Just wanted to say that I like our recruiting strategy this year....

[HoopsDawg]

Key Thompson and Kylin Hill are really good prospects. I love that we are hitting the Jucos hard. Our staff realizes we have roster issues and they are working hard to correct it. The best thing that could happen for MSU is for Mullen to get it going this year and win 6 games then finish strong in recruiting with CJ Avery and Willie Gay, etc.

I don't want him fired right now and I think that kind of talk is pointless and hurtful to the program.

[msstate7]

If the juco dlinemen are as advertised, our front 7 could be really, really good next season.

How do we feel about our chances with gay?

[3YearsInHell]

Long time reader and first time poster. Just glad to say that rational thinking is not dead on this board.

[Commercecomet24]

Key Thompson and Kylin Hill are really good prospects. I love that we are hitting the Jucos hard. Our staff realizes we have roster issues and they are working hard to correct it. The best thing that could happen for MSU is for Mullen to get it going this year and win 6 games then finish strong in recruiting with CJ Avery and Willie Gay, etc.

I don't want him fired right now and I think that kind of talk is pointless and hurtful to the program.

A breath of fresh air. Thanks Hoops, this may be the most rational thing said since Saturday.

[Commercecomet24]

Hoops makes a good point about our recruiting strategy and how well we are doing, and I understand we may be getting some more good news on that front this weekend. That brings up the question if Dan has lost his fire and really wants out why our we recruiting so hard? And you can't say it's not Dan, it's the other coaches that are doing it. Reason being if you pile every single bad thing that happens to MSU football on Dan then in turn you have to give him credit for all the good things too. Food for thought.

[Todd4State]

Hoops makes a good point about our recruiting strategy and how well we are doing, and I understand we may be getting some more good news on that front this weekend. That brings up the question if Dan has lost his fire and really wants out why our we recruiting so hard? And you can't say it's not Dan, it's the other coaches that are doing it. Because if you pile every single bad thing that happens to MSU football on Dan then in turn you have to give him credit for all the good things too. Food for thought.

From my point of view the biggest problem Dan has is he has missed out on some of the bigger recruits in the Mississippi HS ranks over the years. AJ Brown, Lashley, Raekwon Davis, and Knott is a LOT of misses for a program that is supposed to be the best in Mississippi. This year Willie Gay is still committed to Ole Miss. That could be a big miss. Matt Womack looks like he could be a miss. Then you had the Army AA Game debacle and I do think that Singleton would have had a much different career here as would have CJ Johnson had we landed them. Channing Ward is in the NFL.

And it's not that we miss on all of them- Chris Jones, Jeffrey Simmons, Leo Lewis, etc. But we've been missing on too many. We have to get a higher percentage of those upper level recruits from Missisippi.

And then there are the guys we missed because we didn't do our homework- Norman Price went to USM because of his girlfriend and was on the 49ers this preseason. Addarius Barnes played cornerback at La Tech and flipped to them on or about NSD and he is in a NFL camp right now. We misevaluated Brandon Mahaffey TWICE- once in high school and once in JUCO and he would have helped our o-line out immensely last year.

[Commercecomet24]

From my point of view the biggest problem Dan has is he has missed out on some of the bigger recruits in the Mississippi HS ranks over the years. AJ Brown, Lashley, Raekwon Davis, and Knott is a LOT of misses for a program that is supposed to be the best in Mississippi. This year Willie Gay is still committed to Ole Miss. That could be a big miss. Matt Womack looks like he could be a miss. Then you had the Army AA Game debacle and I do think that Singleton would have had a much different career here as would have CJ Johnson had we landed them. Channing Ward is in the NFL.

And it's not that we miss on all of them- Chris Jones, Jeffrey Simmons, Leo Lewis, etc. But we've been missing on too many. We have to get a higher percentage of those upper level recruits from Missisippi.

