gathering info on projections to be able to help players make sound decisions.

Still guessing it's coach speak though.

[Political Hack]

I've said since he beginning of the year Wilson won't go. He's not that dumb. It's not a logical
Option for him yet.

[HancockCountyDog]

Please, Ole Miss didn't care about that last TD.

We sound like bear fans after we kicked their ass in 2010. It was 31-9 in Oxford in 2010, that game was a beat down.

It was 38-13 in the 4th quarter. That game was a beat down. Don't buy into this bullshit that somehow it was a close game. Anyone that tries to say it was close or even competitive is either on the coaching staff, f@cking someone on the coaching staff, or wants to be f@cking someone on the coaching staff.

I was at that miserable f@cking game, I know an ass kicking when I see it.

[missouridawg]

Josh Robinson made the right decision. Imagine trying to get yards behind this years' OL. He wouldn't have even been drafted had he come back.

[TrapGame]

Josh Robinson made the right decision. Imagine trying to get yards behind this years' OL. He wouldn't have even been drafted had he come back.

JR would have actually made the OL look better. Shump got tripped up by shadows and hash marks.

[FISHDAWG]

Josh Robinson made the right decision. Imagine trying to get yards behind this years' OL. He wouldn't have even been drafted had he come back.

ha - pretty good point .... has any other team picked him up yet ?

[BrunswickDawg]

ha - pretty good point .... has any other team picked him up yet ? on the Colts practice squad

[FISHDAWG]

thanks - I thought they had released him completely

[HSVDawg]

Did josh get his degree? If not, I think coming back would have beneficial... Wouldn't have hurt draft stock and then had a degree too. If he got degree, he probably made the correct decision

I don't know if Josh got his degree, but he was a 4th year junior (basically was here 3.5 years, so I'm assuming he completed a significant amount of progress towards some degree). So he was no spring chicken when he left. Either way, he without question made the best decision for him. That's especially even more true in hindsight when you see how terrible our OL play was this year. He also had 4 years worth of SEC football on the odometer and that takes its toll after awhile. There simply are no 5th year seniors in college football at the RB position with NFL ability. They do not exist.

[HSVDawg]

dominated after the first 10 minutes ???

If Mullen really said that, it's the most sour grapes ***** piece of shit thing he has ever said. We got our damn asses kicked and there's no two ways about it. And that same thing has happened 3 of the past 4 years.

[Alldawg]

That's what Mullen said. It's obviously just spin, but, in his defense, we went down 21-0 in the first 10 minutes & outscored them 27-17 afterwards.

How much of that reflects on how we played compared to how they called the rest of the game going up 21. They slowed tempo for the most part and were not near as aggressive on defense

[starkvegasdawg]

Don't remember where I've heard it but heard that Wilson was going pro come hell or high water but that CJ was taking his time and attempting to make as informed decision as possible. Take that for what it's worth which may not be very much.

[NCDawg]

Although I wish he hadn't said it because it comes across as an excuse and 10 points isn't exactly "dominating," we did outscore them 27-17 after the first quarter.

Typical Mullen speak. We certainly didn't dominate them. Question is why did we play so terrible in the first 10 minutes?

[Homedawg]

Jones is gone....no reason holding out hope.

[TSUNami]

If Dak didn't fumble we would've probably scored that first drive. Meaning he wouldn't be trying to force the ball for that pick-6. We pretty much won the game outside of that fumble to start the game. It would've been us 17 them 14 at the half. Keep the second half scores as usual and we would've won 31-24. We were the better team on that field no doubt in my mind.

[Todd4State]

Typical Mullen speak. We certainly didn't dominate them. Question is why did we play so terrible in the first 10 minutes?


Would have been nice if Bo asked that. Like a real journalist.

[Todd4State]

If Dak didn't fumble we would've probably scored that first drive. Meaning he wouldn't be trying to force the ball for that pick-6. We pretty much won the game outside of that fumble to start the game. It would've been us 17 them 14 at the half. Keep the second half scores as usual and we would've won 31-24. We were the better team on that field no doubt in my mind.

So many ifs....but I don't agree with the people that say that we don't belong on the same field with them. I felt like going into the game the only way we lose was to turn the ball over. And well....that's what happened.

Freeze is not the kind of guy that is not going to blow out his rival if given the opportunity. And people point to him taking a knee at the end of the game- I think he did that because if they had thrown an INT and by miracle we return it for a TD we're only down four. Even though it's unlikely, you can't take that risk there.

[MSUDawg99]

I've said since he beginning of the year Wilson won't go. He's not that dumb. It's not a logical
Option for him yet.

Only thing I've seen Rosebowl mention on FB recruiting page is that CJ & Wilson want to go pro. The staff will try to talk Wilson into staying but he has kids & wants to try & support his family. Ross will apply for his draft grade as will a couple of others, but he is expected to return.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Only thing I've seen Rosebowl mention on FB recruiting page is that CJ & Wilson want to go pro. The staff will try to talk Wilson into staying but he has kids & wants to try & support his family. Ross will apply for his draft grade as will a couple of others, but he is expected to return.

