Hugh Freeze uses and abuses his own

[FlabLoser]

Even Ole Miss fans were surprised when Freeze continued flirting with Brassell after his first removal from the team. Freeze went on to sign Brassell (again) in their 2013 crootin class. His * ranking gave them the boost they were looking for.

But Brassell also gave Freeze something else - a path to Antonio Conner. Brassell and Conner are pretty tight. Conner followed Brassell (and some hep) to Oxford. Everybody was happy on signing day.

Today, Brassell is no longer a Rebel. He continued to pay little attention to school as he did the first time he was a Rebel. This came to no one's surprise. Nobody ever expected Brassell would straighten his head and play football. It was clear Freeze signed Brassell only to get to Conner. Brassell wasn't the only guy used and abused by Freeze for the 2013 crootin class.

Enter, Stewart Summers. Summers was a walk-on QB at Ole Miss. Why does Ole Miss, who is known for signing every QB transfer they can find, have a walk-on QB? Because walk-on QB's daddy is a doctor at UMC (http://www.umc.edu/education/schools/medicine/clinical_science/emergency_medicine/richard_summers.aspx) who has an in to get a job for the #1 football croot.

Word got out that Sunday Nkemdiche was being courted for a job at UMC, which if funded by MS taxpayers. That was a scandal enough all by itself (http://outkickthecoverage.com/robert-nkemdiche-nations-top-recruit-riles-up-mississippi-legislature.php), drawing the attention of the MS Legislature and the MS Ethics Commission. Dr Summers hoped to sign Sunday Nkemdiche after his son Robert signed a national LOI with Hugh Freeze.

So what ever happened with that situation? Answer: the same thing that happened with Brassell - the intended target was signed in the 2013 crootin class and all other pawns were dismissed. Robert Nkemdiche is a Rebel. Robert's father, Sunday Nkemdiche, is not employed at UMC. Stewart Summers is no longer on the Ole Miss Rebel football roster.

I'm sure some promises were kept. That's how crootin works. But expendable carrots were expended. On to 2014 crootin. Hotty toddy. Who's getting used next?

[Political Hack]

I wonder if he has any contract stipulations in his contract, like Ogre's, that gives him a bonus for class rankings??? If so, it could be helping his own packet book too.

[engie]

Meh -- don't know if Snoop had to help very much on Conner.

They also have no fewer than 3 former South Panola players on that roster...possibly as many as 5-6.

Bottom line is that from his freshman year of highschool on, Tony Conner was ALWAYS going to end up at Ole Miss...

[smootness]

I think it's pretty obvious at this point what Freeze's recruiting strategy is - use any possible connection current players have to try to get better prospects. This is not a bad strategy, I would hope every coach uses it to some degree.

However, I think there are some coaches who use connections when they present themselves, and there are others who seek out players mostly for the purposes of their future use as connections. It remains to be seen what Freeze will do, but my guess is that the primary reason he went hard after the Moore's is because of Jamal Peters next year. As you say, it sure seems that the main reason he brought Brassell back was because of Conner. This in and of itself won't necessarily hurt you, but it will if you start taking guys you otherwise wouldn't simply so you can hopefully recruit better players after them. Once you bring in too many fringe guys, your team suffers.

Not only that, but it can be a difficult process to repeat, especially when these connections are happening outside the state. Take Laquon Treadwell. His best friend, Anthony Standifer, is a guy Freeze got at the last minute in 2012 (his own recruitment was a little weird, that Ole Miss suddenly showed up and got him). Standifer seems like a good prospect himself, but I'm guessing much of the reason Freeze went after him so hard is because he knew they might get Treadwell, too. Well, that's great...but what if Crete, IL doesn't produce any more really good prospects - or if those guys aren't so close with Standifer/Treadwell. Well, now that well has dried up, so you have to find a new one. Same with Nkemdiche, Tunsil, etc. Out-of-state connections are very difficult to build, it is usually a one-shot deal, i.e. this one guy has a connection with this one guy, and that's it.

