Inside recruiting in Mississippi

[Big4Dawg]

https://theathletic.com/2958569/2021/11/18/inside-recruiting-in-mississippi-kiffin-leach-deion-and-the-last-place-in-america-where-kids-can-actually-hide/

Good/interesting article. Some quotes that stuck out:


Coach 1: High school coach in south Mississippi
Coach 2: High school coach in northeast Mississippi
Coach 3: High school coach in the Delta
Coach 4: Former FBS recruiting staffer
Coach 5: High school coach in north Mississippi
Coach 6: High school coach in central Mississippi
Coach 7: High School coach in central Mississippi
Coach 8: High school coach in south Mississippi
Coach 9: Retired high school coach


For years, the state’s top prospect rarely left Mississippi, but in four of the past five recruiting cycles, the state’s top player has left to play college football. Why does that keep happening?

Coach 1: With Dan Mullen leaving the state, I thought he recruited the state really well. He and Hugh Freeze were able to win those battles in state and understood the landscape in Mississippi better than any other coaches have. I don’t think Mike Leach has a grasp of it right now, and I don’t think Lane Kiffin cares to recruit Mississippi. That’s just me. To be honest … I don’t think Lane cares enough about recruiting to want to have to fight the battle for the kid. He’d rather show up, be Ole Miss and win it. Whereas Dan and Hugh, they kind of thrived on that competition of recruiting and winning it. And Mike I don’t think understands it. Both of them want coaches on their staff to handle it, and they’ll come in and close it at the end if they have to. Both of them are exceptional coaches, but I don’t know if they’ll dominate the state anymore like it was during Hugh and Dan’s time.


What?s it been like interacting with Leach and Kiffin, and how do their personalities differ?

Coach 1: You know what, it?s crazy, too, neither one of them (has really talked with me). Moorhead understood the state. He got it pretty good. He was here multiple times, which said a lot. I don?t know, Leach is kind of like on free money. I just think he?s trying to see if he could pull it off in the SEC. I just don?t think that?s Lane?s shtick. Some people think he?s a great recruiter, and I really don?t. I don?t think he gives a shit about it, to be 100 percent honest. That?s why it wouldn?t surprise me if he left this year.

Coach 2: I?ve interacted more with Ole Miss assistants. I?ve talked to Leach once or twice. But I have great relationships with their assistants. With Mississippi State, I haven?t had the same relationship since Joe Moorhead left. I don?t really know the new guys, and they haven?t made themselves available for whatever reason. Ole Miss has done a better job of staying in contact with Mississippi coaches.

Coach 3: I haven?t interacted with either one much at all. They are basically the same, regarding their personalities. Kiffin does a great job on social media building up a perception of him on social media. It takes a certain type of person to deal with either one of them on a daily basis. But Kiffin does a great job of at least building a perception and tricking people on social media.

Coach 6: We have had zero interaction with either one of them. When Brad Peterson was working for Mississippi State (as director of high school relations), he got a thing together with high school coaches with Mike Leach. I think that?s the only interaction I?ve had with him. Those guys are kind of introverts. They?re not like Dan Mullen or Hugh Freeze where they?re out, trying to meet all the high school coaches and kind of be a part of the state. It?s just a difference in personality. Like Matt Luke, it was different because he loved to represent Mississippi. With Leach and Kiffin coming in, it?s somewhat different for the high school coaches because there?s not that personal relationship there. We have our state coaching clinic every July. We never failed to get in-state head coaches at Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Jackson State, Southern Miss, you know, the major ones. Never fail to get those guys to come and talk to our coaches. Two years now, we haven?t seen either one of those guys. And again, that?s no knock on them. It?s just their personalities. They don?t see that as a priority.

Coach 9: I didn?t have any. That?s not good or bad, but I never met them before or anything. Mullen recruited my kids before so I knew him, but of course coach Mullen was here for nine years. Coach Freeze and that staff recruited our kids down here and built a relationship with them. Coach Kiffin and coach Leach came in, and the two kids (at my program) had pretty much decided where they were going. I didn?t have a relationship with them.


Which assistant coach recruits the state the best?

Coach 2: Marcus Woodson at Florida State knows Mississippi. He does a good job. He?s always reaching out. Derrick Nix and Terrell Buckley at Ole Miss. Freddie Roach at Alabama is always reaching out. There?s Robert Gillespie at Alabama. Jerry Mack at Tennessee. Louisville?s Bryan Brown. Joe Moorhead (now at Oregon) still calls coaches in the state, asking about their kids or someone else?s kids.

