New Coaches Putting In Work on Recruiting Trail

[Reason2succeed]

Maybe it's just me but ever since English and TBuck and the other new coaches came on board it seems like recruiting has been doing better. Some people are down on our team but I see plenty of young talent that I'm excited about. I'm even more excited about what the talent that we have committed and that we are projected to get in the future.

[Todd4State]

I do think it has picked up gradually. Some of it is Dan being re-committed to MSU and some of that is hiring new coaches that are good recruiters. It seemed to me like we had a lot of either/or coaches- guys that were either good recruiters but not great at coaching or guys that were good coaches but not very good at recruiting. Guys like English, Grantham, and T-Buck seem to be good at both. Elliott sounds like a good recruiter and Looney is a better recruiter than Sallach and he also can help Hevesy out too. Boniol sounds like a good recruiter of kickers even though he isn't on the field staff. Even the country club guys have some recent 4-5 star guys committed in the past two classes Knox (Hill), Gonzalez (Heath, hopefully Whop, and Reggie Todd), and even Hevesy (Dolla Bill).

Honestly, I don't know if people realize it or not but we could have a team of mostly 4-5 star recruits by 2021 depending on how recruiting goes.

[Bothrops]

Dan re-comitting to MSU was big indeed.

[civildawg]

I think some of it is the ole miss dark cloud as well

[Reason2succeed]

Oh yeah, and the Dak effect and the death of OM isn't going to hurt either.

[Homedawg]

Maybe it's just me but ever since English and TBuck and the other new coaches came on board it seems like recruiting has been doing better. Some people are down on our team but I see plenty of young talent that I'm excited about. I'm even more excited about what the talent that we have committed and that we are projected to get in the future.

While I think the new blood we have is great, our recruiting ranking, which so many worry about isn't going to improve much. Is what it is. When we identify guys early and offer them I'm good with it. I trust our evaluations

[msbulldog]

Hey look guys we're fixing to have a Top 15 recruiting class, if we were to sign 25 players. Our coaches are working, T-Buck is the Energizer Bunny, Ron English, Elliot, Looney and particularly Hev are working hard!

Maybe the assistant coaches see a new Athletic Director, who just paid a DC 1M plus. Their thinking new sheriff in town who's willing to reward good coaches, let's make some money boys!

[ShotgunDawg]

While I think the new blood we have is great, our recruiting ranking, which so many worry about isn't going to improve much. Is what it is. When we identify guys early and offer them I'm good with it. I trust our evaluations

Agree.

The trick to success at MSU is to recruit in the upper teens to mid 20s, have a balanced, older roster, and develop QBs better than other programs.

If we can balance the roster a little better, get the offensive linemen we should get(Lashley, Doller Bill), and continue to develop QBs, then we can be continue progress and build a similar track record and consistency as Wisconsin and Michigan State. Bowl games every year and compete for titles when the stars align.

The biggest two disappointments I've had are consistent OL recruiting and our kicking game. To have the kicking we've had over the past 5 years is inexcusable. Those guys aren't 5 star, highly recruited dudes. We have to get more consistent there

[1bigdawg]

While the star raters are fickle, I tend to look at the average 247 composite rating of our commits. By that measure, we are not doing better than in previous years.

Rating
2018 85.25
2017 86.09
2016 87.08
2015 87.69

I believe we will wind up with a higher rating as some of our guys will be upgraded and we will get some higher rated guys. But this is the only objective measure of talent I can think of and we are not doing better by it.

[ShotgunDawg]

While the star raters are fickle, I tend to look at the average 247 composite rating of our commits. By that measure, we are not doing better than in previous years.

Rating
2018 85.25
2017 86.09
2016 87.08
2015 87.69

I believe we will wind up with a higher rating as some of our guys will be upgraded and we will get some higher rated guys. But this is the only objective measure of talent I can think of and we are not doing better by it.

It's hard to compare composites to other teams because of biases in the industry but you can absolutely compare them to yourself over a number of years.

Our composite will go up as guys get into their season.

Dollar Bill is currently a 91 on 247 and will end up a 95+
Heath is a 91 and will end up a 93-95
Crumedy is a 91 and hasn't committed yet.
Bishop is an 85 and should end up as a 88
Webb will be an 86-88
Lovett hasn't committed yet and will be an 88-91
Mayden was lowered from a 91 to an 85 due to a poor Elite11 performance but expect that to rise once people realize that he's a really good player in pads.

Those are just some examples

[Turfdawg67]

And the sacks of cash in red duffle bags have stopped... so there's that. Can you imagine how Mullen has felt the last 4 years? Work a prospect for multiple years and then have Barney, Hugh and company swoop in just in time for "flipmas". Well that sh*t is almost over, Mullen is rejuvenated, recruiting is up and we're about to dominate this State for a long time!! Hail freakin' State!!

[Todd4State]

Oh yeah, and the Dak effect and the death of OM isn't going to hurt either.

I think it's some of all the above. Dan knowing that we're paying him well helps and I think Cohen is a good AD to support him. Dak is going to give us exposure we've never had before- and already has quite frankly. As long as Dan is here we're going to get Key Thompson and Jalen Mayden QB recruits and the days of having to settle for Dylan Favre are over for now.

As far as Ole Miss, I think Dan just wants everyone to operate on the same level because he isn't going to mortgage his career and go all out cheating. So, now that we're all operating on the same terms that does favor us.

