It's time to change our OL recruiting strategy

[Coach34]

Time for a change guys- the OL recruiting strategy we have used for 7 years now is not working. Not one recruit by Mullen/Hevesy has been drafted and right now- none we have currently are projected to be drafted. Soooooo- its time for a new plan of action. Doing the same thing over and over is stupid and lunacy. Hell, just this past Signing Day- T-Buck found our highest rated OL signee in the month he was on the staff. That's about as obvious of a problem as you can have.

How bout this?

Let's find a couple of guys from the MidWest every year to sign.

Want to play SEC football? Come to State
Want to go to a bowl every year? Come to State
Want to play against elite DL's? Come to State
Want to get away from the cold weather? Come to State

With effort- we can find a couple of guys that end up being Purdue's, Indiana's, Colorado's, Nebraska's- etc better linemen. I promise you we can find 2 per year that want to play SEC football and are good enough to play to improve our OL. Hell, Hev's ass might relate to these types of guys better to help improve his recruiting. Give Hev the MidWest and say "go get'em Tiger!!!".

It's time for a new strategy. I'm not saying this is the only way-but it's one idea.

Last year's OL schools guys were drafted from in the top 3 rounds:

Iowa
Miami
Stanford
Fla State
A&M
Florida
Duke
Penn State
Missouri
Oregon
Wisconsin
Colorado State
Hobart College
Utah
SC
Oregon
Louisville
Louisville
Florida

Hobart College can get a high draft pick on the OL but we cant???? C'mon Mane

[HancockCountyDog]

Time for a change guys- the OL recruiting strategy we have used for 7 years now is not working. Not one recruit by Mullen/Hevesy has been drafted and right now- none we have currently are projected to be drafted. Soooooo- its time for a new plan of action. Doing the same thing over and over is stupid and lunacy. Hell, just this past Signing Day- T-Buck found our highest rated OL signee in the month he was on the staff. That's about as obvious of a problem as you can have.

How bout this?

Let's find a couple of guys from the MidWest every year to sign.

Want to play SEC football? Come to State
Want to go to a bowl every year? Come to State
Want to play against elite DL's? Come to State
Want to get away from the cold weather? Come to State

With effort- we can find a couple of guys that end up being Purdue's, Indiana's, Colorado's, Nebraska's- etc better linemen. I promise you we can find 2 per year that want to play SEC football and are good enough to play to improve our OL. Hell, Hev's ass might relate to these types of guys better to help improve his recruiting. Give Hev the MidWest and say "go get'em Tiger!!!".

It's time for a new strategy. I'm not saying this is the only way-but it's one idea.

Last year's OL schools guys were drafted from in the top 3 rounds:

Iowa
Miami
Stanford
Fla State
A&M
Florida
Duke
Penn State
Missouri
Oregon
Wisconsin
Colorado State
Hobart College
Utah
SC
Oregon
Louisville
Louisville
Florida

Hobart College can get a high draft pick on the OL but we cant???? C'mon Mane

I totally agree with you, but looking at some early offers that are being claimed by some diamonds in the rough on the OL, Im not sure we will recruit nationally for OL. I don't know why.

We've offered 5 OL in MS already per 247 sports:

Jalen Bell
John Dale
Saahdiq Charles
Paul Gainer
Lavante Epson

Who knows if any of these are commitable, but if they are, they better all blow up in the summer. All 5 better ESPN 300 players. There is no other reason to offer an in state kid, a year before signing day that is anything less than a blue chip kid, unless you think they are all Chris Jones type hidden talent.

Maybe they will be, but history says otherwise.

[AlSwearengen]

I'd be happy if we just found the no. 3 or 4 rated OT (not the top rated) every three years and buy them. Olemiss understands this concept, they just can't help from going overboard.

If you have a top notch LT, you can get a top notch QB and that leads to good receivers.

The lines are where you should put the vast majority of you "effort".

[maroonmania]

Time for a change guys- the OL recruiting strategy we have used for 7 years now is not working. Not one recruit by Mullen/Hevesy has been drafted and right now- none we have currently are projected to be drafted. Soooooo- its time for a new plan of action. Doing the same thing over and over is stupid and lunacy. Hell, just this past Signing Day- T-Buck found our highest rated OL signee in the month he was on the staff. That's about as obvious of a problem as you can have.

How bout this?

Let's find a couple of guys from the MidWest every year to sign.