Coach 3: Dell McGee at Georgia. Robert Gillespie at Alabama. He?s from Hattiesburg and has recruited Mississippi well at every stop he?s been. Dwike Wilson at South Alabama is a rising star in the recruiting world. He will be a Power 5 head coach soon. He?s on top of all the right guys here.

Coach 4: If I was going to pick one, it?d be Derrick Nix. Just because of his relationships throughout the state. He played at Southern Miss. He was a legend, but he?s been doing it for so long and he?s done it at an elite level for so many years ? every kid in Mississippi he?s been on. He?s a well-connected Mississippi guy when it comes to recruiting the state and does a phenomenal job.

Coach 7: Tony Hughes. He?s a mainstay guy. Derrick Nix does a great job.

Coach 8: (Mississippi State receivers) coach (Steve) Spurrier Jr., who?s not from Mississippi. I?ve been in contact with him all season. I think right now they?ve had success with Mississippi guys. The quarterback, (Will) Rogers, he?s from Mississippi. (Wide receiver Jaden) Walley is from the coast area, and those guys are producing for them on a consistent basis.

[Lance Harbor]

Thanks for posting.

[Matt3467]

I wonder how much COVID has affected things. I don't think it's fair to both Leach or Kiffin to not think that's been a factor especially with the clinics one of the coaches mentioned where every year the instate schools were represented but State and OM has been absent the last 2 which seems coincidental. I don't know either way I'm confident Leach will do well in state and so will Kiffin if he stays.

[Walkerhill]

https://theathletic.com/2958569/2021/11/18/inside-recruiting-in-mississippi-kiffin-leach-deion-and-the-last-place-in-america-where-kids-can-actually-hide/

Good/interesting article. Some quotes that stuck out:

These quotes will upset some people but Leach is Leach. His focus is going to be putting a product on the field that gets attention and that people want to play in. The reason we can even get a Leach is he views himself as an outsider and seeks that kind of school and also is not going to deal with the high volume demands of a blue blood program.

Dude is an inventor running a small company, not a Fortune 500 ceo.

[BrunswickDawg]

I wonder how much COVID has affected things. I don't think it's fair to both Leach or Kiffin to not think that's been a factor especially with the clinics one of the coaches mentioned where every year the instate schools were represented but State and OM has been absent the last 2 which seems coincidental. I don't know either way I'm confident Leach will do well in state and so will Kiffin if he stays.

COVID and social media. With social media and the on-line recruiting tools available like Hudl, a college coach never has to contact a school. They can go straight to the source and recruit. Yeah, it's nice to have relationships and shoot the shit, but that's not really today's world.

[calidawg]

Completely disagree. Relationships are everything in business and especially recruiting

[OLJWales]

Rep given. Excellent read and thoroughly enjoyed.

It's all about being lazy vs using every minute growing your bidness. Separating yourself from the competition and shit.

[speedy1972]

COVID and social media. With social media and the on-line recruiting tools available like Hudl, a college coach never has to contact a school. They can go straight to the source and recruit. Yeah, it's nice to have relationships and shoot the shit, but that's not really today's world.

I couldn't agree more with this post. It never hurts to have good relationships with people and in this case high school coaches, but the evolution of the 7 on 7 stuff during the summer(similar to AAU basketball) and with constant electronic communications directly with the player, the "middle man" has been somewhat eliminated. High school coaches were much more in the middle of recruiting before the cell phone and passed legislation opening up constant contact directly between college coach and high school student athlete. You hear recruits say all the time, this coach "showed me the most love", "he hits me up just about every day". Until just a few years ago, you couldn't even make a phone call to a prospect until his junior year and it wasn't but once a week. The landscape has completely changed.

[BeardoMSU]

Dude is an inventor running a small company, not a Fortune 500 ceo.

That's all fine and good, but he better put a staff around him that recruits because it matters.

[BeardoMSU]

Completely disagree. Relationships are everything in business and especially recruiting

This.

