The in state recruiting problem

[Todd4State]

Here's why I think we have a lot of problems with in state players and what we can do about it.

1. We have ZERO media presence in state. Our best media guy is probably Brandon Walker. I'm not sure how far his reach is though. If you go to Louisiana LSU is hyped up by the media. Same thing with other states like Arkansas. Even worse though our Clarion-Ledger beat writer is not only not talking positively about MSU- he is writing slanderous articles about how Ole Miss has taken us over. That's an issue we need to take up with the Clarion-Ledger.

2. Mississippi has a poor ole me attitude from its citizens. There is very little state pride and you often here from the citizens "I'm leaving for __ whenever I first get the chance."

So because MSU has zero media presence it is up to MSU to create it's own pride and image. What MSU needs to do for the next year:

1. Threaten to pull the Clarion-Ledger's press credentials. And then follow through and pull them if our beat writer writes another slanderous article.

2. Have the MSU video department do short interviews with former MSU players from Mississippi that made it to the NFL and talk about why going to MSU was a good decision for them and talk about their favorite memories of playing at MSU. So, Anthony Dixon, Eric Moulds, Gabe Jackson, Elgton Jenkins, Chris Jones, Fletcher Cox, Jeffrey Simmons, KJ Wright, Benardrick McKinney, Johnathan Abrams- he could talk about why he came back to MSU after going to Georgia, and Jonthan Banks. Fans could tweet the videos to recruits. You could also have current players like Jaden Walley, Emmanuel Forbes, and etc. talk about their decision to go to MSU.

[parabrave]

There is no Media presence on the coast. No Radio at all. No coaches show or programs. On Sunday night on 3 New Orleans station they have the LSU Coaches Show. There used to be the Jackie Sherrill Show on WLOX. Hell even on Fox SE there are all of the SEC coaches shoes except us. Kids do watch those BTW.

[Leeshouldveflanked]

If we had an AD that had a clue on marketing and promotion of MSU Athletics, that would be a start.

[bulldawg28]

That's some good stuff @Todd. The media component would definitely make a difference.

[MetEdDawg]

Here's my question. Why is the media situation that bad? I live in Metro Bham. We obviously get plenty of coverage for Alabama and Auburn. I think it's got an Alabama lean/bias, but Auburn gets plenty of coverage and push here. UAB does as well.

Why does MSU either not do anything about it or why is it allowed to continue like it is? What can MSU or the state do to fix it to get ourselves in better position, especially as you get closer to the coast?

[BrunswickDawg]

I feel like I've been reading this post 2-3 times a year since Gene's page was started.

[maroonmania]

I continue to believe there remains a VERY heavy OM influence at the Clarion Ledger. Seems most articles written, whether about OM or MSU, are written with OM readers in mind. Why else would an MSU beat writer want to write articles bashing the product he has been assigned to cover? Especially when you are dealing with a first year coach at the program that is going through a transition phase in a difficult year that had no Spring. Not a coach that is in danger of losing his job. Well, it only makes sense if your target audience is primarily OM fans that eat up anything negative about MSU. And if you notice, and its been a recurring pattern for the past 40 years or more, that anytime we get a beat writer that is positive towards MSU or that MSU fans actually like, they either quickly leave the CL or are reassigned to a different beat. Positive MSU beat writers are just not really tolerated at that paper for very long. However a guy like Horka could be there for quite a while.

[ShotgunDawg]

Todd,

I've been saying this forever while being made fun of and chastised for that opinion

[Mjoelner34]

The in-state media problem isn't just with the Clarion Ledger. The day after signing day I was listening to whatever the old Head to Head show is called now and during a commercial break they did a Mississippi news update. During the update, Ole Miss' recruiting class was fellated along with USM's. MSU wasn't mentioned.

[vv83]

If we had an AD that had a clue on marketing and promotion of MSU Athletics, that would be a start.

Yep. Cohen defenders will come to his rescue only addressing circumstances behind coaching hires. There?s so much more to bring an AD.

[msstate7]

I thought we did very well in-state recruiting the last decade or so.

[bluelightstar]

Our marketing was much better under Stricklin. All we have really seen from the AD under Cohen was that ?MOOR? BS when Joe was hired and the bandwagon.

Also, FTR, opinion can?t be slanderous...

[MedDawg]

The CL is most definitely still biased against State and for OM. However, no one reads the paper CL anymore, especially high schoolers. The CL is on twitter, and Mississippi recruits may pay attention to CL twitter because they are in-state.

I think State has a really good presence on twitter. We have popular former players and current coaches pumping up MSU. Don't know about Instagram.

