I'm Excited About Leach's Recruiting

[ShotgunDawg]

I know this is the biggest fear for MSU fans right now, but I am excited about the potential.

I appears as though there is already a buzz from area WRs about Leach's offense & we know Leach is going to have his pick of QBs.

For MSU's history, we've struggled with WR & QB recruiting & now we have a coach who sells himself to those positions.

If Leach can make the correct hires on defense & maintain what we've recruited on that side of the ball, then MSU has a legitimately chance to field the most complete teams we've fielded in our history.

Leach is the dream offense for offensive skill players, he's a personable, & he's never coached at a school that was a legitimate option for those skill players to go play at, due to location. Now he's at a school he can actually recruit to.

[HailStateSZN19]

If we can pull 2 of Isaiah Brevard, Antonio Harmon, Deion Smith, Jacobi Moore, and Brandon Buckhaulter then that helps a ton. The first 3 I listed are kind of in their own tier & then I think Jacobi Moore is next after them and is very solid but Buckhaulter is still a solid WR too. But we for sure need to pull at least 1 of Brevard/Harmon/Smith because they're top 100 players in the country and they have elite potential.

[ShotgunDawg]

If we can pull 2 of Isaiah Brevard, Antonio Harmon, Deion Smith, Jacobi Moore, and Brandon Buckhaulter then that helps a ton. The first 3 I listed are kind of in their own tier & then I think Jacobi Moore is next after them and is very solid but Buckhaulter is still a solid WR too. But we for sure need to pull at least 1 of Brevard/Harmon/Smith because they're top 100 players in the country and they have elite potential.

At least we have something legitimate to sell now.

Sure they can choose to go to LSU, but they'd be signing up to catch fewer passes & a tougher time getting on the field.

Leach's offense is so extreme on the passing side that it shouldn't be that hard to at least get in the game with these guys

I'm also excited to see what Leach can do in Texas

[Todd4State]

And Ole Miss reacted by hiring Derrick Nix to coach WR's. So the recruits get to make money in the process.

[ShotgunDawg]

And Ole Miss reacted by hiring Derrick Nix to coach WR's. So the recruits get to make money in the process.

WOW

Looks like Kiffin is going all in recruiters, but I'm not sure they can coach. Kiffin's teams have rarely looked well coached & does Nix have any idea what he's doing as a WR coach?

Yikes. I think they're about to drop off significantly on Xs & Os, fundamentals side

[HailStateSZN19]

At least we have something legitimate to sell now.

Sure they can choose to go to LSU, but they'd be signing up to catch fewer passes & a tougher time getting on the field.

Leach's offense is so extreme on the passing side that it shouldn't be that hard to at least get in the game with these guys

I'm also excited to see what Leach can do in Texas

I agree. This offense sells itself. IF his staff works at recruiting pretty hard, then that only helps the fact that it sells itself. Hopefully kids in-state elect to stay home & play in his offense.

Just from 2014 up to the 2020 class, Leach has pulled 3 WR's from FL & 4 WR's from TX. That's not gaudy numbers but he's pulling these guys from those states up to dang WSU. He pulled a lot from CA at the WR position but did pull some from TX & FL. Also pulled one from like LA, GA, MI, and KS throughout his time at WSU. So he's recruited nationally from WSU with very little resources and recruiting to Pullman. I'm excited to see what he can do with SEC resources as far as recruiting goes.

[ShotgunDawg]

Ole Miss hiring Nix has to be one of the more ridiculous, recruiting only motivated moves I've ever seen.

Goodness gracious, that's putting recruiting over coaching the basic fundamentals of the sport.

That won't work. They may or may not recruit better that way, but having a RB coach coach WRs is not the answer to competing with the blue bloods.

[BulldogDX55]

Yikes. I think they're about to drop off significantly on Xs & Os, fundamentals side

Were they good on that before? Remember when they had just one play called "get open"?