[BrunswickDawg]

Completely disagree. Relationships are everything in business and especially recruiting

In an ideal situation yes - relationships are important. But those coaching relationships can screw you just as easily as help you. So why engage a middle man? How many times have we heard about coaches steering kids to a particular school? Or about high school coaches not liking certain staff members and it getting in the way of recruiting? Or what if the coach has an issue with a player that gets in the way? I personally know of coaches telling recruiters not to even bother looking at players on their team because he didn't think any of them were good enough.

[MetEdDawg]

I'm glad all those relationships Mullen had helped him get all those Top 15 classes we brought in.

Relationships with schools mean almost nothing anymore. It's social media and money driven and by definition high schools can't be involved in that.

Leach is going to pull a class similar or better than Mullen's average. So can we say relationships actually mean something? Because the data says they don't.

[FriarsPoint]

Cold, hard, cash is the number one recruiting tool ever.

[sack07]

I couldn't agree more with this post. It never hurts to have good relationships with people and in this case high school coaches, but the evolution of the 7 on 7 stuff during the summer(similar to AAU basketball) and with constant electronic communications directly with the player, the "middle man" has been somewhat eliminated. High school coaches were much more in the middle of recruiting before the cell phone and passed legislation opening up constant contact directly between college coach and high school student athlete. You hear recruits say all the time, this coach "showed me the most love", "he hits me up just about every day". Until just a few years ago, you couldn't even make a phone call to a prospect until his junior year and it wasn't but once a week. The landscape has completely changed.

The difference in AAU basketball and the 7 on 7 circuit is that basketball is always basketball; 7 on 7 is not football. While there are certainly merits to it for developing skill players, it will never be recruited like AAU basketball (besides, there are no linemen).

Many of you are missing the importance of relationships with high school coaches. It isnot so much important in recruiting a specific kid. As many of you have pointed out, that is done more directly now. It is most useful in identifying prospects, either from the coach?s school or area schools. Those relationships are where you find the under-recruited kids.

[calidawg]

Many of you are missing the importance of relationships with high school coaches. It isnot so much important in recruiting a specific kid. As many of you have pointed out, that is done more directly now. It is most useful in identifying prospects, either from the coach?s school or area schools. Those relationships are where you find the under-recruited kids.

Bingo

[OLJWales]

Do your damn job or somebody else will.

[Commercecomet24]

I'm glad all those relationships Mullen had helped him get all those Top 15 classes we brought in.

Relationships with schools mean almost nothing anymore. It's social media and money driven and by definition high schools can't be involved in that.

Leach is going to pull a class similar or better than Mullen's average. So can we say relationships actually mean something? Because the data says they don't.

Yes sir, this.

[Coach34]

I'm glad all those relationships Mullen had helped him get all those Top 15 classes we brought in.
.

This is a very poor post in my opinion. Mississippi kids are underrated so many times and it consistently hurts our overall number in recruiting rankings- which many people forget is speculation. Top 10 recruiters are easy to do because of kids and the obvious talent. But after the Top 10 its starts getting murky and the ranking means less.

Mullen's recruiting was very good at State except at WR where it was bad and on the OL where it was very inconsistent.

The under the radar guys he pulled that didnt put us in the top 15 in recruiting rankings but still made for outstanding recruits:

Jonathan Banks
Dak Prescott
Malcolm Johnson
Vick Ballard
Jameon Lewis
Ben Beckwith
Dillon Day
Blaine Clausell
Josh Robinson
Benardrick McKinney
Darius Slay
Tavese Calhoun
Preston Smith
Fred Brown
Bear Wilson
Logan Cooke
Nick Fitzgerald
Elgston Jenkins
Cam Dantzler
Tyre Phillips

Almost every one of those guys were rated 85 or lower. A whole bunch of them made the NFL or are in the NFL currently. Were outstanding college football players. Mullen recruited very well at State except at WR and consistently on the OL- and thats why we couldnt get over the hump in alot of those big games.

[smootness]

This is a very poor post in my opinion. Mississippi kids are underrated so many times and it consistently hurts our overall number in recruiting rankings- which many people forget is speculation. Top 10 recruiters are easy to do because of kids and the obvious talent. But after the Top 10 its starts getting murky and the ranking means less.

Mullen's recruiting was very good at State except at WR where it was bad and on the OL where it was very inconsistent.