And then there are the guys we missed because we didn't do our homework- Norman Price went to USM because of his girlfriend and was on the 49ers this preseason. Addarius Barnes played cornerback at La Tech and flipped to them on or about NSD and he is in a NFL camp right now. We misevaluated Brandon Mahaffey TWICE- once in high school and once in JUCO and he would have helped our o-line out immensely last year.

I agree that we have had some misses. It appears thougj with the coaches he hired this past spring and bringing Peterson in too, that he's trying to correct it. Also the fact we got a pretty good class going right now and some others on the way that he may still have a little fire left. I'm really anxious to see how the team and the coaches respond this Saturday. I think we will find out which direction the ships headed.

[Bucky Dog]

From my point of view the biggest problem Dan has is he has missed out on some of the bigger recruits in the Mississippi HS ranks over the years. AJ Brown, Lashley, Raekwon Davis, and Knott is a LOT of misses for a program that is supposed to be the best in Mississippi. This year Willie Gay is still committed to Ole Miss. That could be a big miss. Matt Womack looks like he could be a miss. Then you had the Army AA Game debacle and I do think that Singleton would have had a much different career here as would have CJ Johnson had we landed them. Channing Ward is in the NFL.

And it's not that we miss on all of them- Chris Jones, Jeffrey Simmons, Leo Lewis, etc. But we've been missing on too many. We have to get a higher percentage of those upper level recruits from Missisippi.

And then there are the guys we missed because we didn't do our homework- Norman Price went to USM because of his girlfriend and was on the 49ers this preseason. Addarius Barnes played cornerback at La Tech and flipped to them on or about NSD and he is in a NFL camp right now. We misevaluated Brandon Mahaffey TWICE- once in high school and once in JUCO and he would have helped our o-line out immensely last year.

The guys you are mentioning got bought! Hoops has it figured out and it's what I've been saying. Yes Dan looked around and yes he got lazy on recruiting. But he knows now that he isn't going anywhere and with great recruiters like Buckley and Sirmon and others, we are going to finish strong in recruiting. Willie Gay will be at State. We had a hiccup and Mullen deserves our support. We will be fine. Quit self destructing and get on board guys!

[Todd4State]

I agree that we have had some misses. It appears thougj with the coaches he hired this past spring and bringing Peterson in too, that he's trying to correct it. Also the fact we got a pretty good class going right now and some others on the way that he may still have a little fire left. I'm really anxious to see how the team and the coaches respond this Saturday. I think we will find out which direction the ships headed.

I agree that he has done some things to try to improve but you have to wonder if it's too little too late.

Saturday will definitely be interesting.

[Commercecomet24]

I agree that he has done some things to try to improve but you have to wonder if it's too little too late.

Saturday will definitely be interesting.

I'm holding out hope. I really hope the whole team responds, coaches and players. We have to let the season play out, but I believe we will see if he still has the team Saturday night and if he makes the adjustments needed.

[Tbonewannabe]

We definitely are going in the right direction in recruiting. I like the hires he made. Hopefully we come out focused and Mullen calls a better game because that offensive game plan was garbage last week.

[confucius say]

Refreshing thread. Let's be a little patient and see where we are in a few weeks.

[Jack Lambert]

A breath of fresh air. Thanks Hoops, this may be the most rational thing said since Saturday.

This board has gotten stupid the last few days.

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

We definitely are going in the right direction in recruiting. I like the hires he made. Hopefully we come out focused and Mullen calls a better game because that offensive game plan was garbage last week.

I agree we're trending in the right direction, but we're handicapped until he makes some moves on the offensive side to bring in some recruiters. There's talk of some shake-ups this coming off season, so we shall see.

[Commercecomet24]

This board has gotten stupid the last few days.

Agreed. It's been worse than I ever remember seeing it.

