Is the state of Mississippi THAT far behind Alabama in terms of overall talent?

[Hasu Dackds]

I think it's also the depth of talent. Look at how many guys we sign that played multiple positions in the state of MS. A ton of our guys and others that are recruited in state played multiple positions in high school. RB/LB, OL/DL, QB/WR/S. I mean that kind of stuff happens all over in MS.

That doesn't happen in Alabama. The guys getting looked at by colleges don't play multiple positions after 9th grade, at least not in 5A through 7A. They play one position. I teach at a 7A school and we don't have a single player that plays both ways and we will have a good amount of guys play D1 over the next 3 years. They play one position. These skill guys in MS that will eventually play WR or CB at college play QB in high school. Or they play QB/WR/CB in high school.

I'll also add that if you look at the QB play in Alabama, it's so much further ahead than MS. There's 2 guys from 2017 listed as pro style QBs, one of which committed to Arkansas and the other committed to Vandy. Then for 2018 you've got one already committed to Stanford, and one committed to Missouri. Then for 2019 you have 3 guys currently rated 87 or higher on 24/7, and eventually all 3 will be rated at 90 or above and go to either an SEC school or a top program. Also if you look at the Top 4 guys currently in Alabama for 2019, 3 of them are OL and they will all 3 stay in state and go to either Bama or Auburn.

MS doesn't have this, especially at the QB position. MS is not producing talent at the really important positions (QB, OL, WR) necessary for MSU to be competitive nationally or in the SEC. They just aren't. We've already seen us have to go out of state for our QBs, but right now we are not doing a good job of that at OL and WR. And what are our weakest positions? OL and WR. There are a couple every year that might be SEC caliber, but they don't always stay.

If you want to be enlightened in recruiting and the difference between AL and MS, go to 24/7 and go look at state rankings and position rankings and see how guys over the last 5-7 years have panned out in AL and in MS. It's very interesting.

I am not sure I agree with this. You are a coach and have hands-on experience, and probably know better than me. However I have never thought specialization, in any way, was good for development, until you have topped out in ability. For example, the best high school players (that are good enough to go to college) usually can do many more things and can be versatile, while the guys where high school is their peak, are better off specializing.

I do agree about the MS production part. MS produces tons of defensive talent and not nearly enough offensive line and skill and when they do, they are incredibly raw. Not always a bad thing, just have to know it going in.