The under the radar guys he pulled that didnt put us in the top 15 in recruiting rankings but still made for outstanding recruits:

Jonathan Banks
Dak Prescott
Malcolm Johnson
Vick Ballard
Jameon Lewis
Ben Beckwith
Dillon Day
Blaine Clausell
Josh Robinson
Benardrick McKinney
Darius Slay
Tavese Calhoun
Preston Smith
Fred Brown
Bear Wilson
Logan Cooke
Nick Fitzgerald
Elgston Jenkins
Cam Dantzler
Tyre Phillips

Almost every one of those guys were rated 85 or lower. A whole bunch of them made the NFL or are in the NFL currently. Were outstanding college football players. Mullen recruited very well at State except at WR and consistently on the OL- and thats why we couldnt get over the hump in alot of those big games.

Great post.

[Dak Holliday]

People tend to forget that CDM came in with MSU recruiting almost at 40(36, I believe) and dropped us almost 10 spots into the high 20s. That?s no small feat.

[BrunswickDawg]

This is a very poor post in my opinion. Mississippi kids are underrated so many times and it consistently hurts our overall number in recruiting rankings- which many people forget is speculation. Top 10 recruiters are easy to do because of kids and the obvious talent. But after the Top 10 its starts getting murky and the ranking means less.

Mullen's recruiting was very good at State except at WR where it was bad and on the OL where it was very inconsistent.

The under the radar guys he pulled that didnt put us in the top 15 in recruiting rankings but still made for outstanding recruits:

Jonathan Banks
Dak Prescott
Malcolm Johnson
Vick Ballard
Jameon Lewis
Ben Beckwith
Dillon Day
Blaine Clausell
Josh Robinson
Benardrick McKinney
Darius Slay
Tavese Calhoun
Preston Smith
Fred Brown
Bear Wilson
Logan Cooke
Nick Fitzgerald
Elgston Jenkins
Cam Dantzler
Tyre Phillips

Almost every one of those guys were rated 85 or lower. A whole bunch of them made the NFL or are in the NFL currently. Were outstanding college football players. Mullen recruited very well at State except at WR and consistently on the OL- and thats why we couldnt get over the hump in alot of those big games.

And there were thread after thread by you and others on here bashing his recruiting constantly, taking about how the HS coaches in MS didn't like him, and how pissed off you were because y'all tipped him on an OL in South Carolina who was under the radar and turned out to be All ACC at Clemson and the program ignored you.

So which way is it? Mullen was great or was he was horrible? Because your arguments over the years have switched more than a politician during election year.

[Dak Holliday]

Plus, if you got every good MS kid and no one else, you would struggle to get in the top 30.

MS has a quantity issue, not quality

[Coach34]

And there were thread after thread by you and others on here bashing his recruiting constantly, taking about how the HS coaches in MS didn't like him, and how pissed off you were because y'all tipped him on an OL in South Carolina who was under the radar and turned out to be All ACC at Clemson and the program ignored you.


A) We complained about the country club recruiting that didnt want to recruit and fight for bigger recruits out of state. The Clemson guy is the PERFECT example. He wasnt under the radar. He was a highly rated 4 star recruit that worked for and loved a State guy. Hevesy recruited him about as hard as he would a kid from Leake Academy. The State guy had this kid making State a legit Top 3 choice for him- we were willing to make it worth his signature and the staff didnt even make an effort. This is the glaring example of why Mullen didnt get over the hump at State and is failing at Fla.

B) Mullen doesnt want to battle for big recruits. He sucks at it and hates it. But- the guy is outstanding at finding guys below the radar. It's his MO.

Edited to add- Hevesy's reason he didnt recruit the kid harder? "His hands arent big enough in my opinion. He will struggle with SEC DL guys"

[Coach34]

I'll add this-

Mullen didnt want to do what was necessary for Cam Newton. All he had to do was say the word and it would have happened. Think about what a program changer that would have been?

Mullen didnt want to do what was necessary for AJ Brown. Made that clear early. OM did.

There were others as we well know. We got Simmons and some others in spite of Mullen. Our guys handled it and made it happen.

[CaptainObvious]

Plus, if you got every good MS kid and no one else, you would struggle to get in the top 30.

MS has a quantity issue, not quality

This is the most correct answer. No matter what some the coaches say about the two SEC staffs working in state, there are huge deficiencies. And then some of the higher rated players in the state that don?t go out of state, struggle to spell any words longer than 5 letters and add double digit numbers.