[WinningIsRelentless]

From my point of view the biggest problem Dan has is he has missed out on some of the bigger recruits in the Mississippi HS ranks over the years. AJ Brown, Lashley, Raekwon Davis, and Knott is a LOT of misses for a program that is supposed to be the best in Mississippi. This year Willie Gay is still committed to Ole Miss. That could be a big miss. Matt Womack looks like he could be a miss. Then you had the Army AA Game debacle and I do think that Singleton would have had a much different career here as would have CJ Johnson had we landed them. Channing Ward is in the NFL.

And it's not that we miss on all of them- Chris Jones, Jeffrey Simmons, Leo Lewis, etc. But we've been missing on too many. We have to get a higher percentage of those upper level recruits from Missisippi.

And then there are the guys we missed because we didn't do our homework- Norman Price went to USM because of his girlfriend and was on the 49ers this preseason. Addarius Barnes played cornerback at La Tech and flipped to them on or about NSD and he is in a NFL camp right now. We misevaluated Brandon Mahaffey TWICE- once in high school and once in JUCO and he would have helped our o-line out immensely last year.

Dan is a hell of a evaluator of talent and is very honest with recruits. Some recruits don't like to hear what he has to say like AJ Brown. We told AJ Brown his best position to progress and make it to the next level would be playing safety and it was our intention to play him their. AJ isn't a speed demon hence the way he got ran down in the first series against fsu.

People go after Dan for missing on guys but look at the guys he has signed that made it to the next level. Bmac Calhoun chris jones was a 2 star when we offered Dillon day Gabe smith. Then you look at a guy like Christian Holmes who was very productive for us over his 4 years. The guy literally ran down on a punt his junior year stayed in played on offense was then on the punt team then because of a injury stayed on the field and played olb.

You are damn crazy to think Tobias would have had a different outcome at state. The kid could barely step on the field at Jackson State.

Our biggest problem over the past three years is we have worried to much about recruiting rankings and getting 4 and 5 star players. Our cigar boys need to let Dan do what he is great at and evaluate talent instead of worrying what some want a be nfl scout says about a high school kid. If those were as good as they thought they were they would be working in a recruiting department on a college team or for a nfl team

[Commercecomet24]

Dan is a hell of a evaluator of talent and is very honest with recruits. Some recruits don't like to hear what he has to say like AJ Brown. We told AJ Brown his best position to progress and make it to the next level would be playing safety and it was our intention to play him their. AJ isn't a speed demon hence the way he got ran down in the first series against fsu.

People go after Dan for missing on guys but look at the guys he has signed that made it to the next level. Bmac Calhoun chris jones was a 2 star when we offered Dillon day Gabe smith. Then you look at a guy like Christian Holmes who was very productive for us over his 4 years. The guy literally ran down on a punt his junior year stayed in played on offense was then on the punt team then because of a injury stayed on the field and played olb.

You are damn crazy to think Tobias would have had a different outcome at state. The kid could barely step on the field at Jackson State.

Our biggest problem over the past three years is we have worried to much about recruiting rankings and getting 4 and 5 star players. Our cigar boys need to let Dan do what he is great at and evaluate talent instead of worrying what some want a be nfl scout says about a high school kid. If those were as good as they thought they were they would be working in a recruiting department on a college team or for a nfl team

I saw aj play some last year and thought he looked slow then and then saw him get caught easily from behind Monday night. He's a big strong kid but looks more like a possession receiver than the second coming of Eric Moulds. Maybe he turns out to be a stud but he just doesn't look like a game breaker to me,

[HoopsDawg]

Dan is a hell of a evaluator of talent and is very honest with recruits. Some recruits don't like to hear what he has to say like AJ Brown. We told AJ Brown his best position to progress and make it to the next level would be playing safety and it was our intention to play him their. AJ isn't a speed demon hence the way he got ran down in the first series against fsu.

People go after Dan for missing on guys but look at the guys he has signed that made it to the next level. Bmac Calhoun chris jones was a 2 star when we offered Dillon day Gabe smith. Then you look at a guy like Christian Holmes who was very productive for us over his 4 years. The guy literally ran down on a punt his junior year stayed in played on offense was then on the punt team then because of a injury stayed on the field and played olb.

