In Mississippi, keeping kids home is key

More:OleMiss|Miss.St.|SouthernMiss.

MississippiStatecoachDanMullenknowsallaboutthelonglistofMississippihighschoolplayerswhoachievedNFLgreatness.HealsoisalltoocognizantofthefactthatnearlyallofthemplayedcollegefootballsomewhereotherthanMississippiState.

MullenhasspentmuchofhistenureinStarkvillemakingsurethenextgreatMississippi-bredstardoesn'tleavethestateforcollege.

"We'vegottodoagreatjobofevaluatingthemsowedon'tmissonJerryRice,"Mullensaid."Wedon'tmissonBrettFavreorSteveMcNair.Wedon'tmissonWalterPayton,whichhasallhappenedinthepast.ThoseareguysfromMississippiwhohavegoneontohavehugecareers.I'dlovetogointoourfootballhalloffameandseeallthosenamesasformerplayershere."

Mullen'smissionisevidentfromalookattheBulldogs'recentsigningclasses,thoughMississippiState'sfondnessforin-staterecruitsactuallyprecededhisarrivalin2009.

Morethantwo-thirdsoftheplayerstosignwithMississippiStateoveritslastfiverecruitingclassescamefromthestateofMississippi.Ifyoudon'tcountschoolsfromthetalent-ladenstatesofCalifornia,FloridaandTexas,onlyVirginiaTechhassignedahigherpercentageofin-staterecruitsthanMississippiStateoverthelastfiveyears.Andthat'sonlyifyouincludeD.C.playersasin-stateprospectsforVirginiaTech.

Forcomparison'ssake,Mississippiproductsmadeup42.4percentofSouthernMisssigneesandjust31.4percentofOleMissrecruitsoverthesametimeframe.

Thatdiscrepancyisn'tlostonMadison(Miss.)CentralHigh'sBobbyHall,whohascoachedMississippihighschoolsandjuniorcollegesfor32years.HallbelievesMississippiState'semphasisonin-stateplayers-andOleMiss'lackthereof-explainswhytheBulldogshavewonthelastthreeEggBowlsbetweenthetwoteams.

MississippiStatebeatOleMiss31-3lastseasonwhilestartingeightplayersonoffenseandeightmoreondefensefromthestateofMississippi.OleMissstartedthreehome-stateplayersonoffenseandfourondefenseforthatgame.

"ThestaffthatwasatOleMissdidnotunderstandtheimportanceofsigningMississippikids,"Hallsaid."Inturn,thestaffatMississippiStatedoes.That'sonereasonwhyMississippiStateisbeatingOleMissinthatgamerightnow,becausethey'replayingthatgamewithMississippikids.

"Youcan'ttellme-whentheyplaythatState-OleMissgame-thatakidfromGeorgia,Florida,AlabamaorTexascaresasmuchaboutthatgameasakidfromMississippidoes.I'mjustnotgoingtobuythat.Look,we'resmall-townAmerica,OK?Thesekidswhogrowuphere,whentheygotothebarbershopandtheygodowntowntothedrugstoreandtheyheartalkaboutMississippiState-OleMissandtheyhearthatalltheirlives,itmatterstothem.''

Thereclearlyisplentyoftalenttobefoundinthisstate.Mississippihad33playersonNFLrostersatthestartofthe2011season.LouisianawastheonlystatewithahighernumberofNFLplayerspercapita.

"It'sinthatsecondtier,"Rivals.comnationalrecruitinganalystMikeFarrellsaid."Florida,TexasandCaliforniaarethefirsttier.AndthenthesecondtierisGeorgia,Louisiana,OhioandMississippiwouldbeinthatgroup.It'sagoodstate.Thebiggestissuehasalwaysbeenacademics.There'sbeenalotofkidswhohavetroublequalifyingormightnotgettheacademicsthatalotofschoolswantfromarecruit."

Thewidegapinin-stateplayersbetweenMississippiStateandOleMissdatestotheearlyyearsofformerRebelscoachHoustonNutt'sregime.OleMisssignedjustsixplayerseachfromthestateofMississippiin2008and2009,whereasMississippiStatehasaddedatleast16in-stateplayerseachofthelastfiveyears.

Nuttfocusedmoreonin-statetalentlaterinhistenure.OleMisssignedeachofthestate'stopfiveprospectsin2011,includingfive-starlinebackerC.J.JohnsonofPhiladelphiaHigh,Rivals100receiverNickolasBrassellofBatesvilleSouthPanolaandfour-starreceiverDonteMoncriefofRaleighHigh.MoncriefandBrassellwereOleMiss'twoleadingreceiversastruefreshmenlastseason,whileJohnson'sfourtacklesforlosstiedhimforfifthplaceontheteam.

OleMissalsosignedthestate'stop2012prospectandthenation'sNo.51overallrecruitlastmonthinAberdeenHighdefensiveendChanningWard,whocommittedtotheRebelsafterNuttwasfiredandreplacedbyformerArkansasStatecoachHughFreeze.