[HailStateSZN19]

Ole Miss hiring Nix has to be one of the more ridiculous, recruiting only motivated moves I've ever seen.

Goodness gracious, that's putting recruiting over coaching the basic fundamentals of the sport.

That won't work. They may or may not recruit better that way, but having a RB coach coach WRs is not the answer to competing with the blue bloods.

Really makes you scratch your head at why the hell they cut Peeler loose... He was a very good recruiter and had been recruiting the in-state WR's for years and had been actually coaching WR's.

[Jarius]

Ole Miss hiring Nix has to be one of the more ridiculous, recruiting only motivated moves I've ever seen.

Goodness gracious, that's putting recruiting over coaching the basic fundamentals of the sport.

That won't work. They may or may not recruit better that way, but having a RB coach coach WRs is not the answer to competing with the blue bloods.

A tomato can could coach wide receivers. You hire recruiters at the position coaching spots outside of the OL spot. Everyone does that. This is no secret anywhere in the coaching community. This is not some insane move by Kiffin. Coordinators are the reason teams are good offensively or defensively.

[ShotgunDawg]

A tomato can could coach wide receivers. You hire recruiters at the position coaching spots outside of the OL spot. Everyone does that. This is no secret anywhere in the coaching community. This is not some insane move by Kiffin. Coordinators are the reason teams are good offensively or defensively.

Not sure I agree with this

[Commercecomet24]

A tomato can could coach wide receivers. You hire recruiters at the position coaching spots outside of the OL spot. Everyone does that. This is no secret anywhere in the coaching community. This is not some insane move by Kiffin. Coordinators are the reason teams are good offensively or defensively.

Well with the way our receivers have dropped passes and loafed through their routes the last couple of years we better get a better tomato can.

[msstate7]

Not sure I agree with this

Not sure either, but I'm sure lane and Lebby will be working with the WRs

[dawgday166]

Not sure I agree with this

I don't agree with it. And it's obvious from watching Leach's receivers play vs our receivers - whether under Mullen or Joe.

[msbulldog]

Ole Miss hiring Nix has to be one of the more ridiculous, recruiting only motivated moves I've ever seen.

Goodness gracious, that's putting recruiting over coaching the basic fundamentals of the sport.

That won't work. They may or may not recruit better that way, but having a RB coach coach WRs is not the answer to competing with the blue bloods.

Nix knows where the bones are buried.

[Coursesuper]

Well with the way our receivers have dropped passes and loafed through their routes the last couple of years we better get a better tomato can.

Need to go for the Sams size can.

[Mjoelner34]

Well with the way our receivers have dropped passes and loafed through their routes the last couple of years we better get a better tomato can.

We need them vine-ripe instead of store-bought hothouse that are still half green on the inside and hard as a golf ball.

[KOdawg1]

OM would rather sign a highly rated recruit than win a football game. This is their real season

[KOdawg1]

If we can pull 2 of Isaiah Brevard, Antonio Harmon, Deion Smith, Jacobi Moore, and Brandon Buckhaulter then that helps a ton. The first 3 I listed are kind of in their own tier & then I think Jacobi Moore is next after them and is very solid but Buckhaulter is still a solid WR too. But we for sure need to pull at least 1 of Brevard/Harmon/Smith because they're top 100 players in the country and they have elite potential.
I'd say Brevard and Smith are in that first tier while Harmon is in the second tier with Moore. He's talented, don't get me wrong, but he's a big bodied receiver who might grow into more of a TE role.

I really want to get back into the game with Smith. Brevard is the best in the state, but he's likely headed out of state. Moore is a good receiver I think we'll land.

[Jack Lambert]

I think his name will help with recruiting. Especially with WR that we seem to have trouble recruiting. I hope we can get a known name for DC to help on that front.

[Irondawg]

So they let Nix go and then brought him back or did they ever let him go and just re-assigned him from RB to WR?

[HailStateSZN19]

I'd say Brevard and Smith are in that first tier while Harmon is in the second tier with Moore. He's talented, don't get me wrong, but he's a big bodied receiver who might grow into more of a TE role.

