2021 MSU Football Recruiting Discussion Thread

[Jarius]

It is ok to have legit concerns about Leach after year 1 both in recruiting and on the field. What is amazing is that they are both polar opposites, the football team on the field closed fairly strong and the recruiting class has fizzled towards the end. Sure we have done well in the portal, but I'm not counting on portal players yet - so far its a mixed bag for almost every program.

Bottom line is that we apparently are about to miss out on a DB to AU that we could have easily signed in December if we had offered, now I have no idea who we are going to sign, but it is a miss.

One of our OL signees has already left campus, we lost out on a key LB commit, same with a stud WR on signing day. Its simply been a tough finish. Any rational fan would say that regardless of their stance on Leach.

I have my concern about his offense working, I sure hope I'm wrong and we post a strong season because I think we are going to miss some of those war daddies up front that are graduating on the DL.

Our recruiting class looks exactly like every recruiting class we have had for a decade under the best regime in MSU history. This is with the worst in state class I have ever seen. Anyone concerned about recruiting (overall not one position group) is just not paying attention or lying to people on here (or has unrealistic expectations of MSU). Leach has 20 years of proof that his offense works. The SEC defense myth is tired. He will play 4 non conference weak defenses a year, Kentucky, Ole Miss, another East opponent, And Arkansas every single year. The idea that his offense can’t handle those type teams on a yearly basis is just not reality based on his history and the quality of players he is bringing in for us.

[HancockCountyDog]

The SEC defense myth is tired. He will play 4 non conference weak defenses a year, Kentucky, Ole Miss, another East opponent, And Arkansas every single year. The idea that his offense can?t handle those type teams on a yearly basis is just not reality based on his history and the quality of players he is bringing in for us.

We lost to all three SEC teams you mentioned and scored a combined 40 points against those three teams. So, at this point his teams have not handled those teams. Maybe next year, but not this year.

It?s weird watching people post excuses for Leach that simply don?t hold water.

[Walkerhill]

We lost to all three SEC teams you mentioned and scored a combined 40 points against those three teams. So, at this point his teams have not handled those teams. Maybe next year, but not this year.

It?s weird watching people post excuses for Leach that simply don?t hold water.

This has veered away from recruiting but I will weigh in.

He may stubbornly make things harder for himself sometimes, but his track record at 2 places that are very hard to win is very good. It takes 1-2 years to get the offense rolling. I personally think that is mostly because the wide receivers have a lot to learn, especially against a zone coverage. He also seems pretty unyielding in his approach so there is going to be culture shock or resistance to change and that is just the way it is. He could adapt his offense to run more or utilize 2 backs for protection but he is not going to.

But, he will get his guys and the team will navigate the learning curve and he will average 8+ wins year 3 and beyond. Book it. Same story as his previous stops.

[Bothrops]

Should we be worried about any of our guys? If auburn gets desperate, who knows what they do?

Probably

[Todd4State]

We lost to all three SEC teams you mentioned and scored a combined 40 points against those three teams. So, at this point his teams have not handled those teams. Maybe next year, but not this year.

It?s weird watching people post excuses for Leach that simply don?t hold water.

How would we have done against those teams in November/December?

And what "doesn't hold water"? Leach has a very clear track record.

This guy isn't Croom.

[Bdawg]

We lost to all three SEC teams you mentioned and scored a combined 40 points against those three teams. So, at this point his teams have not handled those teams. Maybe next year, but not this year.

It?s weird watching people post excuses for Leach that simply don?t hold water.

I don't know how many we dressed out for every game, but I think a lot games we were supposedly around the minimum, maybe a couple times well below. And we played anyway. This year is a throw away year because of Covid. We should be glad we got to even watch it this year and save our critiques for next year and beyond. Nothing normal about this season what so ever. What means the most to me this year, is Leach installed his system, created toughness, got rid of the p******,and the kids played hard and showed improvement. I can live with that until next year.

[Jarius]

We lost to all three SEC teams you mentioned and scored a combined 40 points against those three teams. So, at this point his teams have not handled those teams. Maybe next year, but not this year.

It?s weird watching people post excuses for Leach that simply don?t hold water.

His offense looked like shit in year one here, just like it looked like shit everywhere else. Talking about his offense not scoring points on those teams year one as if he hasn’t scored a shit ton on those level defenses throughout his career is willful ignorance. Did you just do a memory eraser on everything he did prior to last year? Did you not pop in some tape of his Washington State and Texas tech year one to let you see that this past year wasn’t some anomaly that should scare us to death? Just saying “you are making excuses for Leach” after 1 freaking year is either lazy or agenda driven. Period.

[HancockCountyDog]

His offense looked like shit in year one here, just like it looked like shit everywhere else. Talking about his offense not scoring points on those teams year one as if he hasn?t scored a shit ton on those level defenses throughout his career is willful ignorance. Did you just do a memory eraser on everything he did prior to last year? Did you not pop in some tape of his Washington State and Texas tech year one to let you see that this past year wasn?t some anomaly that should scare us to death? Just saying ?you are making excuses for Leach? after 1 freaking year is either lazy or agenda driven. Period.

I have no doubts that Leach can light up mediocre defenses. I need to see him light up trams with above average defenses. At times this year he didn?t do that.

It?s not lazy or agenda driven to have concerns after year 1 when the offense did struggle and the defense really carried the team. It appears you won?t acknowledge that point so we are at the agree to disagree stage.

Let?s turn the discussion back to recruiting.

[FISHDAWG]

I have no doubts that Leach can light up mediocre defenses. I need to see him light up trams with above average defenses. At times this year he didn?t do that.