Example: J-Red Patterson from Pearl. Unbelievably talented Wide Receiver with size and speed. John Perry won a State Championship going 15-0 with the kid and an offensive line that started together 3 straight years that couldn?t put a single player above the Juco level. The Head Coach and his staff knew from the 9th grade that Patterson was a struggling student, and that kind of stuff has to be corrected! Coaches need to put a boot in their ass as hard for academics as they do for workouts and practice habits and discipline.

[FriarsPoint]

And there were thread after thread by you and others on here bashing his recruiting constantly, taking about how the HS coaches in MS didn't like him, and how pissed off you were because y'all tipped him on an OL in South Carolina who was under the radar and turned out to be All ACC at Clemson and the program ignored you.

So which way is it? Mullen was great or was he was horrible? Because your arguments over the years have switched more than a politician during election year.

True

[FriarsPoint]

I'll add this-

Mullen didnt want to do what was necessary for Cam Newton. All he had to do was say the word and it would have happened. Think about what a program changer that would have been?

Mullen didnt want to do what was necessary for AJ Brown. Made that clear early. OM did.

There were others as we well know. We got Simmons and some others in spite of Mullen. Our guys handled it and made it happen.

You’re fictitiously backtracking. RE: Aj Brown.

[preachermatt83]

This is a very poor post in my opinion. Mississippi kids are underrated so many times and it consistently hurts our overall number in recruiting rankings- which many people forget is speculation. Top 10 recruiters are easy to do because of kids and the obvious talent. But after the Top 10 its starts getting murky and the ranking means less.

Mullen's recruiting was very good at State except at WR where it was bad and on the OL where it was very inconsistent.

The under the radar guys he pulled that didnt put us in the top 15 in recruiting rankings but still made for outstanding recruits:

Jonathan Banks
Dak Prescott
Malcolm Johnson
Vick Ballard
Jameon Lewis
Ben Beckwith
Dillon Day
Blaine Clausell
Josh Robinson
Benardrick McKinney
Darius Slay
Tavese Calhoun
Preston Smith
Fred Brown
Bear Wilson
Logan Cooke
Nick Fitzgerald
Elgston Jenkins
Cam Dantzler
Tyre Phillips

Almost every one of those guys were rated 85 or lower. A whole bunch of them made the NFL or are in the NFL currently. Were outstanding college football players. Mullen recruited very well at State except at WR and consistently on the OL- and thats why we couldnt get over the hump in alot of those big games.


Will Rogers jaden Walley. Leach will do the same thing with Diamond in the rough stuff.

[Coach34]

You’re fictitiously backtracking. RE: Aj Brown.

Not even a little.

[MetEdDawg]

This is a very poor post in my opinion. Mississippi kids are underrated so many times and it consistently hurts our overall number in recruiting rankings- which many people forget is speculation. Top 10 recruiters are easy to do because of kids and the obvious talent. But after the Top 10 its starts getting murky and the ranking means less.

Mullen's recruiting was very good at State except at WR where it was bad and on the OL where it was very inconsistent.

The under the radar guys he pulled that didnt put us in the top 15 in recruiting rankings but still made for outstanding recruits:

Jonathan Banks
Dak Prescott
Malcolm Johnson
Vick Ballard
Jameon Lewis
Ben Beckwith
Dillon Day
Blaine Clausell
Josh Robinson
Benardrick McKinney
Darius Slay
Tavese Calhoun
Preston Smith
Fred Brown
Bear Wilson
Logan Cooke
Nick Fitzgerald
Elgston Jenkins
Cam Dantzler
Tyre Phillips

Almost every one of those guys were rated 85 or lower. A whole bunch of them made the NFL or are in the NFL currently. Were outstanding college football players. Mullen recruited very well at State except at WR and consistently on the OL- and thats why we couldnt get over the hump in alot of those big games.

Here's the thing. I completely agree that Mullen evaluated talent really well. But did high school coaching relationships make him a better talent evaluator? Did it help him pull kids? Maybe some?

But it didn't really move the needle for us in a major way except for one year, which was 2014. Did we put together some good seasons? Sure. But the OP is talking about all these great high school coaching relationships Mullen had.

Leach is about to do what Mullen did on the field with apparently horrible high school coaching relationships. And that's what the post is about. It's not about whether or not Mullen brought in good kids. It's about whether or not spending all those hours getting to know coaches like Mullen did makes a damn bit of difference in recruiting and pulling kids.