Want to play SEC football? Come to State
Want to go to a bowl every year? Come to State
Want to play against elite DL's? Come to State
Want to get away from the cold weather? Come to State

With effort- we can find a couple of guys that end up being Purdue's, Indiana's, Colorado's, Nebraska's- etc better linemen. I promise you we can find 2 per year that want to play SEC football and are good enough to play to improve our OL. Hell, Hev's ass might relate to these types of guys better to help improve his recruiting. Give Hev the MidWest and say "go get'em Tiger!!!".

It's time for a new strategy. I'm not saying this is the only way-but it's one idea.

Last year's OL schools guys were drafted from in the top 3 rounds:

Iowa
Miami
Stanford
Fla State
A&M
Florida
Duke
Penn State
Missouri
Oregon
Wisconsin
Colorado State
Hobart College
Utah
SC
Oregon
Louisville
Louisville
Florida

Hobart College can get a high draft pick on the OL but we cant???? C'mon Mane

I'm all for it, heck, maybe Hev's rep hasn't permeated all the way out into the Midwest.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Only problem is if we got to Indiana & get this mid 3* kid with offers from Perdue, Bowling Green, & Western Kentucky then Hev is getting bashed for more low rated OL. That's what most of these guys on that list are.

[SallyStansbury]

Only problem is if we got to Indiana & get this mid 3* kid with offers from Perdue, Bowling Green, & Western Kentucky then Hev is getting bashed for more low rated OL. That's what most of these guys on that list are.


But there exists the probability that Hevesy might find someone worth a shit by doing something different.


Coach makes a valid point that we have fallen into a terrible rut of NOT bringing in top rated offensive linemen. Either Hev is lazy or too much of an ASS so that players with options won't play for him?


What is your suggestion for fixing our offensive line woes?

[Coach34]

Only problem is if we got to Indiana & get this mid 3* kid with offers from Perdue, Bowling Green, & Western Kentucky then Hev is getting bashed for more low rated OL. That's what most of these guys on that list are.

Then if that is indeed Hev's ceiling- then he needs to go wouldnt you say? If his recruiting isnt ever going to get better no matter what he does- then its time for a change.

Kentucky signed 2 4-star guys on the OL. There has got to be a way to improve our OL recruiting

[SallyStansbury]

Then if that is indeed Hev's ceiling- then he needs to go wouldnt you say? If his recruiting isnt ever going to get better no matter what he does- then its time for a change.

Kentucky signed 2 4-star guys on the OL. There has got to be a way to improve our OL recruiting



I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a response...........

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Then if that is indeed Hev's ceiling- then he needs to go wouldnt you say? If his recruiting isnt ever going to get better no matter what he does- then its time for a change.

Kentucky signed 2 4-star guys on the OL. There has got to be a way to improve our OL recruiting

Don't disagree that it may be time for a change.

[cheewgumm]

I'd still take my chances with 3 Star OLs from midwest, or anywhere else where the coaching of OLmen has proven to be better than in the South.

[thf24]

Obligatory mention of terms "corn-fed" and "midwestern maulers."

[Boodawg]

According to an MSU OL from 2 years ago, none of Hevesy's players like him. He curses at them all day and never gives them any credit for anything. No pats on the back, good jobs, or congratulations per se. This OL said they basically just end up somewhat ignoring him for the most part, and just trying to do their jobs best they can.

[Todd4State]

I totally agree with you, but looking at some early offers that are being claimed by some diamonds in the rough on the OL, Im not sure we will recruit nationally for OL. I don't know why.

We've offered 5 OL in MS already per 247 sports:

Jalen Bell
John Dale
Saahdiq Charles
Paul Gainer
Lavante Epson

Who knows if any of these are commitable, but if they are, they better all blow up in the summer. All 5 better ESPN 300 players. There is no other reason to offer an in state kid, a year before signing day that is anything less than a blue chip kid, unless you think they are all Chris Jones type hidden talent.

Maybe they will be, but history says otherwise.

I think Ben Brown has one but he's an Ole Miss legacy. I don't think Bell's is committable but the rest are.

[Schultzy]

I've wondered if we sign enough OL's each yr or carry enough on the roster...last yr had 16 total OL's on the roster

3 upperclassmen busts and
6 freshman

But 16 wide receivers and
And 8 tailbacks

I think you sign more OL to increase your odds of guys panning out and processing busts.

[Todd4State]

I don't think it's just a Mississippi/recruiting problem. I just don't think Hevesy is very good at developing o-linemen.

Heck, the last two great o-linemen we had were Sherrod and Gabe and they were both from Mississippi.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

I totally agree with you, but looking at some early offers that are being claimed by some diamonds in the rough on the OL, Im not sure we will recruit nationally for OL. I don't know why.