You are damn crazy to think Tobias would have had a different outcome at state. The kid could barely step on the field at Jackson State.

Our biggest problem over the past three years is we have worried to much about recruiting rankings and getting 4 and 5 star players. Our cigar boys need to let Dan do what he is great at and evaluate talent instead of worrying what some want a be nfl scout says about a high school kid. If those were as good as they thought they were they would be working in a recruiting department on a college team or for a nfl team

Your info on AJ Brown is completely inaccurate.

[WinningIsRelentless]

My info is 100% accurate on AJ. Saban told him the same thing also.

[gtowndawg]

Agreed. It's been worse than I ever remember seeing it.

That's because nothing this bad has happened since the board existed.

[MaroonFlounder]

Speaking of Key Thompson, do we have to worry about LSU or another school closeby to his home stealing him away from us?

[HoopsDawg]

My info is 100% accurate on AJ. Saban told him the same thing also.

LOL, I don't really want to get into his recruitment, but we wanted him at WR and we told him he would have a chance to play early. We never really had a shot for reason's I'm not going to revisit. AJ Brown may not have elite top end speed but he is a really good athlete and will be a strong receiver at OM for the next 4 years.

[maroonmania]

I agree that we have had some misses. It appears thougj with the coaches he hired this past spring and bringing Peterson in too, that he's trying to correct it. Also the fact we got a pretty good class going right now and some others on the way that he may still have a little fire left. I'm really anxious to see how the team and the coaches respond this Saturday. I think we will find out which direction the ships headed.

Mullen has made some moves FINALLY to help our recruiting situation out but it took him 7+ years to do it and the changes made we won't really see a lot of effect from for another couple of years. Mullen has acted like for a long time that recruiting is almost an afterthought to him. A necessary evil so to speak. We have been very fortunate in the past that some lightly recruited guys like McKinney, Preston Smith, Jonathan Banks and so on have turned out to be such good players but you roll the dice on 2 stars and low 3 stars long enough and you are going to end up with snake eyes. The corrections that Mullen made this offseason are some that should have been made years ago along with the fact that he should take Hevesy off of the recruiting trail permanently (if he is not going to get rid of him altogether). But as far as I know he hasn't done that. I'm still putting a lot of the blame on losing Brown and especially Lashley directly on him.

[Commercecomet24]

That's because nothing this bad has happened since the board existed.

I don't know the 2015 baseball season and Rick Rsy were pretty bad. I understand where you're coming from though.

[HoopsDawg]

Speaking of Key Thompson, do we have to worry about LSU or another school closeby to his home stealing him away from us?

LSU is set at QB. Thompson has been solid and has recruited for us. He is also an early enrollee. Having said that, a 3-9 year could change a lot of things. We need to win some games.

[HoopsDawg]

Mullen has made some moves FINALLY to help our recruiting situation out but it took him 7+ years to do it and the changes made we won't really see a lot of effect from for another couple of years. Mullen has acted like for a long time that recruiting is almost an afterthought to him. A necessary evil so to speak. We have been very fortunate in the past that some lightly recruited guys like McKinney, Preston Smith, Jonathan Banks and so on have turned out to be such good players but you roll the dice on 2 stars and low 3 stars long enough and you are going to end up with snake eyes. The corrections that Mullen made this offseason are some that should have been made years ago along with the fact that he should take Hevesy off of the recruiting trail permanently (if he is not going to get rid of him altogether). But as far as I know he hasn't done that. I'm still putting a lot of the blame on losing Brown and especially Lashley directly on him.

All very true. I think you continue the mantra, "we are a developmental program" and say it over and over again, you actually start believing it. The bottom line is, we need to upgrade our recruiting and talent level. It's going to be a struggle this year, but Mullen has earned the right to try and turn it around.

[maroonmania]

Agreed. It's been worse than I ever remember seeing it.

