Defense will take a major step back

[msstate7]

Last night the sec had 7 1st round defensive picks; we had 3 of them. We will have other picks too. We also lose players that won't be drafted, but are good players.

[RezDog7]

But we are returning all of our wide receivers so we should be elite on offense right?***

[basedog]

It's so funny now days, for so long Mullen was documented as a lazy recruiter.

[Ari Gold]

It's so funny now days, for so long Mullen was documented as a lazy recruiter.

He was..
you can thank Coach Austin and Rod Gibson for the juco class that is going to pump out these NFL guys.
And Mullen had very little involvement with recruiting the defensive side of the ball. He let position coaches recruit their guys.

[HoopsDawg]

It's so funny now days, for so long Mullen was documented as a lazy recruiter.

Mullen was good at the evaluation part, but maybe not so much the relationship part. It seems Gonzo and Hev caught more heat than Mullen.

2 of the 3 first rounders were juco guys. You have to take advantage of the jucos at MSU.

[HoopsDawg]

Last night the sec had 7 1st round defensive picks; we had 3 of them. We will have other picks too. We also lose players that won't be drafted, but are good players.

As for our defense, I like our back 7. But none of that matters if teams can just run right up the middle like Rivers did in the spring game against our 1's. And things aren't looking so good on the DT transfer front.

[Ari Gold]

Last night the sec had 7 1st round defensive picks; we had 3 of them. We will have other picks too. We also lose players that won't be drafted, but are good players.

Happens every year to every school.
There is still a bunch of talent on defense .. and a handful of big time nfl prospects
You just can’t replace a Jeffery simmons type player .. But getting Spencer back and having Rivers in the starting role the drop off at DE won’t be near as bad as people think

[msstate7]

As for our defense, I like our back 7. But none of that matters if teams can just run right up the middle like Rivers did in the spring game against our 1's. And things aren't looking so good on the DT transfer front.

I think we have potential in the back 7 for sure, but how much did sweat and Simmons help them last year? How much will we miss a 1st round safety in that group?

[MetEdDawg]

I think we have potential in the back 7 for sure, but how much did sweat and Simmons help them last year? How much will we miss a 1st round safety in that group?

I think Cole and Dantzler will help. Landrews I think can handle the load at safety. We will see. Pickering will have to come in and be an immediate impact for us. Our LBs are going to help in run defense because of how athletic and talented they are. The edges should be fine.

[HoopsDawg]

I think we have potential in the back 7 for sure, but how much did sweat and Simmons help them last year? How much will we miss a 1st round safety in that group?

I'm not going to say that Brian Cole is going to be a first rounder, but there's not going to be much of a drop off there. Landrews is back healthy. Marcus Murphy is talented with experience now, and CJ Morgan Walker did well at the end of the season. Our safety group as a whole is going to be very good. We have 2 good starters at corner. All of our LB's are back. Willie Gay and Erroll are future pros. We have 4 good players at DE, not explosive players like Sweat, but 4 good college football players. DT is the only weakness, but it's a big one.

[defiantdog]

Defensive Names to look for next year with 1st Round Pick Potential in NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

1. Brian Cole
2. Willie Gay Jr.
3. Leo Lewis
4. Erroll Thompson
5. Chauncey Rivers
6. Cam Dantzler

These guys have every opportunity to make a move next year. Saying we are going to take a big step back defensively is ignorant.

We also have Fabian Lovett, Nathan Pickering, and Lee Autry to pick up the void on the DL.

[msstate7]

Defensive Names to look for next year with 1st Round Pick Potential in NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

1. Brian Cole
2. Willie Gay Jr.
3. Leo Lewis
4. Erroll Thompson
5. Chauncey Rivers
6. Cam Dantzler

These guys have every opportunity to make a move next year. Saying we are going to take a big step back defensively is ignorant.

We also have Fabian Lovett, Nathan Pickering, and Lee Autry to pick up the void on the DL.