We've offered 5 OL in MS already per 247 sports:

Jalen Bell
John Dale
Saahdiq Charles
Paul Gainer
Lavante Epson

Who knows if any of these are commitable, but if they are, they better all blow up in the summer. All 5 better ESPN 300 players. There is no other reason to offer an in state kid, a year before signing day that is anything less than a blue chip kid, unless you think they are all Chris Jones type hidden talent.

Maybe they will be, but history says otherwise.

Only 2 I'm sure could commit are Gainer & Epson. Both are SEC quality for sure. Dale is a camp guy as of right now. Charles can play OL & DL. Bella's some work to do to get back on the radar.

[mic]

Only problem is if we got to Indiana & get this mid 3* kid with offers from Perdue, Bowling Green, & Western Kentucky then Hev is getting bashed for more low rated OL. That's what most of these guys on that list are.

Most alarming thing is .. The best 3 OL or (ranked ) OL to come out of the state last 3 years ALL 3 didn't come here..
I am willing to bet a 3* OL from the Midwest 9 out of 10 times is better than the 3* lineman from Mississippi..

[mic]

Don't disagree that it may be time for a change.

It's past time...
He coached TE at Fla... Move his ass back to that... And get a OL coach in here.. If it doesn't work out or he leaves after one year we wall know Hev will still be available..
Get a kick ass OL coach and have Hev coaching TE would be win / win ... I actually like the idea of having a ex OL coach working with TE..

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Most alarming thing is .. The best 3 OL or (ranked ) OL to come out of the state last 3 years ALL 3 didn't come here..
I am willing to bet a 3* OL from the Midwest 9 out of 10 times is better than the 3* lineman from Mississippi..

He may be & most likely would. The problem I was saying is if he signed 3* guys from the Midwest he'd still get railed on for being a terrible recruiter.

[maroonmania]

It's past time...
He coached TE at Fla... Move his ass back to that... And get a OL coach in here.. If it doesn't work out or he leaves after one year we wall know Hev will still be available..
Get a kick ass OL coach and have Hev coaching TE would be win / win ... I actually like the idea of having a ex OL coach working with TE..

But, but, but, he is our co-offensive coordinator in charge of our illustrious running game.

[mic]

He may be & most likely would. The problem I was saying is if he signed 3* guys from the Midwest he'd still get railed on for being a terrible recruiter.

I agree .. He is labeled that because he is..
0-3 last 3 top rated guys in Mississippi..

But at least if he brought in a couple from somewhere besdies the border states people would think he is out doing work... And if they were busts so be it...

[Todd4State]

He may be & most likely would. The problem I was saying is if he signed 3* guys from the Midwest he'd still get railed on for being a terrible recruiter.

The lack of star quality is only part of it. If he could develop those 3*guys he wouldn't be railed on nearly as much.

[Leroy Jenkins]

Only problem is if we got to Indiana & get this mid 3* kid with offers from Perdue, Bowling Green, & Western Kentucky then Hev is getting bashed for more low rated OL. That's what most of these guys on that list are.

Who cares where they are rated? Can they play? If they turn out OK he will be vindicated. Maybe we should just play 7 on 7.

[MedDawg]

I agree, although I would say we did have the #3 or 4 offense in SEC history in 2014, so our OL had to be decent to accomplish that. I thought the consensus was that Hevesy was pretty good at development, just not at recruiting. Also, we have recruited a couple 4-star OL (Damien Robinson, Jake Thomas), but they didn't pan out.

Still, I agree that something needs to change. Show these linemen we're going to make them a priority.

I also would like to just increase the number of linemen signed, even if they are still just 3-stars. Increase our chances of developing some into good linemen, and at least improve our depth.

[BankerDog]

Well he developed Day and Beckwith who are both on NFL rosters. Did a good job with Blaine Clausell as well. Found a few pretty good steals in Calhoun and Jenkins.

And for the guy who said he never congratulated his players, sounds like that player was mentally weak. Your coaches aren't suppose to high 5 you everyday. You think Saban does that? Heck no. Maybe that's part of our problem the last year because there are a few guys who didn't have mental toughness or were mean enough to play in the SEC.

[Leroy Jenkins]

I agree, although I would say we did have the #3 or 4 offense in SEC history in 2014, so our OL had to be decent to accomplish that. Also, we have recruited a couple 4-star OL (Damien Robinson, Jake Thomas), but they didn't pan out.

Our offense being rated higher is more due to the style of football changing.... Every other school had backed off Robinson and Thomas by the end of the year, now we see why.

[Coach34]

2014 was by far his best OL- and they still got their ass handed to them by Bama and OM.

There comes a point where the OL needs to be your strength and gets you thru in big games. Ours never does