I would argue at this time, Leach is showing us it doesn't. He's going to give us the same win loss product and the same recruiting ranking without having established these great high school relationships Mullen apparently did.

[Apoplectic]

I'll add this-

Mullen didnt want to do what was necessary for Cam Newton. All he had to do was say the word and it would have happened. Think about what a program changer that would have been?

Mullen didnt want to do what was necessary for AJ Brown. Made that clear early. OM did.
.

Because he didn?t want to screw up his shot at the Tennessee or Florida jobs. He knew they would eventually come calling. Makes his current situation that h more funny

[BrunswickDawg]

Here's the thing. I completely agree that Mullen evaluated talent really well. But did high school coaching relationships make him a better talent evaluator? Did it help him pull kids? Maybe some?

But it didn't really move the needle for us in a major way except for one year, which was 2014. Did we put together some good seasons? Sure. But the OP is talking about all these great high school coaching relationships Mullen had.

Leach is about to do what Mullen did on the field with apparently horrible high school coaching relationships. And that's what the post is about. It's not about whether or not Mullen brought in good kids. It's about whether or not spending all those hours getting to know coaches like Mullen did makes a damn bit of difference in recruiting and pulling kids.

I would argue at this time, Leach is showing us it doesn't. He's going to give us the same win loss product and the same recruiting ranking without having established these great high school relationships Mullen apparently did.

This is the point I was working my way toward. Mullen really didn't establish great relationships either - we heard that on this board regularly, but he was here for a decade. We did hear about how important the HS relations guys became late in his tenure. So in 10 years he and the staff probably ended up contacting every school in the state multiple times. Kiffin and Leach have been here 20 months in the middle of a pandemic that for the first year virtually eliminated contact with schools. And with that social media and contact rules have been lessened to such a huge degree that you could recruit constantly, daily, and never have to contact a high school coach.

Coaches used to be gatekeepers on all the info, and were the only way to see film on a kid or even get his phone number and address. I can go to Hudl and pull up your game film, evaluate it myself, DM the kid, set up a Call of Duty game session with him, get to know him, get all his contact info, like all his family on Facebook, have my digital team send him edits for every media platform, in-game live tweet his highlights on Friday night because I watch it live from anywhere in the world, DM his teachers to find out what type of student he is, and CashApp his handlers $ without ever having to contact a HS coach.

I'm not saying we should do this or that we do - but the information and contact is so much more direct and available, HS coaches are going to have to adjust their expectations about how all this will be handled going forward.

[Gutter Cobreh]

This is the point I was working my way toward. Mullen really didn't establish great relationships either - we heard that on this board regularly, but he was here for a decade. We did hear about how important the HS relations guys became late in his tenure. So in 10 years he and the staff probably ended up contacting every school in the state multiple times. Kiffin and Leach have been here 20 months in the middle of a pandemic that for the first year virtually eliminated contact with schools. And with that social media and contact rules have been lessened to such a huge degree that you could recruit constantly, daily, and never have to contact a high school coach.

Coaches used to be gatekeepers on all the info, and were the only way to see film on a kid or even get his phone number and address. I can go to Hudl and pull up your game film, evaluate it myself, DM the kid, set up a Call of Duty game session with him, get to know him, get all his contact info, like all his family on Facebook, have my digital team send him edits for every media platform, in-game live tweet his highlights on Friday night because I watch it live from anywhere in the world, DM his teachers to find out what type of student he is, and CashApp his handlers $ without ever having to contact a HS coach.

I'm not saying we should do this or that we do - but the information and contact is so much more direct and available, HS coaches are going to have to adjust their expectations about how all this will be handled going forward.

Excellent post!

I would suspect that some of these coaches are bit salty as they are losing power and control and it impacts their "status" within the community or fails to line their pocket (whether that be cash or perks)...

[Hot Rock]

Proof will be in the pudding.

Wins and Losses ....

He has started to win at a pace that indicates he could be better than Mullen but it will not be sustained without players.

[Bdawg]

This is the point I was working my way toward. Mullen really didn't establish great relationships either - we heard that on this board regularly, but he was here for a decade. We did hear about how important the HS relations guys became late in his tenure. So in 10 years he and the staff probably ended up contacting every school in the state multiple times. Kiffin and Leach have been here 20 months in the middle of a pandemic that for the first year virtually eliminated contact with schools. And with that social media and contact rules have been lessened to such a huge degree that you could recruit constantly, daily, and never have to contact a high school coach.