I really want to get back into the game with Smith. Brevard is the best in the state, but he's likely headed out of state. Moore is a good receiver I think we'll land.

I can agree with that. It'll be interesting to see how hard we pursue Harmon simply because Leach doesn't use a TE and most believe that's where Harmon ends up because he's a big bodied kid that doesn't quite have the foot speed that guys like Brevard/Smith/Moore have.

Another underrated guy I like a lot is Cam Wright. Decommitted from OM about a month or 2 ago. He's from South Panola. 6'4" 190 lbs and can run pretty well. Believe he's wanting to go to college for some kind of veterinarian degree if I'm not mistaken (might be wrong on that). I know it's some degree we offer at MSU and is one of our better programs because Paul Jones mentioned when he decommitted from OM that because of it he thinks he could end up here (that's if this new staff goes after him).

[Jack Lambert]

So they let Nix go and then brought him back or did they ever let him go and just re-assigned him from RB to WR?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY7CC6HGWNY

[Mobile Bay]

Well with the way our receivers have dropped passes and loafed through their routes the last couple of years we better get a better tomato can.

I saw an interview where Coach Leach said how he trains receivers to catch. He shoots things at them. He literally said much like the movie Dodgeball, if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball.

[confucius say]

I think our recruiting will take a step back on the whole. Go from an average of 25-26 the last few years to about 31-33.

Obviously staff hires will be important, but that's just my guess based on a whole new offensive staff and after meeting and talking with Leach. He will not be great in a living room, but hopefully his system will speak for itself with offensive skill guys.

[gtowndawg]

It's an interesting dynamic. With others (Napier, etc) we really needed to move up around #15 in the country. With Leach we can be #25 and be in great shape ASSUMING it's a balanced class with great defensive talent.

I think his celebrity status gets him some visits we would not otherwise get.

[ShotgunDawg]

I think our recruiting will take a step back on the whole. Go from an average of 25-26 the last few years to about 31-33.

Obviously staff hires will be important, but that's just my guess based on a whole new offensive staff and after meeting and talking with Leach. He will not be great in a living room, but hopefully his system will speak for itself with offensive skill guys.

Why would our recruiting get worse when he's raised the recruiting at both schools he's been at and MSU actually has an offense to sell?

[ShotgunDawg]

It's an interesting dynamic. With others (Napier, etc) we really needed to move up around #15 in the country. With Leach we can be #25 and be in great shape ASSUMING it's a balanced class with great defensive talent.

I think his celebrity status gets him some visits we would not otherwise get.

Defensive recruiting is the key.

I don't see anyway our WR and QB recruiting doesn't improve

[BrunswickDawg]

We are going to have to adjust our mindset again about recruiting. I'm not certain that Leach is going to move the needle on recruiting.

But, what I am certain of is that he is going to recruit guys who are athletic, want to work, and probably have chip on their shoulder. He's probably going to recruit some head scratchers - like a 2 star QB who also plays LB; or a 3 star QB that everyone else says is a TE; or a 2 star CB he thinks can be the best CB in CFB. Those guys don't win the recruiting wars - but they turn into NFL LBs, the captain of the Dallas Cowboys, and win Thorpe awards. The most successful MSU teams have been built not chasing stars, but by getting workers. Jackie and Dan (early on) got guys like that. I'm thinking Moorhead may have been chasing ratings (to early to tell for sure). Leach won't give a shit about ratings.

[ShotgunDawg]

I think our recruiting will take a step back on the whole. Go from an average of 25-26 the last few years to about 31-33.

Obviously staff hires will be important, but that's just my guess based on a whole new offensive staff and after meeting and talking with Leach. He will not be great in a living room, but hopefully his system will speak for itself with offensive skill guys.

Just curious if you ever met Mullen?