Well, not only can this potentially hurt you in-state if you focus too much energy on it, but you also can start to become desperate for other connections when those dry up. Standifer may be a good prospect in his own right, and it was simply a cherry on top that he could help with Treadwell, and Denzel Nkemdiche the same way. But once those guys are gone, since your strategy has been built so much on this premise, you may have to reach a little more for the next guys with connections (the Moore's?). It can all come unraveled if you're not careful.

I'm not saying any of this is going to happen with Freeze. The guy may have a brilliant plan conceived, and I mean that sincerely. But it definitely can be risky; he said himself they were going to take a shot at doing it this way for 2013 and if it didn't work, they'd have to go with the plan normally used at places like Ole Miss and State, which is find guys with potential and coach them up...well, just because it worked in 2013 does not make it more likely to work in 2014 and beyond. It's a new deal every year, and it could backfire.

[deltadawg99]

Speaking if Brassell, anybody heard where he is headed to?

Kinda funny that Yancy's "Mississippi Homerun" now consists of Tobias Manning at JSU, Whitehead at Auburn, Brassell not enrolled anywhere and CJ Johnson under investigation.

[Goat Holder]

Not only that, but it can be a difficult process to repeat, especially when these connections are happening outside the state. Take Laquon Treadwell. His best friend, Anthony Standifer, is a guy Freeze got at the last minute in 2012 (his own recruitment was a little weird, that Ole Miss suddenly showed up and got him). Standifer seems like a good prospect himself, but I'm guessing much of the reason Freeze went after him so hard is because he knew they might get Treadwell, too. Well, that's great...but what if Crete, IL doesn't produce any more really good prospects - or if those guys aren't so close with Standifer/Treadwell.

About all Standifer has done was hurt their #2 receiver in practice.

[RougeDawg]

I think it's pretty obvious at this point what Freeze's recruiting strategy is - use any possible connection current players have to try to get better prospects. This is not a bad strategy, I would hope every coach uses it to some degree.

However, I think there are some coaches who use connections when they present themselves, and there are others who seek out players mostly for the purposes of their future use as connections. It remains to be seen what Freeze will do, but my guess is that the primary reason he went hard after the Moore's is because of Jamal Peters next year. As you say, it sure seems that the main reason he brought Brassell back was because of Conner. This in and of itself won't necessarily hurt you, but it will if you start taking guys you otherwise wouldn't simply so you can hopefully recruit better players after them. Once you bring in too many fringe guys, your team suffers.

Not only that, but it can be a difficult process to repeat, especially when these connections are happening outside the state. Take Laquon Treadwell. His best friend, Anthony Standifer, is a guy Freeze got at the last minute in 2012 (his own recruitment was a little weird, that Ole Miss suddenly showed up and got him). Standifer seems like a good prospect himself, but I'm guessing much of the reason Freeze went after him so hard is because he knew they might get Treadwell, too. Well, that's great...but what if Crete, IL doesn't produce any more really good prospects - or if those guys aren't so close with Standifer/Treadwell. Well, now that well has dried up, so you have to find a new one. Same with Nkemdiche, Tunsil, etc. Out-of-state connections are very difficult to build, it is usually a one-shot deal, i.e. this one guy has a connection with this one guy, and that's it.

Well, not only can this potentially hurt you in-state if you focus too much energy on it, but you also can start to become desperate for other connections when those dry up. Standifer may be a good prospect in his own right, and it was simply a cherry on top that he could help with Treadwell, and Denzel Nkemdiche the same way. But once those guys are gone, since your strategy has been built so much on this premise, you may have to reach a little more for the next guys with connections (the Moore's?). It can all come unraveled if you're not careful.

I'm not saying any of this is going to happen with Freeze. The guy may have a brilliant plan conceived, and I mean that sincerely. But it definitely can be risky; he said himself they were going to take a shot at doing it this way for 2013 and if it didn't work, they'd have to go with the plan normally used at places like Ole Miss and State, which is find guys with potential and coach them up...well, just because it worked in 2013 does not make it more likely to work in 2014 and beyond. It's a new deal every year, and it could backfire.