It?s not lazy or agenda driven to have concerns after year 1 when the offense did struggle and the defense really carried the team. It appears you won?t acknowledge that point so we are at the agree to disagree stage.

Let?s turn the discussion back to recruiting.

I also was in this camp for most of the season but I was also encouraged about the improvement that was realized in the last half of the schedule ... This improvement needs to be parlayed into a legitimate bowl qualifying season next year with possibly an upset somewhere along the way. I was as down on Leach as anyone here but the improvement as the season went along is undeniable .... I'm not upset with our recruiting but I would also hope for the same improvement here as well

[HancockCountyDog]

I also was in this camp for most of the season but I was also encouraged about the improvement that was realized in the last half of the schedule ... This improvement needs to be parlayed into a legitimate bowl qualifying season next year with possibly an upset somewhere along the way. I was as down on Leach as anyone here but the improvement as the season went along is undeniable .... I'm not upset with our recruiting but I would also hope for the same improvement here as well

The improvement was undeniable. I was hoping it would continue in recruiting.

[Jarius]

I have no doubts that Leach can light up mediocre defenses. I need to see him light up trams with above average defenses. At times this year he didn?t do that.

It?s not lazy or agenda driven to have concerns after year 1 when the offense did struggle and the defense really carried the team. It appears you won?t acknowledge that point so we are at the agree to disagree stage.

Let?s turn the discussion back to recruiting.

Yes it is, if you have done any research or kept up with Leach for the past 20 years. He has a track record of this everywhere he goes. Pointing to that track record isn’t excuse making. It’s using common sense instead of Pearl clutching over willful ignorance. That isn’t to say he is going to beat up on Alabama and LSU and Auburn defenses every year, but the teams mentioned in previous posts aren’t going to shut down Leach’s offenses going forward. That type defensive talent never has and never will on any sort of consistent basis once Leach has been established at a program.

[BrunswickDawg]

The improvement was undeniable. I was hoping it would continue in recruiting.

I consider maintaining the 25-30 ranking range with a weak in-state crop as an improvement. Especially in light of the fact that all of the recruiting is being done virtually.

[Westdawg]

It is ok to have legit concerns about Leach after year 1 both in recruiting and on the field. What is amazing is that they are both polar opposites, the football team on the field closed fairly strong and the recruiting class has fizzled towards the end. Sure we have done well in the portal, but I'm not counting on portal players yet - so far its a mixed bag for almost every program.

Bottom line is that we apparently are about to miss out on a DB to AU that we could have easily signed in December if we had offered, now I have no idea who we are going to sign, but it is a miss.

One of our OL signees has already left campus, we lost out on a key LB commit, same with a stud WR on signing day. Its simply been a tough finish. Any rational fan would say that regardless of their stance on Leach.

I have my concern about his offense working, I sure hope I'm wrong and we post a strong season because I think we are going to miss some of those war daddies up front that are graduating on the DL.

What OL signee has already left campus????

[FISHDAWG]

What OL signee has already left campus????

Redshirt Freshman Brandon Cunningham has just entered the portal
Edit ... glossed over the word Signee, so I'm not sure who he's talking about

[HancockCountyDog]

What OL signee has already left campus????

Insiders have been posting that Cavazous has left campus, hopefully he comes back, but people that know a lot more than me have posted that.

[HancockCountyDog]

I consider maintaining the 25-30 ranking range with a weak in-state crop as an improvement. Especially in light of the fact that all of the recruiting is being done virtually.

The ranking is fine, I?m just talking about how we closed. We?ve lost a few guys and missed out on a few more, he?ll Rosebowl is even critical of the staff at the way things have gone on the recruiting front the last few months.

[Hambone]

Gabe Cavasous has left the team. Early enrollee. Home sick

[BrunswickDawg]

The ranking is fine, I?m just talking about how we closed. We?ve lost a few guys and missed out on a few more, he?ll Rosebowl is even critical of the staff at the way things have gone on the recruiting front the last few months.

Thing is, you just described every recruiting season. We are going to range somewhere between 18 and 35. We missed a few. We had Flipmas. Lost a few. Signed some surprises (good and bad). There is going to be 1, maybe 2 glaring positions of need that we struck out on. The only difference from one season to the next is when there happens to be a 5* Mississippi kid and we land him. That's it. Rinse, lather, repeat. It's been that way since about 2008. At least because of COVID none of our coaches could fall asleep on a recruits couch.

[StarkVegasSteve]

FWIW to me it sounds like our best hope to get Cavazos back is just stay on him and hope he rejoins the team June 1 when all the other freshman show up. If he's worth it to you then you wait it out, but if he's not you need to get into the portal right after Spring Ball and see what's out there. We really need to hit on all the OL's we have coming in

[maroonmania]

How would we have done against those teams in November/December?

And what "doesn't hold water"? Leach has a very clear track record.

This guy isn't Croom.

The first half to first two-thirds of this football season was nothing more than a glorified spring session. I say that because Leach had to do a lot of things in Fall camp and during the season that would have normally been taken care of in the first Spring. I think anyone basing what Leach will ultimately do at MSU by this past season's results are very shortsighted. Leach installed a totally new offense, that is based on precision and repetition, and had to go out and do it without any real preparation with the team. And he had to do that at a school who has no history much of passing offense success. And when everything was said and done, was left with a true FR QB running the show with all true FR RBs and a bunch of young WRs. This is all on top of the fact that historically Leach has struggled his first year at a new school. Folks should really hold off any judgements, good or bad, until we see what we get this Fall.

And I will just add on the recruiting front, that if we had signed the DB that we are now looking at trying to sign that Auburn is also on from Magee back in December, then the board would have melted down talking about what a reach it was. And I say that based on the reaction we got here when we went ahead and signed Hampton from Amory.