We were 1st in total defense and 2nd in scoring defense nationally. I say a big drop would be falling into the 20s in either. Tell you what, I'll make you a bet... if we stay inside top 15 in both, I'll donate $100 to board and if we don't stay in top 15 in both, you donate $100 to the board. I'll back up my "ignorant" talk. Will you?

[defiantdog]

We were 1st in total defense and 2nd in scoring defense nationally. I say a big drop would be falling into the 20s in either. Tell you what, I'll make you a bet... if we stay inside top 15 in both, I'll donate $100 to board and if we don't stay in top 15 in both, you donate $100 to the board. I'll back up my "ignorant" talk. Will you?

Absolutely..... pin it

[RiverCityDawg]

Defensive Names to look for next year with 1st Round Pick Potential in NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

1. Brian Cole
2. Willie Gay Jr.
3. Leo Lewis
4. Erroll Thompson
5. Chauncey Rivers
6. Cam Dantzler

These guys have every opportunity to make a move next year. Saying we are going to take a big step back defensively is ignorant.

We also have Fabian Lovett, Nathan Pickering, and Lee Autry to pick up the void on the DL.

Everyone on this board has about the same amount of NFL 1st round pick potential as Leo Lewis. Agree that the others you listed have that potential.

[bulldawg28]

I'm not going to say that Brian Cole is going to be a first rounder, but there's not going to be much of a drop off there. Landrews is back healthy. Marcus Murphy is talented with experience now, and CJ Morgan Walker did well at the end of the season. Our safety group as a whole is going to be very good. We have 2 good starters at corner. All of our LB's are back. Willie Gay and Erroll are future pros. We have 4 good players at DE, not explosive players like Sweat, but 4 good college football players. DT is the only weakness, but it's a big one.

Cole is better than Abrams. Before his injury he was the defensive star in the secondary. He can do everything Abrams did and some.

[bulldawg28]

I think we have potential in the back 7 for sure, but how much did sweat and Simmons help them last year? How much will we miss a 1st round safety in that group?

You still have a 1st round talent at Safety with Cole

[msstate7]

Absolutely..... pin it

If it happens, I'll certainly be impressed. It'll be the first time in shoop's career to do it two years in a row.

[msstate7]

Everyone on this board has about the same amount of NFL 1st round pick potential as Leo Lewis. Agree that the others you listed have that potential.

I think y'all may be underestimating how tough it is to be a 1st round draft pick. Guys like polite, greedy Williams, Mack Wilson, and isaiah Buggs are still on the board.

[Gutter Cobreh]

Absolutely..... pin it

Bad bet!!!! We won't come close to being a top 15 defense in either category...it is very, very difficult with our schedule, in our conference to be ranked high in either category.

For comparison starting back from 2018 and going to 2010, here is how we've ranked in both:
Scoring defense: 1, 26, 93, 36, 23, 33, 34, 16, and 21.
Total defense: 1, 10, 110, 56, 86, 18, 53, 35, and 49


Everyone on this board has about the same amount of NFL 1st round pick potential as Leo Lewis. Agree that the others you listed have that potential.

Couldn't agree with you more. I'm personally tired of the Leo hype train. He has yet to show any type of progression up to this point that, sad to say, his potential has to be called into question. I hate to do that, but he just doesn't seem to have it.

[defiantdog]

I think y'all may be underestimating how tough it is to be a 1st round draft pick. Guys like polite, greedy Williams, Mack Wilson, and isaiah Buggs are still on the board.

Jachai is short and lazy, Buggs will be drafted in the 3rd at the earliest because he's not as explosive as a lot of guys ahead of him, I think Greedy hurt himself by only competing in the 40 at the combine.

[msstate7]

Jachai is short and lazy, Buggs will be drafted in the 3rd at the earliest because he's not as explosive as a lot of guys ahead of him, I think Greedy hurt himself by only competing in the 40 at the combine.

