You have to love how Mullen, Cannizaro, and Howland fit their respective programs....

[DeviousDawg]

Baseball: We have a program that recruits itself, but when you get a top 10 recruiter nationally in Cannizaro, the sky is the limit. We should have top 10 recruiting classes every year, and Cannizaro will do just that, as we are already seeing. The best part is that he is going to let our players play, and players we will have. Also, the difference in a great team and an elite team could be 1 or 2 guys that decide to go to school after getting drafted in the top 5 rounds. We didn't see a lot of that with Cohen but I think with Cannizaro's MLB connections we will sign 1 or 2 guys a year that end up turning down some big signing bonuses to play in the best baseball stadium and atmosphere College Baseball has to offer.

Basketball: Howland is also a top 10 recruiter nationally, and basketball is a sport where we can have atleast a top 15 class every year. Basketball is the most recruiting based sport, and we have a guy that is going to sign only 4-5 star caliber players. What's the best part? He can actually coach them too. We tried to hire a developer instead of a recruiter in Ray, and we see what that did to our basketball program. 2-3 years down the road we will be at the point where we are back to expecting a Tourney bid every year. With Howland's consistency as a recruiter and coach, we will be a top 4ish SEC team until Howland retires, because he's not leaving for any other school(we got so lucky there, maybe the best all around hire in MSU sports history?).

Football: Football is not a sport where we can recruit nationally on a consistent basis, unless we took the Ole Miss route. Mullen is a developer, and signs guys that fit his program. He doesn't often go after the talented guys with character issues, like you see with Ole Miss and Auburn. This creates an oppurtunity for implosion seasons that we have seen all too often from OM and Auburn. When you try to hire a recruiter to a school that shouldn't recruit nationally you either end up sucking because you have a bunch of individuals(Orgeron at Ole Miss) or get busted by the NCAA(Freeze at Ole Miss). Mullen sticks to the plan and has created a floor at 5-6 wins with an average year of 7-9 wins and a 10-11 win season when things line up. Sometimes we too quickly forget the days when a 7 win season felt like we won the national championship. Consistency is key for our football program, and we have the most consistent coach in our history. Do whatever it takes to hold onto him for as long as he wants to coach football.


We have guys that can recruit at an elite level in the two sports that we have the ability to do that, and a developer in the sport where we have to take that route. No square pegs in round holes leads to consistency and consistency leads to taking the next step. Consistency is what our Athletic Department needs, and now we have an athletic director that we can also rely on to nut the 17 up when the time calls and do what it takes to win. I think all 3 coaches are perfect fits for what we are try to do in each of their sports. It's hard to not be excited about the future of the Big 3 sports.

[Commercecomet24]

Excellent post! Well thought analysis of our athletic department.

[BigEasyDawg]

I think the biggest thing with each of these three coaches is that they are building brands. Our baseball has become one of the top places to play college baseball in the country and everyone knows it. With a few more recruiting classes like howland has been having, success will grow and the top talent will want to come to Starkville to get coached up like Westbrook, Love, and Weatherspoon. In football, we have 7 straight bowl games and are putting successful players in the NFL. Mississippi state is on the rise. Hail State.

[CadaverDawg]

Baseball: We have a program that recruits itself, but when you get a top 10 recruiter nationally in Cannizaro, the sky is the limit. We should have top 10 recruiting classes every year, and Cannizaro will do just that, as we are already seeing. The best part is that he is going to let our players play, and players we will have. Also, the difference in a great team and an elite team could be 1 or 2 guys that decide to go to school after getting drafted in the top 5 rounds. We didn't see a lot of that with Cohen but I think with Cannizaro's MLB connections we will sign 1 or 2 guys a year that end up turning down some big signing bonuses to play in the best baseball stadium and atmosphere College Baseball has to offer.

Basketball: Howland is also a top 10 recruiter nationally, and basketball is a sport where we can have atleast a top 15 class every year. Basketball is the most recruiting based sport, and we have a guy that is going to sign only 4-5 star caliber players. What's the best part? He can actually coach them too. We tried to hire a developer instead of a recruiter in Ray, and we see what that did to our basketball program. 2-3 years down the road we will be at the point where we are back to expecting a Tourney bid every year. With Howland's consistency as a recruiter and coach, we will be a top 4ish SEC team until Howland retires, because he's not leaving for any other school(we got so lucky there, maybe the best all around hire in MSU sports history?).