Fred isn't applying for a grade he's already said he has no intention of leaving & he'll be back next year.

[TimberBeast]

If Dak didn't fumble we would've probably scored that first drive. Meaning he wouldn't be trying to force the ball for that pick-6. We pretty much won the game outside of that fumble to start the game. It would've been us 17 them 14 at the half. Keep the second half scores as usual and we would've won 31-24. We were the better team on that field no doubt in my mind.

Damn man put down the spice.

[HancockCountyDog]

Fred isn't applying for a grade he's already said he has no intention of leaving & he'll be back next year.

Thats great to hear, I really think that Fred is more NFL ready than Bear, so this is great news.

[TSUNami]

Damn man put down the spice.

Am I really crazy for thinking that we were pretty close to winning?

[Coach34]

Am I really crazy for thinking that we were pretty close to winning?

Yes- we got out ass beat

[TSUNami]

Yes- we got out ass beat

Guess I'm crazy for siding with Dan here...

[AROB44]

Guess I'm crazy for siding with Dan here...

Really frowned upon by some on this board.

[MadDawg]

Am I really crazy for thinking that we were pretty close to winning?

For those who are still pissed off we lost to the confederates, yes.

[Coach34]

I really don't want to spend the time explaining it and breaking it down - but will if I must

[MadDawg]

Guess I'm crazy for siding with Dan here...

There is a growing divide among the fanbase now. For the small, vocal minority, Mullen is done. The next 8 months will be a contest to see who can come up with the hottest anti-Dan take or post. Anyone who dares defend him will be roasted unmercifully. He lost to the confederates and will have everything questioned now by those unable to cope. The only thing that will change that is a win over the confederates next year. And considering next year is on the road, it could easily turn into a 20+ month bash-fest. It should be entertaining, I guess.

[TSUNami]

Sheesh. The ball doesn't bounce our way on one play and all of a sudden it's a beatdown. If we didn't fumble we'd be up 7-0 and they'd have to drive the length of the field. We would have been clicking on all cylinders and not having to force throws. We would've outscored them.

[maroonmania]

Am I really crazy for thinking that we were pretty close to winning?

Do you believe Auburn was close to winning against us in 2014 in Starkville? If you say yes, then you can also say yes that we were close to winning against the Bears this season. It was almost the exact same type game in reverse.

[HancockCountyDog]

Really frowned upon by some on this board.

It was 38-13 in the 4th quarter. That was despite them missing two FGs. That game was a damn blowout. Anyone that was at that game knows that. Maybe that explains why CDM was laughing so hard after we didn't recover the onside kick, because he had just gotten to the damn field and was in some damn coma the first 58 minutes in the game. We gained 150 of our 400 yards of offense in the last two drives where they played two deep safeties.

The fact that we scored two meaningless TD's is not just putting lipstick on a pig, its like asking this:

http://www.georgehorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Other-than-that-Mrs-Lincoln1.jpg

[HancockCountyDog]

Sheesh. The ball doesn't bounce our way on one play and all of a sudden it's a beatdown. If we didn't fumble we'd be up 7-0 and they'd have to drive the length of the field. We would have been clicking on all cylinders and not having to force throws. We would've outscored them.

So we would have scored a TD on that first drive? Just like we did all those other times in the game when it mattered?

Im 99% sure you are bear troll, so Im not sure why Im responding to you.

[Todd4State]

Do you believe Auburn was close to winning against us in 2014 in Starkville? If you say yes, then you can also say yes that we were close to winning against the Bears this season. It was almost the exact same type game in reverse.

I certainly wouldn't say that we blew Auburn out. We had to make some key plays down the stretch or it definitely could have gotten dicey- including Antoine's fumble recovery on a kickoff and Cox had to intercept a pass at the end to completely kill them.

[TSUNami]

So we would have scored a TD on that first drive? Just like we did all those other times in the game when it mattered?

Im 99% sure you are bear troll, so Im not sure why Im responding to you.

We were moving the ball really well that first drive. The fumble came after a first down Dak scramble!

[Todd4State]

There is a growing divide among the fanbase now. For the small, vocal minority, Mullen is done. The next 8 months will be a contest to see who can come up with the hottest anti-Dan take or post. Anyone who dares defend him will be roasted unmercifully. He lost to the confederates and will have everything questioned now by those unable to cope. The only thing that will change that is a win over the confederates next year. And considering next year is on the road, it could easily turn into a 20+ month bash-fest. It should be entertaining, I guess.

Based on my anti- Dan posts that's not the case around here. For now.

Right now it depends on what we do in the bowl. If we win, I'm sure Dan will win some people back. If not we may lose a few more but it won't be significantly more.

The vibe I get from a lot of State fans right now is apathy more than anything. The ones that really care the most are the ones in the anti-Dan or pro-Dan camps. Honestly, though apathy is just as bad as anything because if people stop caring, they stop showing up and they stop spending money. The fact that MSU is having to beg people to buy bowl tickets or give them to the military is not a good thing.