State doesn't have many fans tweeting recruits, and that's good. I used to think OM gained an advantage with so many fans tweeting recruits, but now I see that goes along with the city of Oxford--the town and fans are only attractive when OM is paying recruits.

A big problem with Mississippi recruits is locals cheering for bigger programs. Too many in South Mississippi root for LSU, and Baton Rouge is actually closer than Starkville. Same for East MS along the border and Meridian and Bama. May not be closer than Starkville, but there are plenty of locals rooting for Bama. The recruits grow up around that.

And when OM and State fans get mad when a Mississippi recruit picks the other in-state school, some kids just want to avoid that and just go out of state.

The worst part of Mississippi locals cheering for Bama and LSU is they are not from Alabama or Louisiana. They are Mississippians who attended neither. They just want to root for a winner.

[Dawgology]

The CL is most definitely still biased against State and for OM. However, no one reads the paper CL anymore, especially high schoolers. The CL is on twitter, and Mississippi recruits may pay attention to CL twitter because they are in-state.

I think State has a really good presence on twitter. We have popular former players and current coaches pumping up MSU. Don't know about Instagram.

State doesn't have many fans tweeting recruits, and that's good. I used to think OM gained an advantage with so many fans tweeting recruits, but now I see that goes along with the city of Oxford--the town and fans are only attractive when OM is paying recruits.

A big problem with Mississippi recruits is locals cheering for bigger programs. Too many in South Mississippi root for LSU, and Baton Rouge is actually closer than Starkville. Same for East MS along the border and Meridian and Bama. May not be closer than Starkville, but there are plenty of locals rooting for Bama. The recruits grow up around that.

And when OM and State fans get mad when a Mississippi recruit picks the other in-state school, some kids just want to avoid that and just go out of state.

The worst part of Mississippi locals cheering for Bama and LSU is they are not from Alabama or Louisiana. They are Mississippians who attended neither. They just want to root for a winner.

I don’t tweet recruits...I’m not even really on Twitter. I have an account just to follow some news outlets and some of my favorite artists but I can say this. Tweeting positive stuff at or to a recruit for your school is a definite advantage. The elite players who have had that their entire life eat that stuff up and it absolutely does impact their school decision.

[HoopsDawg]

Our recruiting problem is that we neeed a coaching staff, president, AD, network and compliance department all on the same page. It's a group effort. The stakes are high. The money is outrageous. You are either all in or you are going to tread water.

[PendingTransaction]

It would help to have a "network" that provides career opportunities/assistance.

[parabrave]

It would help to have a "network" that provides career opportunities/assistance.

Esp for the family members. "Uncles" need some hepping

[R2Dawg]

Here's why I think we have a lot of problems with in state players and what we can do about it.

1. We have ZERO media presence in state. Our best media guy is probably Brandon Walker. I'm not sure how far his reach is though. If you go to Louisiana LSU is hyped up by the media. Same thing with other states like Arkansas. Even worse though our Clarion-Ledger beat writer is not only not talking positively about MSU- he is writing slanderous articles about how Ole Miss has taken us over. That's an issue we need to take up with the Clarion-Ledger.

2. Mississippi has a poor ole me attitude from its citizens. There is very little state pride and you often here from the citizens "I'm leaving for __ whenever I first get the chance."

So because MSU has zero media presence it is up to MSU to create it's own pride and image. What MSU needs to do for the next year:

1. Threaten to pull the Clarion-Ledger's press credentials. And then follow through and pull them if our beat writer writes another slanderous article.

2. Have the MSU video department do short interviews with former MSU players from Mississippi that made it to the NFL and talk about why going to MSU was a good decision for them and talk about their favorite memories of playing at MSU. So, Anthony Dixon, Eric Moulds, Gabe Jackson, Elgton Jenkins, Chris Jones, Fletcher Cox, Jeffrey Simmons, KJ Wright, Benardrick McKinney, Johnathan Abrams- he could talk about why he came back to MSU after going to Georgia, and Jonthan Banks. Fans could tweet the videos to recruits. You could also have current players like Jaden Walley, Emmanuel Forbes, and etc. talk about their decision to go to MSU.

I agree with this. I think the age of social media is doing some good damage control though. Before social media outlets we were handicapped. We can do more though as you suggest. We basically have to take it to the press ourself - The Trump model, since we get so little positive press from the press.

I don't understand the no pride in where I am from stuff. I grew up with some of it. I live in Alabama and they have a little bit of it but not like Miss. For some reason everyone thinks they must move to a big city somewhere to make it. People may be redefine what is making it though after 2020. The good ole small towns in MS, AL, TN and elsewhere may start to look even better. Good paying jobs is the issue and driver though. Gotta have some.