That should be expected when you suffer a historic loss. This USA loss will go down in MSU lore along with Maine and the Troy tornado game. Its in the same discussion. And the sad part is we just got beat. Its not like we had 5 turnovers and they had none. Fairly clean game and we just lost. Yea, we missed the last makeable FG off the upright but heck, they missed TWO makeable FGs off the upright.

[Bubb Rubb]

Question: do you think our young RBs being nailed to the bench helps with recruiting?

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

LSU is set at QB. Thompson has been solid and has recruited for us. He is also an early enrollee. Having said that, a 3-9 year could change a lot of things. We need to win some games.

I think kids are concerned more with their relationship to coaches and how coaches develop their position more than how many games they won. The kids with the most potential want to make it to the league, and they will go where they have the best chance to get there. Key sees what Dak did and finds himself similar and has been sold on the fact that he could take the same path as Dak and be a MSU legend. It dont hurt that Dak is starting for the Cowboys in week 1 either.

[HoopsDawg]

Question: do you think our young RBs being nailed to the bench helps with recruiting?

I think the perception that we don't play young guys hurts recruiting. Especially when you turn on Ole Miss game and you see DK Metcalf and AJ Brown catching balls and Benito Jones making plays. I think this perception is not reality. Some of those young guys at RB aren't as good as we fans think they are. I do think Aeris Williams needs to be featured more.

[HoopsDawg]

I think kids are concerned more with their relationship to coaches and how coaches develop their position more than how many games they won. The kids with the most potential want to make it to the league, and they will go where they have the best chance to get there. Key sees what Dak did and finds himself similar and has been sold on the fact that he could take the same path as Dak and be a MSU legend. It dont hurt that Dak is starting for the Cowboys in week 1 either.

Yes, I agree and no one can knock Dan for his ability to coach and develop QB's. It's his best trait.

[maroonmania]

I think the perception that we don't play young guys hurts recruiting. Especially when you turn on Ole Miss game and you see DK Metcalf and AJ Brown catching balls and Benito Jones making plays. I think this perception is not reality. Some of those young guys at RB aren't as good as we fans think they are. I do think Aeris Williams needs to be featured more.

I'm sure not all of them are but when there are FOUR of them (Williams, Lee, Gibson and Murphy) and our coaches STILL think our best option is to pound Holloway up the middle then something is off. Either we are just ridiculously jaded with regards to playing veteran RBs OR our evaluation of HS RBs is terrible.

[msstate7]

Yes, I agree and no one can knock Dan for his ability to coach and develop QB's. It's his best trait.

Yet we (myself included) slammed Mullen for his use of qb's last week. Perhaps Mullen saw something in fitz's play that led Mullen to believe fitz should sit last week in order to get a point across to help him long term. Perhaps I'm reaching haha

[HoopsDawg]

I'm sure not all of them are but when there are FOUR of them (Williams, Lee, Gibson and Murphy) and our coaches STILL think our best option is to pound Holloway up the middle then something is off. Either we are just ridiculously jaded with regards to playing veteran RBs OR our evaluation of HS RBs is terrible.

Let's be honest, Lee and Murphy weren't highly touted recruits. Williams need to be featured more and I think we will see more of him this weekend, but neither he nor Gibson have breakaway speed. It's not like Mullen has Norwood or Ballard sitting over there on the bench.

Holloway needs a few touches, but Holloway up the middle in the 4th quarter HAS to STOP.

[HoopsDawg]

Yet we (myself included) slammed Mullen for his use of qb's last week. Perhaps Mullen saw something in fitz's play that led Mullen to believe fitz should sit last week in order to get a point across to help him long term. Perhaps I'm reaching haha

A lot of stupid things have been said the last week. Fact is, Fitz went 6 and out. Damien came in and led us to 3 straight scoring drives. I think any smart coach would have stuck with him at that point.

[msstate7]

A lot of stupid things have been said the last week. Fact is, Fitz went 6 and out. Damien came in and led us to 3 straight scoring drives. I think any smart coach would have stuck with him at that point.

