Private School Recruiting Ramping Up

[StarkVegasSteve]

By now I know everyone has seen the articles about JA. And look, private schools have always recruited to an extent, heck the Memphis schools have "camps" in the summer that are basically just ID camps. They'll see a kid is the real deal and he'll be at MUS, CBHS, Briarcrest, etc in the fall. It seems like Mississippi private schools are getting to that point. What's everyone's thoughts on it?

[Santiago]

I know of a kid in TX that moved to Chattanooga for football in their private schools.
But The Baylor School and McCallie are a different level also on private school and money.
Peyton Manning's son is enrolling as an 8th grader at Baylor School in Chattanooga. That baseball player, Ford, from UVA played there as well.
That area is some serious old money.

In MS, the private schools are probably getting there. Magnolia Heights is recruiting baseball players well it seems.

[Coach34]

I read on Facebook that JA recruited some Clinton and MRA players. Jackson schools are finally becoming like other states and raiding quality public school kids.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

It’s been happening on both sides for a while. Madison Central used to raid the private schools a ton. Chaz Ramsey, Jared Foster, etc. Public raids private, private raids public, public raids public, private raids private.

[Coach34]

It’s been happening on both sides for a while. Madison Central used to raid the private schools a ton. Chaz Ramsey, Jared Foster, etc. Public raids private, private raids public, public raids public, private raids private.

I may have missed it- but I havent seen Top 25 recruits in Mississippi leaving public schools for private schools. That will start happening now as it does here in Louisiana.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

I may have missed it- but I havent seen Top 25 recruits in Mississippi leaving public schools for private schools. That will start happening now as it does here in Louisiana.

Correct. They mostly use to leave private schools to go to public schools. Now the opposite is happening.

[Todd4State]

This is a house of cards until Jackson Prep decides to play along and take it to the next level. I'm not saying that Prep doesn't recruit- they do. But they've never gone all in like Hartfield has done the past couple of years and the way JA is now. And if they keep losing the State Championship to teams like Hartfield they will go all in eventually. Smartest thing they ever did was start to play public schools. Private schools haven't won all of them but they have shown that they can compete. That ended the image of the league being an inferior football league. And that has helped take the recruiting to the next level. When Prep does decide to go all in they're going to become the best program in the state probably. And certainly among the best. Similar to what John Curtis, which is a known football mill, was in New Orleans.

The big losers here are the small schools in Mississippi. Because the public schools with large booster clubs are going to try to protect their best players from getting poached while at the same time they will be recruiting as well. And the bigger ones like Madison Central, Northwest Rankin, Brandon, Tupelo, Olive Branch, DeSoto Central, Ocean Springs, Gulfport, and the schools in the college towns like Starkville, Oxford, Petal, and Oak Grove are going to be where the majority of the prospects are going to play at for their junior and senior years. Not sure of the status of Meridian but I have heard they have gone down some. You might see a few small school powers like Noxubee Co. and maybe someone like West Jones will emerge where there is growth in the community. We're already seeing players from places like Aberdeen and Nettleton move to Tupelo. You also might see guys like Kamario Taylor and Caleb Cunningham move to Starkville. Essentially smaller schools and schools with little support like Callaway are going to become AAA affiliates for Prep and JA and others.

I've said this before too- but MSU should take advantage of MSMS being on campus and start a football team there. That would have been a great place for Dan to "hide" players like Chris Jones. I'm sure MSU will take the high road and squander it or allow Ole Miss to use it to their advantage under our nose. LSU has a school basically on their campus and does this by the way.

[Todd4State]

Correct. They mostly use to leave private schools to go to public schools. Now the opposite is happening.

My guess is that this is mostly a Jackson thing. I wouldn't be completely shocked if Parklane and some of the big Delta schools are recruiting though.

[viverlibre]

I've said this before too- but MSU should take advantage of MSMS being on campus and start a football team there. That would have been a great place for Dan to "hide" players like Chris Jones. I'm sure MSU will take the high road and squander it or allow Ole Miss to use it to their advantage under our nose. LSU has a school basically on their campus and does this by the way.

100%

[MSdataguy]

100%

No. Not 100%. Why would you want to take an elite, nationally ranked public high school and turn it into a sports academy? Go look the social media for MSMS and see the kind of kids it attracts. We are finally doing something right with education, I mean like home run, knock it out of the park right. The last thing we need to do is mess up the formula for a highly successful school all in the name of sports.

I realize this will be an unpopular opinion on a sports site, so fire away. But as a parent, MSU grad, and longtime MSU fan even I can see the folly in any plan that promotes athletics at the expense of academics.

[NCMSTFAN]

I've lived in North Carolina for a while now and the private schools are where alot of the talent goes now in this state.

[parabrave]

Down here on the Coast most of the public schools are very good so they actually poach the catholic schools except for the Moss Point Areas.

[BravesDoggy]

I mean what is the big deal for MS private schools. Is all that recruiting worth bragging rights over 3 other schools? I don?t get the point when there are literally only 4 schools that compete for that championship. It?s laughable

[Coach34]

I mean what is the big deal for MS private schools. Is all that recruiting worth bragging rights over 3 other schools? I don?t get the point when there are literally only 4 schools that compete for that championship. It?s laughable

Well only 6 schools competed for the SEC championship for over 60 years

[Todd4State]

I mean what is the big deal for MS private schools. Is all that recruiting worth bragging rights over 3 other schools? I don?t get the point when there are literally only 4 schools that compete for that championship. It?s laughable

Sports are one of their biggest selling points and for their school to survive they have to be as attractive as possible. Winning championships and having players go on to become stars in college is really good advertising for them.

That's part of the reason why Woodland Hills Academy folded back in the day.

[Todd4State]

Down here on the Coast most of the public schools are very good so they actually poach the catholic schools except for the Moss Point Areas.

What Catholic schools are you referring to? The only one I am aware of on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is St. Stanislaus.

[parabrave]

What Catholic schools are you referring to? The only one I am aware of on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is St. Stanislaus.

St Patrick/ and Ressurection which is in Pascagoula.

[BravesDoggy]

Well only 6 schools competed for the SEC championship for over 60 years

There are 16 teams in the SEC. There are 30 something teams in 7A in MS. There are literally 4 teams that compete for a ?state championship? in MAIS.

[Todd4State]

There are 16 teams in the SEC. There are 30 something teams in 7A in MS. There are literally 4 teams that compete for a ?state championship? in MAIS.

But you won't have 30 something teams realistically competing for a state title. It will be the 8 or so that I outlined above. Like Murrah might be able to stay 7A but their odds of winning a state championship are approximately zero.

So statistically that actually makes MAIS more competitive than 7A football depending on how many teams MAIS decides to put into their highest division. Even if MAIS had 12-14 schools in their highest division it would still be roughly about the same.

[Todd4State]

St Patrick/ and Ressurection which is in Pascagoula.

Thanks! I didn't realize they were out there.