I think next year Dan has to either beat a big name team like LSU or Alabama or he has to win the Egg Bowl to keep things positive.

[maroonmania]

There is a growing divide among the fanbase now. For the small, vocal minority, Mullen is done. The next 8 months will be a contest to see who can come up with the hottest anti-Dan take or post. Anyone who dares defend him will be roasted unmercifully. He lost to the confederates and will have everything questioned now by those unable to cope. The only thing that will change that is a win over the confederates next year. And considering next year is on the road, it could easily turn into a 20+ month bash-fest. It should be entertaining, I guess.

And I think that is supremely stupid. I actually understood some people being done with Dan more back when we were 4-6 in 2013 than now. Back then Dan had not had the 10-2 season and shown he could get us to #1. He also had not had a QB that had become a nationally known player. And at that time Hud was actually a rising star coach that folks were afraid might be swept up by some other P5 program before we could bring him back here. Now, Dan has shown that he can at least make us a consistent 7-8 win bowl type team and better when things line up just right and Hud is tainted goods. Even if Mullen left tomorrow I don't think we have anyone lined up that we would be convinced would do better than Mullen and recruit more talent to MSU. At least no one I know of. I mean the biggest reason folks wanted Hud a few years ago was because he would be a slam dunk recruiter for us on top of being a good HC. I don't see anybody else like that out there for us as a sure thing at this point.

[Coach34]

Lots of people are pissed off for losing to Ole Missus for the 3rd time in 4 years as well as finishing 6th in the West with the best QB in school history. And next year looks like another 6th or 7th in the West finish.

Next fall will get interesting as the losses mount

[Maroonthirteen]

He has to win this bowl game. Which I highly doubt. Or the grumbling will grow exponentially before next fall starts.

[Jack Lambert]

There is a growing divide among the fanbase now. For the small, vocal minority, Mullen is done. The next 8 months will be a contest to see who can come up with the hottest anti-Dan take or post. Anyone who dares defend him will be roasted unmercifully. He lost to the confederates and will have everything questioned now by those unable to cope. The only thing that will change that is a win over the confederates next year. And considering next year is on the road, it could easily turn into a 20+ month bash-fest. It should be entertaining, I guess.

I said it before and I work for a company with a lot of MSU allumni and there is not devide in the fan base only on the message board.

The bottom line is he is our coach and just accept it. Having this bull shit argument on every other thread is not good for the board, Miss State or no one. If this goes on between now and next football season I suspect this board will lose a lot of their posters. It's only been two weeks and it is already starting to grow like a wart on your ass.

[Barking 13]

cyst that needs to be lanced....

[ShotgunDawg]

Sheesh, I wish I wouldn't have included the Ole Miss game part in my original post. It wasn't the point of the thread.

Look, I think the answer falls somewhere in the middle. We were blown out in that game & Ole Miss had better players. No question about that. However, at the same time, that has been turned into "We suck", or "This program is in trouble." & I think both of those narratives are ridiculous. Mullen has maybe the best QB depth chart in the SEC & is about to land his 2nd straight top 20 or 22 type class. So long as we continue to recruit like this & are able to red shirt players at the rate we have, we will continue to win 7-9 games a year with the potential for more in certain years. Our Red shirting practices mean that, on average, we are playing with older players than the competition & that our top 20 recruiting classes combine 5 classes, rather than 3 or 4, which means we should have more 4* caliber on the field than our recruiting ranking may suggest.

We sucked & played extremely poor in the Egg Bowl, but it wasn't close & we outplayed them at no point. However, that doesn't mean the program has major problems & is going downhill. We are WAY too fickle in this sport & make too many definitive statements off of one or two games. Look no further than the NFL and how teams like the Patriots lost to the Eagles two weeks ago or how the best teams still lose 4+ games. Sometimes in football, you just play bad. It happens & it sucks, but it doesn't mean there are extraordinary problems. Bama plays bad as well, but they have over twice the amount of talent on their roster as any other SEC team.

[Maroonthirteen]

I think it was Jackie that said, "you are never as good or bad as they (fans media) think you are."

OM is talented this year. Not that much more talented but more talented.

State was a good team this year but not great.

Dak is the best PASSING QB to play at State but not the best athlete. We will be just fine with Fitz and Staley next year.

[maroonmania]

I think it was Jackie that said, "you are never as good or bad as they (fans media) think you are."

OM is talented this year. Not that much more talented but more talented.

State was a good team this year but not great.

Dak is the best PASSING QB to play at State but not the best athlete. We will be just fine with Fitz and Staley next year.

In hindsight it was actually a great coaching job to get us to 8 wins given we had such a crappy OL. Of course it's also Mullen and Hevesy's responsibility that we had a crappy OL.

[NCDawg]

In hindsight it was actually a great coaching job to get us to 8 wins given we had such a crappy OL. Of course it's also Mullen and Hevesy's responsibility that we had a crappy OL.

I agree and we will continue to have a crappy OL as long as we have the current OL coach.

[Tripp McNeely]

Guess I'm crazy for siding with Dan here...

You are not alone