Inside recruiting in Mississippi

[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.