Football: Football is not a sport where we can recruit nationally on a consistent basis, unless we took the Ole Miss route. Mullen is a developer, and signs guys that fit his program. He doesn't often go after the talented guys with character issues, like you see with Ole Miss and Auburn. This creates an oppurtunity for implosion seasons that we have seen all too often from OM and Auburn. When you try to hire a recruiter to a school that shouldn't recruit nationally you either end up sucking because you have a bunch of individuals(Orgeron at Ole Miss) or get busted by the NCAA(Freeze at Ole Miss). Mullen sticks to the plan and has created a floor at 5-6 wins with an average year of 7-9 wins and a 10-11 win season when things line up. Sometimes we too quickly forget the days when a 7 win season felt like we won the national championship. Consistency is key for our football program, and we have the most consistent coach in our history. Do whatever it takes to hold onto him for as long as he wants to coach football.


We have guys that can recruit at an elite level in the two sports that we have the ability to do that, and a developer in the sport where we have to take that route. No square pegs in round holes leads to consistency and consistency leads to taking the next step. Consistency is what our Athletic Department needs, and now we have an athletic director that we can also rely on to nut the 17 up when the time calls and do what it takes to win. I think all 3 coaches are perfect fits for what we are try to do in each of their sports. It's hard to not be excited about the future of the Big 3 sports.

This is the best post I have read in a long time. You sir....post more. Reputation points headed your way. (You must spread some reputation...)

[sleepy dawg]

This is the best post I have read in a long time. You sir....post more. Reputation points headed your way. (You must spread some reputation...)

Seems like every post he makes now, I go to hit rep points and get this message... Great post, yet again.

[lamont]

He keeps on with these long ass posts and people are gonna stop believing we are the same person

[dawgday166]

He keeps on with these long ass posts and people are gonna stop believing we are the same person

Seems like there isn't any way he could be you. He paints way too "Rosie" of a picture.

Not sure I see possible 11 wins just yet. We've done 10 once and not sure we'll get back to that under Dan. There is 1 sure fire loss every year, plus the 1 or 2 close games Dan will hose up. I'll take that if it were to happen but when we're playing 2 hand touch football for half a season ... then ain't gonna come close.

[AROB44]

He keeps on with these long ass posts and people are gonna stop believing we are the same person

No way he could be you. He thinks we should do whatever it takes to keep Mullen. Never heard anything like that from you.

[DeviousDawg]

Seems like there isn't any way he could be you. He paints way too "Rosie" of a picture.

Not sure I see possible 11 wins just yet. We've done 10 once and not sure we'll get back to that under Dan. There is 1 sure fire loss every year, plus the 1 or 2 close games Dan will hose up. I'll take that if it were to happen but when we're playing 2 hand touch football for half a season ... then ain't gonna come close.

5-6 wins is the floor: yes, Mullen had 5 wins in his first season and will most likely finish this season with 6 wins. 2 of his 8 season fall in this category and none fall below, seems fair for a floor.

7-9 wins is the average; yes, 5 of Mullen's 8 seasons fall in this category, seems fair for an average.

10-11 wins is the ceiling when things line up: yes, if JRob hadn't bitched out at the end of 2014 + Collins hadn't left, I think we would have easily found a win against Ole Miss or Georgia Tech, which would have put us at 11 wins, which I set as the absolute ceiling. In 2015 we would've beaten LSU if we had a kicker and/or hadn't had that penalty to back the kick up, and I would've liked Dak's chances in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma State to put us at 10 wins. Either way, one of his seasons falls into this category, which is fair for a ceiling. You're feet touch the floor, but you're supposed to leave some room for the ceiling so you don't bump your head.

I wasn't predicting 11 wins next year by any means, I was just saying that that is the best Mullen could do if everything lines up for him. We were favored in two games in 2014 when we already had 10 wins, I don't see how setting a ceiling at a mark that he should've reached had he not lost his RB and DC is painting a "Rosie" picture.

[msbulldog]

Good post DD.

[dawgday166]

5-6 wins is the floor: yes, Mullen had 5 wins in his first season and will most likely finish this season with 6 wins. 2 of his 8 season fall in this category and none fall below, seems fair for a floor.

7-9 wins is the average; yes, 5 of Mullen's 8 seasons fall in this category, seems fair for an average.

10-11 wins is the ceiling when things line up: yes, if JRob hadn't bitched out at the end of 2014 + Collins hadn't left, I think we would have easily found a win against Ole Miss or Georgia Tech, which would have put us at 11 wins, which I set as the absolute ceiling. In 2015 we would've beaten LSU if we had a kicker and/or hadn't had that penalty to back the kick up, and I would've liked Dak's chances in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma State to put us at 10 wins. Either way, one of his seasons falls into this category, which is fair for a ceiling. You're feet touch the floor, but you're supposed to leave some room for the ceiling so you don't bump your head.