Coaches used to be gatekeepers on all the info, and were the only way to see film on a kid or even get his phone number and address. I can go to Hudl and pull up your game film, evaluate it myself, DM the kid, set up a Call of Duty game session with him, get to know him, get all his contact info, like all his family on Facebook, have my digital team send him edits for every media platform, in-game live tweet his highlights on Friday night because I watch it live from anywhere in the world, DM his teachers to find out what type of student he is, and CashApp his handlers $ without ever having to contact a HS coach.

I'm not saying we should do this or that we do - but the information and contact is so much more direct and available, HS coaches are going to have to adjust their expectations about how all this will be handled going forward.

So when you signing up for recruiting coordinator? Get a team assembled! Ha

[BrunswickDawg]

So when you signing up for recruiting coordinator? Get a team assembled! Ha

LOL! I'm having too much fun being the bureaucratic brick wall of local government.

[Commercecomet24]

This is the point I was working my way toward. Mullen really didn't establish great relationships either - we heard that on this board regularly, but he was here for a decade. We did hear about how important the HS relations guys became late in his tenure. So in 10 years he and the staff probably ended up contacting every school in the state multiple times. Kiffin and Leach have been here 20 months in the middle of a pandemic that for the first year virtually eliminated contact with schools. And with that social media and contact rules have been lessened to such a huge degree that you could recruit constantly, daily, and never have to contact a high school coach.

Coaches used to be gatekeepers on all the info, and were the only way to see film on a kid or even get his phone number and address. I can go to Hudl and pull up your game film, evaluate it myself, DM the kid, set up a Call of Duty game session with him, get to know him, get all his contact info, like all his family on Facebook, have my digital team send him edits for every media platform, in-game live tweet his highlights on Friday night because I watch it live from anywhere in the world, DM his teachers to find out what type of student he is, and CashApp his handlers $ without ever having to contact a HS coach.

I'm not saying we should do this or that we do - but the information and contact is so much more direct and available, HS coaches are going to have to adjust their expectations about how all this will be handled going forward.

This pretty much nailed it. Recruiting has evolved to this now. Things have changed with everything the last 2 years and this is the way it's probably gonna be from here on out.

[TrapGame]

This is the point I was working my way toward. Mullen really didn't establish great relationships either - we heard that on this board regularly, but he was here for a decade. We did hear about how important the HS relations guys became late in his tenure. So in 10 years he and the staff probably ended up contacting every school in the state multiple times. Kiffin and Leach have been here 20 months in the middle of a pandemic that for the first year virtually eliminated contact with schools. And with that social media and contact rules have been lessened to such a huge degree that you could recruit constantly, daily, and never have to contact a high school coach.

Coaches used to be gatekeepers on all the info, and were the only way to see film on a kid or even get his phone number and address. I can go to Hudl and pull up your game film, evaluate it myself, DM the kid, set up a Call of Duty game session with him, get to know him, get all his contact info, like all his family on Facebook, have my digital team send him edits for every media platform, in-game live tweet his highlights on Friday night because I watch it live from anywhere in the world, DM his teachers to find out what type of student he is, and CashApp his handlers $ without ever having to contact a HS coach.

I'm not saying we should do this or that we do - but the information and contact is so much more direct and available, HS coaches are going to have to adjust their expectations about how all this will be handled going forward.

High school coaches are obsolete in the recruiting process now. Social media is the middle man now. Holds way more influence than a high school coach.

High school coaches are a dialup modem with AOL in a world of advanced fiber optics and cloud tech.

[BrunswickDawg]

This pretty much nailed it. Recruiting has evolved to this now. Things have changed with everything the last 2 years and this is the way it's probably gonna be from here on out.

If you follow any good HS coaches on social media, they tweet out their highlights and top prospects to all the recruiting services every weekend. Kids have also gotten good about promoting themselves with Hudl link/40 time/GPA and the HS coaches tweet it out regularly. It's much more efficient for them getting people to look at their kids - instead of hoping John Heavesy stops by with a box of donuts.

[smootness]

What I see are a bunch of fans trying to twist things however they need to in order to make our current coach look better.