Here's a little perspective on it... we had 3 1st round def picks this year and only had 2 1st round def players from 1983-2018 (cox and Walt Harris).

[Homedawg]

Absolutely..... pin it

I'll take some of that too, if you'd like.

[RiverCityDawg]

I think y'all may be underestimating how tough it is to be a 1st round draft pick. Guys like polite, greedy Williams, Mack Wilson, and isaiah Buggs are still on the board.

Potential is different than saying it will be so. I would actually put the over/under at 1.5 but any of those 5 guys COULD be first rounders. I think all 5 of those guys will go top 3 rounds when it's their time.

[parabrave]

Main thing I want to see is how the departure of Simmons is going to affect E Thompsons play. If he has a year anything like last year he should be a top 4 pick.

[TUSK]

I think y'all may be underestimating how tough it is to be a 1st round draft pick.

Fact.

[Homedawg]

Main thing I want to see is how the departure of Simmons is going to affect E Thompsons play. If he has a year anything like last year he should be a top 4 pick.

First, its going to have one. But he's still a very good player. And you mean top 4 in the draft or top 4 rounds? He's good, very good but not top 4 pick good. Not even close.

[bulldawg28]

I think y'all may be underestimating how tough it is to be a 1st round draft pick. Guys like polite, greedy Williams, Mack Wilson, and isaiah Buggs are still on the board.

Greedy Williams is the only 1st round eval in the group. Mack Wilson was injury prone and Buggs was out of position. He was a DT playing end. Plus he played lazy.

[GeorgeKaplan]

Last night the sec had 7 1st round defensive picks; we had 3 of them. We will have other picks too. We also lose players that won't be drafted, but are good players.

Misstate7, you remind me of all the douches that toured the chocolate factory rolled up into one.

[msstate7]

Misstate7, you remind me of all the douches that toured the chocolate factory rolled up into one.

What part of my statement do you disagree with?

[Todd4State]

Cole is better than Abrams. Before his injury he was the defensive star in the secondary. He can do everything Abrams did and some.

The fact that Cole started at the Star or Flex position or whatever we called it before he got hurt proves your point. He made some pretty incredible plays before he got hurt too.

[bulldawg28]

The fact that Cole started at the Star or Flex position or whatever we called it before he got hurt proves your point. He made some pretty incredible plays before he got hurt too.

He's legit. He's going to win some games for us. Honestly, he's so fast and athletic I'd be tempted to put him at WR on occasions.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Top 25 defense in 2019

[R2Dawg]

Cole is better than Abrams. Before his injury he was the defensive star in the secondary. He can do everything Abrams did and some.

Cole is really good; not sure I'm ready to say he is better than Abram till he proves it on the field. Not much drop off there though. I like Landrews too from what I saw of him last year. Our corners are really good too. If we can find a couple DT, we may surprise some folks with our D although I think everyone knows our back 7 is gonna be good.

[BeardoMSU]

B
For comparison starting back from 2018 and going to 2010, here is how we've ranked in both:
Scoring defense: 1, 26, 93, 36, 23, 33, 34, 16, and 21.
Total defense: 1, 10, 110, 56, 86, 18, 53, 35, and 49



Not addressing your main post, but seeing this again just made me chuckle. What a trade rape that was....lolz at Louisville.

[tcdog70]

Let's, think about this. 2of our 3 first rounders were JUCOs. Rivers, Cole, Autry and Peters are expected to be big time players on Defense this year. So with that being said, why aren't we signing more JUCOs? Also we might have 3 JUCOs starting on offense. One mistake was not signing wr-Drummond from Scooba.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Mullen was good at the evaluation part, but maybe not so much the relationship part. It seems Gonzo and Hev caught more heat than Mullen.

2 of the 3 first rounders were juco guys. You have to take advantage of the jucos at MSU.

Well the two "Juco" players were transfers to juco. So kind of Juco players.