Damn it pisses me off so bad that they are conducting their own High School draft every year. The NCAA has a perfect opportunity to put an end, or brief stop to it this year. Here's to hoping that the higher up's at Auburn, Alabama, and Georgia are jumping on the desks in Indianapolis.

[SheltonChoked]

I'm not so sure that's a bad plan. I don't know how sustainable it is, but is has been proven to work. At least for a couple of years. My guess is the philosphy of it is, with an 85 player limit you can only really keep 17 to 21 players per signing class. So, you have to run off 4 to 8 players per class. If you use those 4-8 as bait players, then you dont have to make the hard choices down the line of who to get rid of to make your numbers.

Now the assumptions are:
1) you can get the big fish with those bait players
2) the bait players will just be bait players
3) the big fish pan out.

The downside is it seems to be an easy plan to recruit against. (your buddy will not be there, Mr Big Fish) But that assumes 17 year olds can think that far ahead.

[Political Hack]

strong post out the gate Smootness. welcome.

[FlabLoser]

I wonder if he has any contract stipulations in his contract, like Ogre's, that gives him a bonus for class rankings??? If so, it could be helping his own packet book too.

Hugh's contract is low in salary and high in incentives. Call it the Houston Nutt effect. Hugh's performance seems to mirror his contract - flash in the pan results now, screw later.

[maroonmania]

I'm not so sure that's a bad plan. I don't know how sustainable it is, but is has been proven to work. At least for a couple of years. My guess is the philosphy of it is, with an 85 player limit you can only really keep 17 to 21 players per signing class. So, you have to run off 4 to 8 players per class. If you use those 4-8 as bait players, then you dont have to make the hard choices down the line of who to get rid of to make your numbers.

Now the assumptions are:
1) you can get the big fish with those bait players
2) the bait players will just be bait players
3) the big fish pan out.

The downside is it seems to be an easy plan to recruit against. (your buddy will not be there, Mr Big Fish) But that assumes 17 year olds can think that far ahead.

Agreed, about the only negative is if they get a reputation that's pervasive enough that it actually starts turning kids off from the get go. Not an issue yet but if continues with Freeze routinely it might become an issue for him.

[RougeDawg]

I'm not so sure that's a bad plan. I don't know how sustainable it is, but is has been proven to work. At least for a couple of years. My guess is the philosphy of it is, with an 85 player limit you can only really keep 17 to 21 players per signing class. So, you have to run off 4 to 8 players per class. If you use those 4-8 as bait players, then you dont have to make the hard choices down the line of who to get rid of to make your numbers.

Now the assumptions are:
1) you can get the big fish with those bait players
2) the bait players will just be bait players
3) the big fish pan out.

The downside is it seems to be an easy plan to recruit against. (your buddy will not be there, Mr Big Fish) But that assumes 17 year olds can think that far ahead.

What I've noticed in the last few years with young people in general (17-25 range) is that very rarely do any of them think past tomorrow. Stems back to the entitlment mentality of most Millennials, a generation of direction followers with very few free thinking individuals. Everybody has been taught to follow directions, not ask questions, and everything will be ok. For most, everything has been taken care of in some fashion by another person. They've had no guidance on what real life is actually like, and they rarely act today based on how it will effect tomorrow, next week/year, or 10 years down the road. Its a generation of instant everything. Instant message, internet, TV, grits, etc. They only see the instant $ at that moment. Not the people that were manipulated and used prior to and after the $.

[Political Hack]

Kids want to go to school with their friends. I did. Most do. I went with a group and turned down scholarships rather than going to a school in Louisiana or Oklahoma.

[smootness]

I'm not so sure that's a bad plan. I don't know how sustainable it is, but is has been proven to work. At least for a couple of years. My guess is the philosphy of it is, with an 85 player limit you can only really keep 17 to 21 players per signing class. So, you have to run off 4 to 8 players per class. If you use those 4-8 as bait players, then you dont have to make the hard choices down the line of who to get rid of to make your numbers.