I think halfway thru the 3rd might have been a good time to give fitz another shot running zone read. Williams definitely earned the right to finish the 1st half and start the 2nd half

[HoopsDawg]

I think halfway thru the 3rd might have been a good time to give fitz another shot running zone read. Williams definitely earned the right to finish the 1st half and start the 2nd half

In hindsight, I agree. But Damien was actually effective running the ball. If we bring in Fitz and he goes 3 and out again, we would have been mad for not sticking with Damien. I was more upset about the offsides on Calvin, the missed FG's, and the playcalling before our first missed FG.

Having said that, I think we need to go with Fitz on Saturday. Tell him he's the guy, and give him a real shot to win the job. He's need to play the entire first half without looking over his shoulder.

[Really Clark?]

I think halfway thru the 3rd might have been a good time to give fitz another shot running zone read. Williams definitely earned the right to finish the 1st half and start the 2nd half

But we only had 2 drives in the 3rd. The first one lead to a FG and we were up 20-7. I think if we went up by 3 scores then Fitz might got another series. But it just didn't happen.

[msstate7]

But we only had 2 drives in the 3rd. The first one lead to a FG and we were up 20-7. I think if we went up by 3 scores then Fitz might got another series. But it just didn't happen.

Wow... I only watched live, but I thought we had more than 2 drives. That's a pretty damning stat on our 2nd half defense

[HoopsDawg]

Wow... I only watched live, but I thought we had more than 2 drives. That's a pretty damning stat on our 2nd half defense

Yep, Damien only had 8 possessions. 4 scoring drives, 2 missed FG's, and 2 punts.

[WinningIsRelentless]

It wasn't just the second half d it was the d the whole game. We couldn't get off the field. On the second drive of the second half we had the big holding call on green that took away a first down inside the red zone.

[msstate7]

It wasn't just the second half d it was the d the whole game. We couldn't get off the field. On the second drive of the second half we had the big holding call on green that took away a first down inside the red zone.

Yeah, the defense was subpar the whole game. We did completely shut down the run 1st half though, but 2nd half that stopped too

[Homedawg]

LOL, I don't really want to get into his recruitment, but we wanted him at WR and we told him he would have a chance to play early. We never really had a shot for reason's I'm not going to revisit. AJ Brown may not have elite top end speed but he is a really good athlete and will be a strong receiver at OM for the next 4 years.

This. And I have no idea where the we told him safety crap came from. It's just not accurate. We said we had a starting spot at wr that he could challenge for from day 1.

[maroonmania]

Let's be honest, Lee and Murphy weren't highly touted recruits. Williams need to be featured more and I think we will see more of him this weekend, but neither he nor Gibson have breakaway speed. It's not like Mullen has Norwood or Ballard sitting over there on the bench.

Holloway needs a few touches, but Holloway up the middle in the 4th quarter HAS to STOP.

Well neither was Holloway. In fact Holloway might have been the lowest recruited guy of the bunch but Dan knew he at least had speed. And I'll give you Lee was not heavily recruited as a RB (most thought he would end up a LB) but Gibson and Williams were both 4 stars and Murphy was at least a mid to high 3 star with some pretty decent offers.

[HoopsDawg]

Well neither was Holloway. In fact Holloway might have been the lowest recruited guy of the bunch but Dan knew he at least had speed. And I'll give you Lee was not heavily recruited as a RB (most thought he would end up a LB) but Gibson and Williams were both 4 stars and Murphy was at least a mid to high 3 star with some pretty decent offers.

I'm not sure if we are agreeing or disagreeing. I think Williams needs more than 2 touches. I still think Holloway needs a few touches per game. I don't think Murphy, Lee or Gibson need touches at this point.

[maroonmania]

Yep, Damien only had 8 possessions. 4 scoring drives, 2 missed FG's, and 2 punts.