"Ourgoalistowinthestate,noquestionaboutthat,"saidMauriceHarris,OleMiss'tightendscoachandrecruitingcoordinatorforoffense."Fromarecruitingstandpoint,there'salwaysbeentalentinthestateofMississippi.There'stalentthisyear.Andourgoal'sdefinitelytowinthestate."

Mississippihighschoolcoachesexpectevenmorecompetitionforthestate'stoptalentnowthatOleMissandSouthernMississippihavemadecoachingchanges.ThenewcoachesatbothschoolshaveMississippiroots.

FreezeisaMississippinativewhoservedasOleMiss'recruitingcoordinatorin2006and2007.SouthernMississippi'sEllisJohnson,whotookovertheprogramafterLarryFedoraleftforNorthCarolina,previouslyworkedasadefensivecoordinatoratSouthernMissandMississippiState.

"CoachFedoraandthemwereagreatstaff,butIthinkthisstaffhereprobablyknowstheareaalittlebetterandmaybeknowsMississippialittlebetter,"OakGroveHighcoachNevilleBarrsaid."Ithinkthey'lldoagreatjobinSouthernMissandthroughoutMississippi....IthinkOleMissknowswhatthey'vegottodotoo.There'salotoftalentinMississippi,andIthinkOleMisswillrecruitithardtoo.Ithinkit'sgoingtopickup,withallthreeschoolsreallyrecruitinghardforMississippiathletes."

HallsaidthechangeinapproachatOleMissisapparent.

"It'sdonea180,"Hallsaid."Youcanalreadysee.It'sgoingtobeonnowbetweenMullenandHughFreeze."

Mississippi'sthreeRivals250prospectsfor2013-SouthPanolasafetyAntonioConner(No.38),RosedaleWestBolivarrunningbackKailoMoore(No.74)andSouthPanolaoffensivetackleDeonMix(No.121)remainuncommitted.MooredecommittedfromOleMissafterNutt'sfiringbutreportedlycontinuestofavortheRebels.

"Ijustwanttogettoknowthecoachesmore,gettoknowtheplayersontheteam,seewhattheyexpectfrommein2013,"MooretoldRebelGrove.comlastmonth."IthinkI'mgoingtojustgothroughtheprocess,butifIgettoknowthesecoachesalittlemorelikeIknowthecoachesfromthepreviousyear,it'llbeanearlycommitmentthen."

SimplegeographycouldpreventOleMissfromeverhavingquiteasmanyMississippiplayersasMississippiState.KeepinmindthatOleMiss'campusisjusta90-minutedrivefromMemphis,Tenn.FreezepreviouslyworkedatMemphis(Tenn.)BriarcrestChristian,wherehecoachedformerOleMissstarsMichaelOherandGregHardy.

OleMissnaturallywillpursueMemphisprospectsoftentocapitalizeonitsproximitytothattalent-richarea.MississippiState'scampusisaboutathree-hourdrivefromMemphis.

"There'snoquestionaboutthat,"Harrissaid."WedoconsiderMemphisanin-statesourceforus."

ThekeytothiscompetitioniswhetherthesenewstaffsatOleMissandSouthernMisscanmatchtheevaluationskillsofMullen'screw.

MullenbelievesthatMississippiisanunusualstateinthatthetalentisspreadacrossmanyschools.

Thereareeliteprogramsthatproduceeliteplayers.SouthPanolatoppedthefinalRivalsHighnationalpollin2010andhastwoofthestate'sthreeRivals250prospectsfor2013.ButMississippigenerallydoesn'thaveasmanyhighschooltransfersasothertalent-ladenstates,whichmeansplentyoftalentedprospectscanbefoundinsmallerprograms.

ClickHeretoviewthisLink."Theonethingthat'sprettyuniquehereisinalotofstates,therearegreatplayersbutalotofthemgototheprimoschools,whereyouknowthisschoolisalwaysgoingtohaveaplayer,"Mullensaid."That'sthetypeofmentalityyoucantakeinotherstates.Orkidswillmovetocertainareasjusttogotoaschool,sotheycanplayatthisbig-nameschool.It'sreallynotthatwayhere.Wehaveplayersfrom1Aschools,2A,3A,4A,5A,6Aandtheacademies.Wehaveplayersfromeverydifferentschoolclassificationonourteam."

MullencitedMississippiStatecornerbackJohnthanBanksasanexample.BankssignedwithMississippiStateafterplayingbaseball,footballandbasketballatMabenEastWebster,whichhasabout400studentsfromgradesseventhrough12.TheschoolwassmallenoughthatBanksplayedvarsityfootballasaneighth-grader.

"He'sgoingtobeafour-yearstarterforus,"Mullensaid."They'reatiny1Aschool.Youdon'tfindthataroundthecountry.Usuallythegoodplayersaren'tstayingintheirlittlesmallschoolsintheirhometowns.Theygotoahigh-profileschool.HereinMississippi,kidsstayintheirhometown."

Moreandmoreoften,they'realsostayingintheirhomestateforcollege.

SteveMegargeeisanationalwriterforRivals.com.Hecanbereachedatsmegargee@rivals.com,andyoucanclickheretofollowhimonTwitter.

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