Now the assumptions are:
1) you can get the big fish with those bait players
2) the bait players will just be bait players
3) the big fish pan out.

The downside is it seems to be an easy plan to recruit against. (your buddy will not be there, Mr Big Fish) But that assumes 17 year olds can think that far ahead.

As I said, the plan definitely can work. We saw it last year. But obviously the downside is that one of those assumptions doesn't work. Take last year, for example; if they don't pull Nkemdiche (and this was far from a given, at least initially), they more than likely also don't get Tunsil. Perhaps they also lose someone else was well (Golson, maybe?); well, all of the sudden, your class is not nearly as great as it might have been, and you lose guys you had to count on because you saved their spot until the end. If you're not as successful as you hoped you would be in turning those connections into signees, now too much of your roster is filled with bait/filler.

Also, this takes a lot of the evaluation phase out of recruiting. As Freeze admitted after signing day last year, they identified 12 top players from the beginning they were going to go after. Well, that is relying an awful lot on other people's evaluations and on those guys to continue developing. And spending so much time on those specific guys leaves your staff less time to continue looking for talent. They tried to jump into the Chris Jones pile late, but it was only after everyone started acknowledging how good the kid was. Why did our staff ultimately get him? Because they put strong feelers out across the state and are constantly looking for talent and waiting to bring guys into camps and see them for themselves. By using the strategy Freeze is using, you're going to miss out on kids like that, and you better nail the top guys you went after, and they better be as good as everyone said.

Again, every coach should be using connections in an effort to more effectively recruit high-school kids. But again, some coaches take advantage of connections presented, and others base their entire recruiting strategy around it. I just think it's incredibly difficult to sustain it over time, and once you have one or two classes that don't pan out like you hoped, uh oh.

[smootness]

strong post out the gate Smootness. welcome.

Glad to be here. This seems to be about the only State message board left with actual substance concerning athletics.

[Coach 57]

One of my kids I coached is going to be the starting slot receiver for one the JUCOs in this state. He told me that Jeremy Liggins is one of the best DEs (btw he's 300+ now). Funny how that worked out for the young man.

[Bamboo]

Even Ole Miss fans were surprised when Freeze continued flirting with Brassell after his first removal from the team. Freeze went on to sign Brassell (again) in their 2013 crootin class. His * ranking gave them the boost they were looking for.

But Brassell also gave Freeze something else - a path to Antonio Conner. Brassell and Conner are pretty tight. Conner followed Brassell (and some hep) to Oxford. Everybody was happy on signing day.

Today, Brassell is no longer a Rebel. He continued to pay little attention to school as he did the first time he was a Rebel. This came to no one's surprise. Nobody ever expected Brassell would straighten his head and play football. It was clear Freeze signed Brassell only to get to Conner. Brassell wasn't the only guy used and abused by Freeze for the 2013 crootin class.

Enter, Stewart Summers. Summers was a walk-on QB at Ole Miss. Why does Ole Miss, who is known for signing every QB transfer they can find, have a walk-on QB? Because walk-on QB's daddy is a doctor at UMC (http://www.umc.edu/education/schools/medicine/clinical_science/emergency_medicine/richard_summers.aspx) who has an in to get a job for the #1 football croot.

Word got out that Sunday Nkemdiche was being courted for a job at UMC, which if funded by MS taxpayers. That was a scandal enough all by itself (http://outkickthecoverage.com/robert-nkemdiche-nations-top-recruit-riles-up-mississippi-legislature.php), drawing the attention of the MS Legislature and the MS Ethics Commission. Dr Summers hoped to sign Sunday Nkemdiche after his son Robert signed a national LOI with Hugh Freeze.

So what ever happened with that situation? Answer: the same thing that happened with Brassell - the intended target was signed in the 2013 crootin class and all other pawns were dismissed. Robert Nkemdiche is a Rebel. Robert's father, Sunday Nkemdiche, is not employed at UMC. Stewart Summers is no longer on the Ole Miss Rebel football roster.
?

Stewarts Dad is Richard? Yancy shade glasses...