10 possessions for the entire game is not very good and is an indictment of our defense. The biggest negative on Damien I guess is we had too many drives bog down and end up in FG attempts. But that is mainly a result that we had almost ZERO big plays in the game. Ross had a run of about 40 yards and that's it. No other explosive plays to speak of.

[msstate7]

10 possessions for the entire game is not very good and is an indictment of our defense. The biggest negative on Damien I guess is we had too many drives bog down and end up in FG attempts. But that is mainly a result that we had almost ZERO big plays in the game. Ross had a run of about 40 yards and that's it. No other explosive plays to speak of.

Williams had some nice runs

[HoopsDawg]

10 possessions for the entire game is not very good and is an indictment of our defense. The biggest negative on Damien I guess is we had too many drives bog down and end up in FG attempts. But that is mainly a result that we had almost ZERO big plays in the game. Ross had a run of about 40 yards and that's it. No other explosive plays to speak of.

Defense didn't force any turnovers. No explosive plays in the passing game or special teams. And when we go uptempo, it just doesn't look right. It never has under Mullen.

[maroonmania]

I'm not sure if we are agreeing or disagreeing. I think Williams needs more than 2 touches. I still think Holloway needs a few touches per game. I don't think Murphy, Lee or Gibson need touches at this point.

I know Shumpert is not the answer and Holloway should be getting around 7-8 carries per game plus his pass receiving. Now that leaves a lot of carries out there in the RB department that either need to go to Williams or one of those other 3. If none of those other 3 are ready for ANY meaningful carries then that is a huge coaching problem in either evaluation or development. There are true freshman all over the country at RB being productive much less RSOs and RFR. I don't know, maybe its time for Greg Knox to be replaced.

[Commercecomet24]

We have to get aeries involved. He's big, strong, balance, vision and can catch the football.

[HSVDawg]

And then there are the guys we missed because we didn't do our homework- Norman Price went to USM because of his girlfriend and was on the 49ers this preseason

I'm not sure how Norman Price falls into the category of us not doing our homework. We wanted him and took his commitment before he left us at the alter. Its not our coaches fault he was *****whipped. Agree with the rest of your points though.

[Tripp McNeely]

Man, y'all can ruin a good recruiting thread

[Tbonewannabe]

Yep, Damien only had 8 possessions. 4 scoring drives, 2 missed FG's, and 2 punts.

One of those missed fgs was a 48 yarder so that wasn't a great drive. The biggest issue with the 2nd half was not making any adjustments. USA adjusted to the fact Damian wasn't going to throw it more than 5-10 yards so they took away the WR screens. We made no adjustments in the 2nd half per Dan Mullen's post game so we really just got outcoached. It seems our coaches were on cruise control like the players and it wasn't until USA took the lead that they tried to make something happen. This game was on the coaches more than anything else.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Man, y'all can ruin a good recruiting thread

ha I was just thinking this...^^

[RougeDawg]

Yes, I agree and no one can knock Dan for his ability to coach and develop QB's. It's his best trait.

Playing the best one is his Achilles heel though.

[msstatelp1]

The guys you are mentioning got bought! Hoops has it figured out and it's what I've been saying. Yes Dan looked around and yes he got lazy on recruiting. But he knows now that he isn't going anywhere and with great recruiters like Buckley and Sirmon and others, we are going to finish strong in recruiting. Willie Gay will be at State. We had a hiccup and Mullen deserves our support. We will be fine. Quit self destructing and get on board guys!

Bingo! Everybody throws out AJ Brown just because he went to SHS. AJ Brown was NEVER coming to State unless we matched or exceeded what he was getting from other schools.

[RougeDawg]

In hindsight, I agree. But Damien was actually effective running the ball. If we bring in Fitz and he goes 3 and out again, we would have been mad for not sticking with Damien. I was more upset about the offsides on Calvin, the missed FG's, and the playcalling before our first missed FG.