[Todd4State]

Agree.

The trick to success at MSU is to recruit in the upper teens to mid 20s, have a balanced, older roster, and develop QBs better than other programs.

If we can balance the roster a little better, get the offensive linemen we should get(Lashley, Doller Bill), and continue to develop QBs, then we can be continue progress and build a similar track record and consistency as Wisconsin and Michigan State. Bowl games every year and compete for titles when the stars align.

The biggest two disappointments I've had are consistent OL recruiting and our kicking game. To have the kicking we've had over the past 5 years is inexcusable. Those guys aren't 5 star, highly recruited dudes. We have to get more consistent there

I agree. I think if we had recruiting the o-line better we would be in that range that you are talking about. Bringing in three high school o-linemen is also inexcusable. And it's really scary since none of them are on campus yet and one is already going JUCO which means we are going to end up with two at best.

[ShotgunDawg]

I agree. I think if we had recruiting the o-line better we would be in that range that you are talking about. Bringing in three high school o-linemen is also inexcusable. And it's really scary since none of them are on campus yet and one is already going JUCO which means we are going to end up with two at best.

Yup.

More balance on roster
More reliable and steadier OL recruiting
Fix kicking game.

Do these three things, and, when the stars align and we have the roster to win big, we don't have massive hole on the team that limits us.

[Lumpy Chucklelips]

And the sacks of cash in red duffle bags have stopped... so there's that. Can you imagine how Mullen has felt the last 4 years? Work a prospect for multiple years and then have Barney, Hugh and company swoop in just in time for "flipmas". Well that sh*t is almost over, Mullen is rejuvenated, recruiting is up and we're about to dominate this State for a long time!! Hail freakin' State!!

I think this was the biggest thing that was keeping Mullen looking for greener pastures. He knew he was recruiting with one hand tied behind his back as long as OM was wheeling and dealing like they were. Once the investigation got into swing you could almost sense him getting a second wind and as it has gone on he has seemed more and more rejuvenated.

Mullen is no dummy. He is making top 15 money and as long as he averages 8/9 wins with 2 out of 3 against OM, he'll be satisfying the majority of his fanbase. He could go to a place like Tenn. or Texas A&M and get run out of town in 5 years winning 8/9.

[Homedawg]

I think this was the biggest thing that was keeping Mullen looking for greener pastures. He knew he was recruiting with one hand tied behind his back as long as OM was wheeling and dealing like they were. Once the investigation got into swing you could almost sense him getting a second wind and as it has gone on he has seemed more and more rejuvenated.

Mullen is no dummy. He is making top 15 money and as long as he averages 8/9 wins with 2 out of 3 against OM, he'll be satisfying the majority of his fanbase. He could go to a place like Tenn. or Texas A&M and get run out of town in 5 years winning 8/9.

Agreed with bottom end budget numbers. We aren't even close to being competitive in what we bring in or spend in football or total budget.

[maroonmania]

Hey look guys we're fixing to have a Top 15 recruiting class, if we were to sign 25 players. Our coaches are working, T-Buck is the Energizer Bunny, Ron English, Elliot, Looney and particularly Hev are working hard!

Maybe the assistant coaches see a new Athletic Director, who just paid a DC 1M plus. Their thinking new sheriff in town who's willing to reward good coaches, let's make some money boys!

I'm not so worried about the exact ranking. The way I see the improvement is the number of guys we are committing now that had multiple other Power 5 offers. Also we are recruiting much better outside of MS. When you are beating out only CUSA and Sun Belt offers, I don't care what the ranking is, that is not going to give you a realistic chance to compete for the SEC. Yes, I know we have found a few unknowns here and there that have worked out well but that can't be the majority of your class. Just too much information shared on players now days for very many of those types to be out there without other options.

[Todd4State]

I think this was the biggest thing that was keeping Mullen looking for greener pastures. He knew he was recruiting with one hand tied behind his back as long as OM was wheeling and dealing like they were. Once the investigation got into swing you could almost sense him getting a second wind and as it has gone on he has seemed more and more rejuvenated.

Mullen is no dummy. He is making top 15 money and as long as he averages 8/9 wins with 2 out of 3 against OM, he'll be satisfying the majority of his fanbase. He could go to a place like Tenn. or Texas A&M and get run out of town in 5 years winning 8/9.

To me, things seemed to change when Cohen became the AD. His attitude changed a lot between South Alabama and Texas A&M. And I'm not talking about shorts.

I think Scott was too much of a yes man to Dan- and Dan needs someone more competitive that's OK with saying- "hey Dan, why not move Sallach to the front office and get someone to help with recruiting that can help Hevesy as well?" "That Sirmon guy just got lit up by Samford and UMass. Just tell me how much money you need to bring in an experienced DC and we'll make it happen even if it's over a million dollars." Among other things. I just think Scott was more like "Dan- you're the man! 1A/1B is a great idea!"

[Dawg61]

I think this was the biggest thing that was keeping Mullen looking for greener pastures. He knew he was recruiting with one hand tied behind his back as long as OM was wheeling and dealing like they were. Once the investigation got into swing you could almost sense him getting a second wind and as it has gone on he has seemed more and more rejuvenated.

He also just had his best DB get suspended for a year for farting and had an AD sniffing around for other jobs while not wanting to pay top dollar for a DC.