[Todd4State]

Let's, think about this. 2of our 3 first rounders were JUCOs. Rivers, Cole, Autry and Peters are expected to be big time players on Defense this year. So with that being said, why aren't we signing more JUCOs? Also we might have 3 JUCOs starting on offense. One mistake was not signing wr-Drummond from Scooba.

I think JUCO's are very hit or miss. Hit- you can have a 1998, 1999, 2000, or 2018 type MSU team. You miss then you end up with MS U 2001-2003.

One of the biggest issues I have with JUCO's is they take up spots on your 25 man recruiting class list. I prefer to sign high school players and develop them over 3-5 years in our system because we get more production out of them in terms of years played. I think they are good if you have gaps at position groups.

Also- on our defense we only started two JUCO guys- Sweat and Abrams. The rest of the starters were homegrown out of high school. And yes, we had 2-3 more JUCO's that were in the rotation on defense.

[Jarius]

Top 25 defense in 2019

I agree with this. And that should be good enough for 8 wins with our schedule.

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

We were 1st in total defense and 2nd in scoring defense nationally. I say a big drop would be falling into the 20s in either. Tell you what, I'll make you a bet... if we stay inside top 15 in both, I'll donate $100 to board and if we don't stay in top 15 in both, you donate $100 to the board. I'll back up my "ignorant" talk. Will you?

I would prefer you wager a ?loser leave town? bet.

[msstate7]

I would prefer you wager a ?loser leave town? bet.

Let's do it then

ETA... I'm never scared. Made 2 ban bets this past football season... still here

[biggun]

Defensive Names to look for next year with 1st Round Pick Potential in NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

1. Brian Cole
2. Willie Gay Jr.
3. Leo Lewis
4. Erroll Thompson
5. Chauncey Rivers
6. Cam Dantzler

These guys have every opportunity to make a move next year. Saying we are going to take a big step back defensively is ignorant.

We also have Fabian Lovett, Nathan Pickering, and Lee Autry to pick up the void on the DL.

Your kidding right???? None of the 6 are going anywhere close to the 1st round.

COME ON MAN!!!!!

[defiantdog]

Your kidding right???? None of the 6 are going anywhere close to the 1st round.

COME ON MAN!!!!!

Brian Cole and Cam Dantzler have solid chances..... who would of thought Abram would've gone first round a year ago? Come on Man!

[bulldawg28]

Brian Cole and Cam Dantzler have solid chances..... who would of thought Abram would've gone first round a year ago? Come on Man!

Chauncey and Gay also have chances. It only takes 1 big year in the SEC ala Quinenn Williams

[tcdog70]

Your kidding right???? None of the 6 are going anywhere close to the 1st round.

COME ON MAN!!!!!

You have limited football IQ if you don't think Rivers and Cole and Thompson don't have a chance

[Homedawg]

Chauncey and Gay also have chances. It only takes 1 big year in the SEC ala Quinenn Williams

Rivers doesn't have chance. He's too short and not an elite pass rush guy. Mid round pick at best.

[Homedawg]

You have limited football IQ if you don't think Rivers and Cole and Thompson don't have a chance


Cole has the athleticism. Yes. If his production matches it, yes. Rivers no. Thompson, is going to have to test way better than what I think he will. So question mine all you want. Pin it an come back.

[msstate7]

Cole has the athleticism. Yes. If his production matches it, yes. Rivers no. Thompson, is going to have to test way better than what I think he will. So question mine all you want. Pin it an come back.

We had 3 1st rounders this year, and it's like we think it's nothing to be a 1st rounder. Somehow we forget we only had 2 1st round defensive players the previous 35 years.

[BuckyIsAB****]

Your kidding right???? None of the 6 are going anywhere close to the 1st round.

COME ON MAN!!!!!

Moorhead hater

[BuckyIsAB****]

We had 3 1st rounders this year, and it's like we think it's nothing to be a 1st rounder. Somehow we forget we only had 2 1st round defensive players the previous 35 years.