I wasn't predicting 11 wins next year by any means, I was just saying that that is the best Mullen could do if everything lines up for him. We were favored in two games in 2014 when we already had 10 wins, I don't see how setting a ceiling at a mark that he should've reached had he not lost his RB and DC is painting a "Rosie" picture.

Ok. I'll go along with that somewhat. I'm still somewhat hopeful. The way we play LSU and Auburn next year will determine whether or not I make the transition to cautiously optimistic. My expectations aren't very high for next year tho.

[dparker]

Football: Football is not a sport where we can recruit nationally on a consistent basis

I'm curious to why you believe this. Why do you think we can recruit baseball and basketball nationally but not football? It's the same small town/university for every sport.

[Jack Lambert]

I think the biggest thing with each of these three coaches is that they are building brands. Our baseball has become one of the top places to play college baseball in the country and everyone knows it. With a few more recruiting classes like howland has been having, success will grow and the top talent will want to come to Starkville to get coached up like Westbrook, Love, and Weatherspoon. In football, we have 7 straight bowl games and are putting successful players in the NFL. Mississippi state is on the rise. Hail State.

I think baseball has been that way since the mid 80's. With the new stadium it will get even better.

[Liverpooldawg]

Baseball: We have a program that recruits itself, but when you get a top 10 recruiter nationally in Cannizaro, the sky is the limit. We should have top 10 recruiting classes every year, and Cannizaro will do just that, as we are already seeing. The best part is that he is going to let our players play, and players we will have. Also, the difference in a great team and an elite team could be 1 or 2 guys that decide to go to school after getting drafted in the top 5 rounds. We didn't see a lot of that with Cohen but I think with Cannizaro's MLB connections we will sign 1 or 2 guys a year that end up turning down some big signing bonuses to play in the best baseball stadium and atmosphere College Baseball has to offer.

Basketball: Howland is also a top 10 recruiter nationally, and basketball is a sport where we can have atleast a top 15 class every year. Basketball is the most recruiting based sport, and we have a guy that is going to sign only 4-5 star caliber players. What's the best part? He can actually coach them too. We tried to hire a developer instead of a recruiter in Ray, and we see what that did to our basketball program. 2-3 years down the road we will be at the point where we are back to expecting a Tourney bid every year. With Howland's consistency as a recruiter and coach, we will be a top 4ish SEC team until Howland retires, because he's not leaving for any other school(we got so lucky there, maybe the best all around hire in MSU sports history?).

Football: Football is not a sport where we can recruit nationally on a consistent basis, unless we took the Ole Miss route. Mullen is a developer, and signs guys that fit his program. He doesn't often go after the talented guys with character issues, like you see with Ole Miss and Auburn. This creates an oppurtunity for implosion seasons that we have seen all too often from OM and Auburn. When you try to hire a recruiter to a school that shouldn't recruit nationally you either end up sucking because you have a bunch of individuals(Orgeron at Ole Miss) or get busted by the NCAA(Freeze at Ole Miss). Mullen sticks to the plan and has created a floor at 5-6 wins with an average year of 7-9 wins and a 10-11 win season when things line up. Sometimes we too quickly forget the days when a 7 win season felt like we won the national championship. Consistency is key for our football program, and we have the most consistent coach in our history. Do whatever it takes to hold onto him for as long as he wants to coach football.


We have guys that can recruit at an elite level in the two sports that we have the ability to do that, and a developer in the sport where we have to take that route. No square pegs in round holes leads to consistency and consistency leads to taking the next step. Consistency is what our Athletic Department needs, and now we have an athletic director that we can also rely on to nut the 17 up when the time calls and do what it takes to win. I think all 3 coaches are perfect fits for what we are try to do in each of their sports. It's hard to not be excited about the future of the Big 3 sports.

Best post here in a LONG time.

[Liverpooldawg]

He keeps on with these long ass posts and people are gonna stop believing we are the same person

Unless you are totally l schizophrenic I believe you now. No way you in your normal state would write that about Mullen.

[Liverpooldawg]

I'm curious to why you believe this. Why do you think we can recruit baseball and basketball nationally but not football? It's the same small town/university for every sport.