Leach is a way more personable type than Mullen. Mullen was weirder than 17

[ShotgunDawg]

We are going to have to adjust our mindset again about recruiting. I'm not certain that Leach is going to move the needle on recruiting.

But, what I am certain of is that he is going to recruit guys who are athletic, want to work, and probably have chip on their shoulder. He's probably going to recruit some head scratchers - like a 2 star QB who also plays LB; or a 3 star QB that everyone else says is a TE; or a 2 star CB he thinks can be the best CB in CFB. Those guys don't win the recruiting wars - but they turn into NFL LBs, the captain of the Dallas Cowboys, and win Thorpe awards. The most successful MSU teams have been built not chasing stars, but by getting workers. Jackie and Dan (early on) got guys like that. I'm thinking Moorhead may have been chasing ratings (to early to tell for sure). Leach won't give a shit about ratings.

You may be right, but why don't you think a nationally known coach finally coaching in a good recruiting base, won't move the needle in recruiting?

[HailStateSZN19]

I'd say if a top 75 player overall and the #1 WR in MS for 2021 is now considering us more heavily with the Leach hire, that's moving the needle. Now how it moves overall both offensive and defensive recruiting remains to be seen. But I really think we're still going to keep getting a good bit of the defensive talent here in MS. But Brevard is legitimately interested in us now that we've hired an air raid coach. He's an elite talent that wasn't really considering us that much prior. But now, we're right in the thick of it. Will we get him? Who knows, but our chances have definitely gone up according to him in an interview with a 247 guy.

[BrunswickDawg]

You may be right, but why don't you think a nationally known coach finally coaching in a good recruiting base, won't move the needle in recruiting?

It's possible. I'm just not going to count on it. I fully believe that we are "slotted" when it comes to stuff like that and we will generally float between 17-27. Part of it is because MS recruits are not evaluated, part of it is things like "the Bama Bump".
But, I also know Leach is the type that if he sees a 3 star he likes, hes going to get him - rating and stars and opinions be damned.

[ShotgunDawg]

It's possible. I'm just not going to count on it. I fully believe that we are "slotted" when it comes to stuff like that and we will generally float between 17-27. Part of it is because MS recruits are not evaluated, part of it is things like "the Bama Bump".
But, I also know Leach is the type that if he sees a 3 star he likes, hes going to get him - rating and stars and opinions be damned.

I'll gladly take 17-27 with Leach coaching us.

That's plenty of talent for things to lineup every 3-4 years for a run at the West

[ShotgunDawg]

I think his name will help with recruiting. Especially with WR that we seem to have trouble recruiting. I hope we can get a known name for DC to help on that front.

I'm hopeful he can recruit nationally.

Look at his roster at Wazzou. It has players from all corners of the country and also consider his connections in TX.

Hopefully that combined with our Mississippi connections will bring together some of the best rosters we've ever had.

[Jarius]

Not sure I agree with this


You don't have to agree with it. You're welcome to be wrong. By the way, what did Willie end up doing? Did he go pro or decide to come back to school?

[Jarius]

Well with the way our receivers have dropped passes and loafed through their routes the last couple of years we better get a better tomato can.

Our culture sucked. That comes from our former head coach.

[ShotgunDawg]

You don't have to agree with it. You're welcome to be wrong

Or right.

[ShotgunDawg]

Did he go pro or decide to come back to school?

You were right on this.

I had trouble believing a player could make as stupid of a decision as Willie did on this.

Makes sense in hindsight though

[confucius say]

Just curious if you ever met Mullen?

Leach is a way more personable type than Mullen. Mullen was weirder than 17

Never met Mullen.

True, leach is more personable. More approachable for damn sure. He was holding court Friday night and drinking cold beer.

But he is aloof. I think he will recruit similar to Mullen, whose average class was, I believe, 28.