All that is true but you dont have to have 3 1st rounders on defense to be damn good on that side. Look at Vanderbilt under Bob Shoop....We have a lot of talent on defense.

Y''all kill me. When we get no respect we all bitch about that, when we get respect we find something else to bitch about.

[msstate7]

All that is true but you dont have to have 3 1st rounders on defense to be damn good on that side. Look at Vanderbilt under Bob Shoop....We have a lot of talent on defense.

Y''all kill me. When we get no respect we all bitch about that, when we get respect we find something else to bitch about.

What am I bitching about? I said there would be a big drop defensively, which you even agreed with by saying top 25 defense, not top 10. I just find it wild that there some that believe we could have 6 1st rounders next year... not sure Bama has even done that, but whatever.

[biggun]

You have limited football IQ if you don't think Rivers and Cole and Thompson don't have a chance

You have ZERO football knowledge!!!! 1st round for Rivers and Thompson???? LOL!!!!! Village idiot!!!

Pin this thread!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!

[biggun]

There will be a HUGE drop off with our defense next season. Anyone saying otherwise is just blinded by the maroon and white shades OR does not know anything about football. 3 1st rounders!!!!!! Next season, none, not even close to having 1 sniff the 1st round but “All is well”!!!!!!!!!

And we won’t miss Dan either!!!!! LOL!!!!!!

[biggun]

Keep blaming Hevesy!!!! Lol!!!! Country club recruiting!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!

[MoreCowbell]

Mullen was good at the evaluation part, but maybe not so much the relationship part. It seems Gonzo and Hev caught more heat than Mullen.

2 of the 3 first rounders were juco guys. You have to take advantage of the jucos at MSU.

Thank you. It wasn?t so much lazy as studs didn?t like the ?you?re promised nothing you have to work your ass off? sales pitch. That?s why he was good at evaluating because he got the guys that wanted to work hard and bust their ass.

[DancingRabbit]

Somebody's exclamation key is stuck

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

Let's do it then

ETA... I'm never scared. Made 2 ban bets this past football season... still here

I actually agree with you on this particular subject. Besides, I?m always one disparaging remark about the weather guessing profession from getting the boot. But I emphatically encourage you to make many loser leave town bets, especially with Liverdog and Dog61.

[tcdog70]

You have ZERO football knowledge!!!! 1st round for Rivers and Thompson???? LOL!!!!! Village idiot!!!

Pin this thread!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!

Ha, go ahead and pin it. Do you think the over use of ! Makes you look smarter..I said they have a chance. They do. I didn't say they would all be first rounders, but they damn sure could. Cole and Rivers for sure. At one point before Rivers red shirted he was playing better than Sweat. Won't be a huge drop.

[Ari Gold]

No one had Abram a first rounder after his jr year
Sweat was projected as a 3rd rounder after his Jr year and that was a top heavy QB draft in 2018 . So no one expected us to have 3 first rounders in 2019. Hats off to these 2 busting their ass and achieving that accomplishment

Will we have 3 first rounders ? No
Will Rivers be as effective in college as Sweat ? Very possible
The poster left off Williams . A guard / center combo will be a day 2 draftable player
Marquise Spencer also has a chance to be pro. Everyone forgets about him

If a couple of these Jrs do declare Its possible we have as many drafted next year as we did this year. Just don’t expect any names called on day one.

I will be the first to admit I thought we would have more than 5 guys drafted. Calhoun is really a head scratcher
I bet he makes that roster in Miami .
I did think Peters and Fitz would get drafted . Thought Peters would get drafted mainly for his size and ability to play special reams , and I thought someone would roll the dice with Fitz . Maybe he didn’t say the things teams wanted to hear about not playing QB. If so that’s on him.

On defense will we still be pretty good. If Juco DB Peters is as good as we hope it will really make tha5 backend very again
Need some young guys to step up on DL