Stars matter on the defensive side of ball.. not so much on offense

[Maroon_and_white]

at least when it comes to getting drafted according to this article

http://thebiglead.com/2016/01/19/recruiting-rankings-2016-signing-day-michigan-harbaugh/

my 2 takeaways:

Recruiting rankings were dead on for the secondary

I just went back the last 4 years and looked at 247 composite and our DB recruiting has been....bad


Offensive linemen (projections) fared the worst

Stars don't matter as much so our problem is evaluation and projection.

[starkvegasdawg]

What were Slay and Banks? I'm thinking Banks was a 3 and Slay a 2.

I'd still have highly ranked o linemen. We've seen what we do with the leftovers. I don't remember what Sherrod and Womack were.

[sandwolf]

What were Slay and Banks?

They were both 3's.

[ckDOG]

Makes sense. Xs and Os on offense should always beat Xs and Os on defense. Offense knows where they are going and defenses react. You need better athletes on defense to counter that inherent advantage - all other things considered equal.

[banded]

I think in todays football, the offensive linemen are the most skilled players on the team

[defiantdog]

They were both 3's.

KJ Wright was a 3 star as well.... He's doing fairly well in the NFL.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

heres the deal with 2 and 3 stars..Yes it is GREAT that we can take these guys and turn them into 5 stars when they leave. But after they leave what good is it for us that they are now 5 stars? Getting 4 and 5 stars from the start allows you to have that talent on your team for a couple more years.

[Jack Lambert]

I think in todays football, the offensive linemen are the most skilled players on the team

I agree just look at the NFL draft over the past five years.

[Jack Lambert]

I hate to say anything negative but it has been our safeties play that has hurt our back field. Seems like they are always out of position. I don't think it is talent. I think it was coaching and I suspect starting next year the safety plays will be much improved.

[msstate7]

KJ Wright was a 3 star as well.... He's doing fairly well in the NFL.

2* Preston smith will probably still have a job next year too

[Really Clark?]

heres the deal with 2 and 3 stars..Yes it is GREAT that we can take these guys and turn them into 5 stars when they leave. But after they leave what good is it for us that they are now 5 stars? Getting 4 and 5 stars from the start allows you to have that talent on your team for a couple more years.

Let me pose this though. Your statement is true but only if the sites accurately rate players 100%. They miss on 5 stars at what? 30% clip. They miss their elvauations on a third of the can't miss guys. If they are that far off on the can't miss guys,
why do we automatically assume that all of the lower ranked guys were evaluated properly? Even coaches have certain players rated higher or lower to their trained eye vs sites rankings. This is not saying you don't want very good players but I just think that the difference between the majority of mid 3 star players and low 4 stars is negligible. What separates them is what can't be evaluated, heart and determination. Which is why 5star athletes busts or play at much lower level than what was evaluated about a third of the time in college.

[NeedMoreCowbell]

One of the best recent examples of the hidden gem/diamond-in-the-rough syndrome is that Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow. He was a Rivals 2-star with no D-1 offers but Clemson took him as a preferred walk-on. He sure looked like a 5-star stud while schooling all of Bama's "elite" defensive backs. Not many coaches have the ability to spot those hidden gems and develop them. Dan does. It's fun to hear LSU fans moan and groan about how they missed out on Dak; when we signed him they were all beating their chests about how highly ranked their recruits were.

[bulldawg28]

Let me pose this though. Your statement is true but only if the sites accurately rate players 100%. They miss on 5 stars at what? 30% clip. They miss their elvauations on a third of the can't miss guys. If they are that far off on the can't miss guys,
why do we automatically assume that all of the lower ranked guys were evaluated properly? Even coaches have certain players rated higher or lower to their trained eye vs sites rankings. This is not saying you don't want very good players but I just think that the difference between the majority of mid 3 star players and low 4 stars is negligible. What separates them is what can't be evaluated, heart and determination. Which is why 5star athletes busts or play at much lower level than what was evaluated about a third of the time in college.

This. People act as if these star ratings come from NFL evaluators or SEC coaches. They come from freaking geeks who for the most part have never played football since Pop Warner. Our fans have become Ole Miss 2.0and have bought into the hype. Again, all a 4 and 5 star is is someone whose athletic ability allows him to play early in college because he's matured faster our knows more about the game currently. Anyone can see it! Any player that or coaches evaluate and offer I trust. That's the reason Mullen prefers offering during his camps rather than relying on some writers evaluation. Think about this...They're more guys rated 3* stars in the NFL than 5*.

[Dawgtini]

This. People act as if these star ratings come from NFL evaluators or SEC coaches. They come from freaking geeks who for the most part have never played football since Pop Warner. Our fans have become Ole Miss 2.0and have bought into the hype. Again, all a 4 and 5 star is is someone whose athletic ability allows him to play early in college because he's matured faster our knows more about the game currently. Anyone can see it! Any player that or coaches evaluate and offer I trust. That's the reason Mullen prefers offering during his camps rather than relying on some writers evaluation. Think about this...They're more guys rated 3* stars in the NFL than 5*.
True. We lost the last 2 to UOM and 3-4. Obviously we need to recruit like them to beat them is the current mindset of a huge portion of our fanbase. Truth is we have won 19 of 26 the last 2 years. We could certainly upgrade at the OL and maybe some other positions but we are FAR from having to change our recruiting philosophy. The sky is not falling.

[mparkerfd20]

I hate to say anything negative but it has been our safeties play that has hurt our back field. Seems like they are always out of position. I don't think it is talent. I think it was coaching and I suspect starting next year the safety plays will be much improved.

I agree. Without being too negative, our last coach over that position was here for his recruiting, not his coaching.

[bulldawg28]

True. We lost the last 2 to UOM and 3-4. Obviously we need to recruit like them to beat them is the current mindset of a huge portion of our fanbase. Truth is we have won 19 of 26 the last 2 years. We could certainly upgrade at the OL and maybe some other positions but we are FAR from having to change our recruiting philosophy. The sky is not falling.

IMO, We got outcoached in those games.

[NeshobaChuck]

McKinney was a 2* QB out of high school

[Reason2succeed]

Give me the big talented kid with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove over the high school super star who just spent the last two years being hyped up while playing inferior talent. The derecruiting process of 5* guys often takes as long as the development of 3* guys. Plus have you checked our retention rate or grade point avg for our football team lately. Mullen specializes at taking higher quality guys without being fully choir boy. We're doing fine as a program.