If Leach isn't building good relationships throughout the state, that is a problem that will hurt us. I don't know that he's not; I'm just saying that if he's not, it's a problem. Leach is a great coach, so he's winning games and probably will continue to. But if he doesn't care about recruiting or building relationships, then he won't win as many as he otherwise could.

There's no need to make it seem better just because he's our coach now. Once he's gone and we have somebody else, then we'll all talk about how obviously Leach didn't care about recruiting and didn't put in the time and effort and it hurt us, but now our new coach really gets it and will do even better.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

The number 10 rated recruit in Mississippi would barely break the Top 40 in Georgia or Top 60 in Texas. Plus Mississippi kids are way behind in coaching and academics, so even if they have the physical tools, it?s going to take them longer to get them ready.

[WhiskeyPirate]

Leach built great relationships with HS coaches throughout Texas, and I would argue had more influence on Texas Hs football than any other coach. I say that because when he was at Tech, the air raid and air raid clinics spread throughout the state. You still see Leach going to Texas for his q b s that’s because they all run the air raid.

He will do the same in Miss

[BrunswickDawg]

What I see are a bunch of fans trying to twist things however they need to in order to make our current coach look better.

If Leach isn't building good relationships throughout the state, that is a problem that will hurt us. I don't know that he's not; I'm just saying that if he's not, it's a problem. Leach is a great coach, so he's winning games and probably will continue to. But if he doesn't care about recruiting or building relationships, then he won't win as many as he otherwise could.

There's no need to make it seem better just because he's our coach now. Once he's gone and we have somebody else, then we'll all talk about how obviously Leach didn't care about recruiting and didn't put in the time and effort and it hurt us, but now our new coach really gets it and will do even better.

I don't think Leach and staff have an issue building relationships with coaches and they know it is important in building a program. Leach still does things like co-hosting an MSU branded summer camp at Valdosta State - so I'm sure he gets it.
I do think the article didn't factor in at all what has been going on the past 2 years and the pandemic restrictions and how that has kept most coaches off the road and looking for alternative ways to recruit. I think that those alternate methods are going to catch hold and make recruiting less of a travel and coach relationship oriented process than it has been previously. I don't see that as excuse making, I see it more as a realization of how much the world has changed over the past 24 months.

[vindastra]

...
If Leach isn't building good relationships throughout the state, that is a problem that will hurt us...


The sooner we break this small-pond syndrome, the better we will be. Recruit all over the nation, not just the state. The state of our OL over the years is most likely due to recruiting MS and MS alone.

[TrapGame]

The sooner we break this small-pond syndrome, the better we will be. Recruit all over the nation, not just the state. The state of our OL over the years is most likely due to recruiting MS and MS alone.

And because of Mike Leach we can definitely expand to a national footprint.

[Percho]

The difference in AAU basketball and the 7 on 7 circuit is that basketball is always basketball; 7 on 7 is not football. While there are certainly merits to it for developing skill players, it will never be recruited like AAU basketball (besides, there are no linemen).

Many of you are missing the importance of relationships with high school coaches. It isnot so much important in recruiting a specific kid. As many of you have pointed out, that is done more directly now. It is most useful in identifying prospects, either from the coach?s school or area schools. Those relationships are where you find the under-recruited kids.

Leach is a huge proponent of 7 on 7. Talked about how they needed more of it in the state of Mississippi. He likes the reps.

[OLJWales]

This is the most correct answer. No matter what some the coaches say about the two SEC staffs working in state, there are huge deficiencies. And then some of the higher rated players in the state that don?t go out of state, struggle to spell any words longer than 5 letters and add double digit numbers.

Example: J-Red Patterson from Pearl. Unbelievably talented Wide Receiver with size and speed. John Perry won a State Championship going 15-0 with the kid and an offensive line that started together 3 straight years that couldn?t put a single player above the Juco level. The Head Coach and his staff knew from the 9th grade that Patterson was a struggling student, and that kind of stuff has to be corrected! Coaches need to put a boot in their ass as hard for academics as they do for workouts and practice habits and discipline.

Damn. Thanks for this post. We need this crap fixed and NOT just for 17ing sports. Total BS for Mississippi.
I do slightly disagree as to the impact of wiping the confeds off the map leaving us as The Big Dogs of the STATE. We would still need LA & AL guys but we would compete for the SEC not having to share with TSUN named after slave owners wife.