[Jarius]

You aren't right. People like Tony Hughes have a job because he is the best recruiter in our state. Coaching safeties can be done by YOU if you spend enough time studying it. The offensive and defensive schemes along with our talent is what makes us good or bad. Position coaches have very little to do with it other than acquiring the talent. There's a reason T Buck has looked great some years and not great in other years. Sirmon to Grantham to Shoop was a huge Change in corner play. He didn't coach better. He had more talent and a better defensive front that made his corners look better. we had the same receivers coach under Mullen for a long time. When Bear and Fred and Dak and that crew left he looked a lot worse.

[Coursesuper]

Never met Mullen.

True, leach is more personable. More approachable for damn sure. He was holding court Friday night and drinking cold beer.

But he is aloof. I think he will recruit similar to Mullen, whose average class was, I believe, 28.

And where did this take place, sounds like a good time?

[ShotgunDawg]

You aren't right. People like Tony Hughes have a job because he is the best recruiter in our state. Coaching safeties can be done by YOU if you spend enough time studying it. The offensive and defensive schemes along with our talent is what makes us good or bad. Position coaches have very little to do with it other than acquiring the talent. There's a reason T Buck has looked great some years and not great in other years. Sirmon to Grantham was a huge Change in corner play. He didn't coach better. The DC dude we had the same receivers coach under Mullen for a long time. When Bear and Fred and Dak and that crew left he looked a lot worse.

My guess is that you're mostly right but that it does matter at the extremes.

I believe the BEST position coaches absolutely make a difference and the worst do as well.

By the same token, I'd guess OL, QB, and maybe DL coaches are the most important

[ShotgunDawg]

Never met Mullen.

True, leach is more personable. More approachable for damn sure. He was holding court Friday night and drinking cold beer.

But he is aloof. I think he will recruit similar to Mullen, whose average class was, I believe, 28.

Due to his ability to go more national, I think top is possible with the right staff. It'll probably depend on how much he puts into it.

That being said, Leach has to see MSU as "his chance" and I believe he'll put more into that he ever has.

I can also see how when coaching on Pullman, WA you kind of lose interest in winning recruiting battles because you can't win them anyway. Hopefully the SEC opportunity gets him focused on that.

[Jarius]

My guess is that you're mostly right but that it does matter at the extremes.

I believe the BEST position coaches absolutely make a difference and the worst do as well.

By the same token, I'd guess OL, QB, and maybe DL coaches are the most important

You are correct. Those 3 positions matter. DL coach matters the least out of those 3. Leach doesn't even have a QB coach I don't think. He does have 2 WR coaches, so it is possible that he puts more of a premium on the wr coaching than most. It's also a good spot to have multiple great recruiters because quite frankly Mike's scheme is by his own admission not very difficult to learn.

[ShotgunDawg]

You are correct. Those 3 positions matter. DL coach matters the least out of those 3. Leach doesn't even have a QB coach I don't think. He does have 2 WR coaches, so it is possible that he puts more of a premium on the wr coaching than most. It's also a good spot to have multiple great recruiters because quite frankly Mike's scheme is by his own admission not very difficult to learn.

Thank goodness his scheme isn't difficult to learn.

We haven't had a ton of talent at WR but we have had some and mostly wasted it.

It'll be nice to see our WRs playing fast due to the simplicity.

[Jarius]

Thank goodness his scheme isn't difficult to learn.

We haven't had a ton of talent at WR but we have had some and mostly wasted it.

It'll be nice to see our WRs playing fast due to the simplicity.

Like most, I have watched about ten thousand Mike Leach videos lately. The thing that stuck out to me was that he said he can teach people how to catch. That's a learnable skill in his eyes. I think that speaks to the culture and discipline issue. He makes his guys work hard enough to develop that. Our old coach did not. QB accuracy is not a learnable skill in his eyes so we should know pretty soon if we are going to have a grad transfer qb taking over IMO. He will probably figure that out the first week of spring ball.

[maroonmania]

With Leach I have no doubt he will find who he needs to make his offense work. Our recruiting ranking will be much more important on the defensive side.

[confucius say]

And where did this take place, sounds like a good time?

Gridiron club Friday night