My two cents: When it comes to recruiting we are a recognised brand, albeit not quite as good one as we tend to think, in baseball. In basketball we don't run in too rough a neighborhood. Other than Kentucky and maybe Florida we can go head to head with our main competition. In football we are in the toughest neighborhood there is. We have to scratch and claw just to hold our own in our own backyard. It's not that hard to figure out if you think about it.

[smootness]

I'm curious to why you believe this. Why do you think we can recruit baseball and basketball nationally but not football? It's the same small town/university for every sport.

Basketball is all about the coach, and we have a pretty good history. Baseball speaks for itself.

Do you really wonder why football is different for us than those? Our football history is a joke.

Why does Duke recruit infinitely better in basketball than in football?

[HoopsDawg]

Nice post, but I think Mullen could add a couple of more strong recruiters to his staff. We are a only 2-3 players per signing class away from being a different team. Need that extra push in recruiting.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Nice post, but I think Mullen could add a couple of more strong recruiters to his staff. We are a only 2-3 players per signing class away from being a different team. Need that extra push in recruiting.

This. We aren't as far away as everyone claims but an 1 or 2 difference makers each class would do wonders at certain positions. We'll see what happens on that front.

[lamont]

The SEC is a LOS league. Until we block SEC fronts better we won't win the West. We have had a few legit DL's that could play with anybody- but until we can block Auburn, LSU, and Bama at least a little we will remain middle of the pack

[1bigdawg]

This. We aren't as far away as everyone claims but an 1 or 2 difference makers each class would do wonders at certain positions. We'll see what happens on that front.

Please reassure me that something is going to happen on that front.

[maroonmania]

7-9 wins is the average; yes, 5 of Mullen's 8 seasons fall in this category, seems fair for an average.



A reasonable average range as long as its noted that it includes the bowl game. We've only ever had one regular season above 8 wins while we've had now 2 below 6 wins under Mullen. In fact, in the regular season Mullen is averaging exactly 7 wins per year (56 wins in 8 seasons).

[shrimp]

Maybe he's your Chris Gaines.


He keeps on with these long ass posts and people are gonna stop believing we are the same person

[Tbonewannabe]

The SEC is a LOS league. Until we block SEC fronts better we won't win the West. We have had a few legit DL's that could play with anybody- but until we can block Auburn, LSU, and Bama at least a little we will remain middle of the pack

Oline more than anything has held us back against great teams. When we have competed against great teams like Bama and Tebow led UF, we had a great defense keeping us in the game.

[DCdawg]

Do you guys think this will be Howland's last job. He talks like he enjoyed living in Cali - is he putting down roots here? He has shown he doesn't need it to recruit and I know he is only in year 2, but the crowds at the Hump still need to improve. Hopefully when conference play starts they will. Not to be negative, I just hope he stays for a while and I thought someone more in the know may have an opinion.

[Ifyouonlyknew]

Do you guys think this will be Howland's last job. He talks like he enjoyed living in Cali - is he putting down roots here? He has shown he doesn't need it to recruit and I know he is only in year 2, but the crowds at the Hump still need to improve. Hopefully when conference play starts they will. Not to be negative, I just hope he stays for a while and I thought someone more in the know may have an opinion.

He's building a house in Starkville so I think he's happy here.

[maroonmania]

Do you guys think this will be Howland's last job. He talks like he enjoyed living in Cali - is he putting down roots here? He has shown he doesn't need it to recruit and I know he is only in year 2, but the crowds at the Hump still need to improve. Hopefully when conference play starts they will. Not to be negative, I just hope he stays for a while and I thought someone more in the know may have an opinion.

I think a lot of folks are just beaten down with bad basketball, not that we've ever consistently had good crowds at pre-SEC games. I think though if we keep showing improvement and are fully competitive in the SEC that the crowds will come back. I mean look at the WBB crowds, folks just want a good product out there to root for. Otherwise, there are a lot of other ways to spend your time and money.

[smootness]

Howland's no dummy, I think he knows that as we start to win, crowds will follow.

I'm guessing he didn't have real big crowds early on at Pitt, either.

[DeviousDawg]

Basketball is the biggest fair weather fan sport at MSU. No left field lounge to get drunk at, no junction/football festivities to get drunk at. The fans have to actually just want to go to watch the game, and that won't happen until we start winning consistently again. Would be nice to get a NIT bid, would probably need to win out in non conference and go .500 in conference play.

We have been saying this for a year now, but next year will be the year. Stapleton healthy for a full season. Ado will be good to go and we aslso bring in two post players, one more defensive minded and the other a stretch 4 type I believe. AND we bring in a 5* PG.