Having said that, I think we need to go with Fitz on Saturday. Tell him he's the guy, and give him a real shot to win the job. He's need to play the entire first half without looking over his shoulder.

Dude, do you completely throw out the play callingnofneach QB? The plays called for Damien were low risk high reward plays. Easy plays and the players caught the ball. pretty damn simple if you asked me.

[WinningIsRelentless]

Rouge you are pushing an agenda. Dwilliams ran a lot more of the playbook than nick. I'm a nick fan but Damian came in and made plays and reads that nick either missed or wasn't caught. Once Damian was in he never gave us a chance to pull him.

Nick has the high upside but Saturday Damian seized the opportunity when it was given to him.

[tcdog70]

From my point of view the biggest problem Dan has is he has missed out on some of the bigger recruits in the Mississippi HS ranks over the years. AJ Brown, Lashley, Raekwon Davis, and Knott is a LOT of misses for a program that is supposed to be the best in Mississippi. This year Willie Gay is still committed to Ole Miss. That could be a big miss. Matt Womack looks like he could be a miss. Then you had the Army AA Game debacle and I do think that Singleton would have had a much different career here as would have CJ Johnson had we landed them. Channing Ward is in the NFL.

And it's not that we miss on all of them- Chris Jones, Jeffrey Simmons, Leo Lewis, etc. But we've been missing on too many. We have to get a higher percentage of those upper level recruits from Missisippi.

And then there are the guys we missed because we didn't do our homework- Norman Price went to USM because of his girlfriend and was on the 49ers this preseason. Addarius Barnes played cornerback at La Tech and flipped to them on or about NSD and he is in a NFL camp right now. We misevaluated Brandon Mahaffey TWICE- once in high school and once in JUCO and he would have helped our o-line out immensely last year.

Dylan Bradley and jarvcious jackson (sp) both of Noxubee and wanted to come to State. Bradley was a stud and still is.

[fishwater99]

If we don't sign 5 or 6 for the OL then we are screwed..

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

I know, I know it's Head2Head, but Wyatt had some good points on the RB situation. His opinion was that the coaches will only play the guys that can make plays with the ball and more importantly the plays they make without the ball. Whoever shows that they can do that the best will see the field the most. He said he wouldn't be surprised if Knox pulled each of the young guys into his office and had a talk with them about stepping up and that their team needs one of them to commit to being the guy.

[Jack Lambert]

10 possessions for the entire game is not very good and is an indictment of our defense. The biggest negative on Damien I guess is we had too many drives bog down and end up in FG attempts. But that is mainly a result that we had almost ZERO big plays in the game. Ross had a run of about 40 yards and that's it. No other explosive plays to speak of.

We had two. The third I think we could have scored a touch down but it was the end of game and you would think a kicker at a P5 school would not shank a 28 yard kick. I would have felt better if it was blocked.

[Goldendawg]

Back to recruiting. Unless we finish strong or sign 30 players we will still only be ranked about 29 or 30 in the nation and bottom part of the SEC West in 2017 recruiting per 24/7.

[msstate7]

Back to recruiting. Unless we finish strong or sign 30 players we will still only be ranked about 29 or 30 in the nation and bottom part of the SEC West in 2017 recruiting per 24/7.
Champion, pope, pierce, Odom, and sweat should probably be 4*'s based on offers

[MaroonFlounder]

We had two. The third I think we could have scored a touch down but it was the end of game and you would think a kicker at a P5 school would not shank a 28 yard kick. I would have felt better if it was blocked.

I don't think you call that kick a shank. It was a short FG from the left hash at a bad angle. Dam Williams failed to center up the field on the run play before.

[Commercecomet24]

Champion, pope, pierce, Odom, and sweat should probably be 4*'s based on offers

I'm with you on these guys. They should all and probably will be 4*. This class stands to be a pretty dang good one with who's committed and who is leaning our way. It's shaping up to be a good deep class. Hoops nailed it and I agree that our strategy for this year looks strong.