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Thread: Inside recruiting in Mississippi

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    Senior Member Big4Dawg's Avatar
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    Inside recruiting in Mississippi

    https://theathletic.com/2958569/2021...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.
    Last edited by Big4Dawg; 11-18-2021 at 02:57 PM.

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    Thanks for posting.

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    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Big4Dawg View Post
    https://theathletic.com/2958569/2021...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.

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    Senior Member BrunswickDawg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt3467 View Post
    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.
    "After dealing with Ole Miss for over a year," he said, "I've learned to expect their leadership to do and say things that the leadership at other Division I schools would never consider doing and to justify their actions by reminding themselves that "We're Ole Miss.""
    - Tom Mars, Esq. 4.9.18

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    Completely disagree. Relationships are everything in business and especially recruiting

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    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BrunswickDawg View Post
    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.

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    Senior Member BeardoMSU's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Walkerhill View Post
    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.

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    Senior Member BeardoMSU's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by calidawg View Post
    Completely disagree. Relationships are everything in business and especially recruiting
    This.

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    Senior Member BrunswickDawg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by calidawg View Post
    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.

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    Senior Member MetEdDawg's Avatar
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    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.

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

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    Quote Originally Posted by speedy1972 View Post
    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sack07 View Post

    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

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    Do your damn job or somebody else will.

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    Senior Member Commercecomet24's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MetEdDawg View Post
    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.

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    Senior Member Coach34's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MetEdDawg View Post
    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.
    Walk like the King or walk like you don't care who the King is

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    Senior Member smootness's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Coach34 View Post
    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.

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    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.

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