[R2Dawg]

The CL is most definitely still biased against State and for OM. However, no one reads the paper CL anymore, especially high schoolers. The CL is on twitter, and Mississippi recruits may pay attention to CL twitter because they are in-state.

I think State has a really good presence on twitter. We have popular former players and current coaches pumping up MSU. Don't know about Instagram.

State doesn't have many fans tweeting recruits, and that's good. I used to think OM gained an advantage with so many fans tweeting recruits, but now I see that goes along with the city of Oxford--the town and fans are only attractive when OM is paying recruits.

A big problem with Mississippi recruits is locals cheering for bigger programs. Too many in South Mississippi root for LSU, and Baton Rouge is actually closer than Starkville. Same for East MS along the border and Meridian and Bama. May not be closer than Starkville, but there are plenty of locals rooting for Bama. The recruits grow up around that.

And when OM and State fans get mad when a Mississippi recruit picks the other in-state school, some kids just want to avoid that and just go out of state.

The worst part of Mississippi locals cheering for Bama and LSU is they are not from Alabama or Louisiana. They are Mississippians who attended neither. They just want to root for a winner.

Yep, I live in Bama and Bama attracts all kinds of bandwagon fans. I know Columbus has a ton. Everybody wants to be associated with a winner. The true maroon folks went to MSU or had family go there and have pride in their school.

My kids grew up in Alabama and now I have a daughter in school at MSU. I even converted my wife a long time Bamer to a Dawg. I thought that was impossible but it happened.

In some parts of the state of Alabama there are very large groups of MSU alumni and fans. I would say where I live, MSU is a close third behind Auburn. Just at lunch today, I saw two other families in a fast food joint with MSU attire on - no Auburn or Bama. MSU has made some inroads. The 2014 and Dak run along with the womens bball and baseball has exploded the MSU brand nationally. It has been incredible watching it while living in another state.

Bama has about 75% of state it seems like.

[Todd4State]

If we had an AD that had a clue on marketing and promotion of MSU Athletics, that would be a start.

I agree. That is a big limitation that Cohen has and he needs to realize it is a limitation because I think that is a talent that individuals have or don't have. I think the solution there might be to hire an outside marketing firm to maybe at least consult and make improvements there.

Here's my question. Why is the media situation that bad? I live in Metro Bham. We obviously get plenty of coverage for Alabama and Auburn. I think it's got an Alabama lean/bias, but Auburn gets plenty of coverage and push here. UAB does as well.

Why does MSU either not do anything about it or why is it allowed to continue like it is? What can MSU or the state do to fix it to get ourselves in better position, especially as you get closer to the coast?

I think it goes back to the historical Ole Miss bias going back to at least the 50's when Ole Miss legitimately competed for National Titles. Times have changed in Mississippi- but the media has not. MSU should stand up for itself more. The media needs MSU a lot more than MSU needs the media- especially with schools having their own means to promote on social media platforms.

The in-state media problem isn't just with the Clarion Ledger. The day after signing day I was listening to whatever the old Head to Head show is called now and during a commercial break they did a Mississippi news update. During the update, Ole Miss' recruiting class was fellated along with USM's. MSU wasn't mentioned.

Correct.

I thought we did very well in-state recruiting the last decade or so.

We haven't done poorly. But we haven't done as well as we could and there is room for improvement. 1-2 more four star players a year would make a significant difference in our talent level.

Our marketing was much better under Stricklin. All we have really seen from the AD under Cohen was that ?MOOR? BS when Joe was hired and the bandwagon.

Also, FTR, opinion can?t be slanderous...

I wish we could clone Cohen and Stricklin- then we would have a decent AD. I called it slanderous because the C-L opinion wasn't true and is obviously not true.

Our recruiting problem is that we neeed a coaching staff, president, AD, network and compliance department all on the same page. It's a group effort. The stakes are high. The money is outrageous. You are either all in or you are going to tread water.

I agree that MSU needs to invest more into football recruiting. Not talking about cheating- just in general. I feel like we basically count on Tony Hughes and the recruiting office to do all the heavy lifting and that's too much to bear on a small group. Compliance needs to be revamped/re-organized as has been talked about for awhile. I think that severely limits what any potential network could do. I mean- could you imagine what Ole Miss recruiting would look like if they self reported everything wrong that they did? I think that once that changes then MSU can really get organized. And I think it's important that MSU does that not to cheat to cheat for recruiting rankings but more as a self defense against other teams buying out our recruits from under us. The only realistic way to counter that is to match what other schools offer in the form of extra benefits.

It would help to have a "network" that provides career opportunities/assistance.

Agree. And see above.