11/30/96 - Miss State is recruiting at least three players from a junior college in Idaho. I believe they all are lineman. Don't have any more info about them at this time. I do know they visited during the BAMA game and that Jackie and Joe Lee personally had lunch with them. I have also heard that these same players are going to be visiting Ole Miss this weekend.
11/30/96 - I went to the South Panola - Starkville game Friday night. South Panola won 32-7. Kevin Jones had 177 yards on 33 carries. He is a great runner, but considering his size, 5-7 174, I wonder if he is big enough for the SEC. So. Panola does have some other players that are big time, not the least of which is junior LB Eddie Strong, 6-3 212. This guy is a major talent. He will have all of the SEC teams after his services next year. Prior to the Starkville game, he had 140 tackles in 13 games. He was all over the field tonight. He has great speed, 4.6 ?, to go with his great size. Other players of note were Stacy Ford, 6-5 275 OC, and Kevin Farmer, 5-10 174 FS. Farmer made some great one-on-one tackles. One he made on Freddie Milons was very good, considering how fast and quick Freddie is. Freddie Milons, Starkville QB, is also a major talent; although, not as a QB. RB or WR is where he should play in college. Extremely quick and very difficult to tackle one on one. Tanny Flowers, Starkville RB, was Ok, just not a Dandy Dozen type in my opinion.
11/30/96 - Here's some info about three players from Mississippi. There are two players from Olive Branch that Miss State is recruiting. The first one, Jeremy Toungett, 6-6 315 OL, is leaning to Miss State. Ole Miss, Auburn and Arkansas are still in contact with him. Brandon Taylor, 6-5 262 OL, visited Miss State during the Bama weekend. He visited Tenn last weekend. He is very interested in the Vols. He is a National Honor Society President. Fully qualified with a 3.8 GPA and 28 ACT. Jeremy is also qualified. A player from Canton Academy, who some feel is being overlooked by most of the in-state schools, is Reed Stringer, 6-5 235 TE/DE. He is fully qualified with a 3.8 GPA and 27 ACT. He is being recruited by Rice, USM and Samford, with Rice leading at this moment. Some people think of Kent Hull, when they see this guy.
11/29/96 - A player MSU is recruiting, Wayne Madkin, QB from Johnson High School in Huntsville, Alabama, has thrown for 1,917 yards and 16 TDs. Here's what John Ferry of the Huntsville Times says about Madkin - "Madkin, of course, is a college prospect, and he has qualified by scoring a 17 on the ACT test to go with a 2.7 grade point average. Schools interested in his services include Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Louisville, Georgia and Notre Dame."
11/28/96 - A name you may want to remember for next year is Dicenzo Miller, junior RB for Weir. In Weir's 32-6 win over Falkner, he carried the ball 31 times for 172 yards and 2 TDs and caught a 12-yard scoring pass. Source: The Clarion-Ledger
11/28/96 - In South Panola's 60-26 victory Greenwood, Kevin Jones, a player MSU is recruiting, carried the ball 25 times for 385 yards and scored 46 points, with 6 TDs (1, 5, 11, 31, 37, 85 yards) and five 2-point conversion runs. Source: The Clarion-Ledger
11/28/96 - According to a reliable source, Kendall Simmons, the great lineman from Ripley, MS, visited Alabama recently, and had a great visit. He is also being heavily recruited by Auburn and Tennessee, with Mississippi State still in the picture. A few of his close friends attend MSU, so that could help us. There have been some concerns about whether he will qualify, but all indications are he will. If he doesn't, he will probably go the JC route.
11/25/96 - The Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges just released it's All-State Football Team and MSU commitment, Randy Thomas, 6-4 285 OG from Co-Lin CC, was on the South Divison 1st team. Kevin Prentiss, WR from Hinds CC, was also a 1st team selection, as well as the most valuable offensive back. MSU's very own Tom Goode, of East MS CC, shared Coach of the Year honors with East Central's Willie Coates.
11/25/96 - Here's what Kevin Prentiss' coach, Gene Murphy of Hinds CC, said about him. "Kevin Prentiss will go down in history as one of our best all-time receivers." (I sure hope MSU is in the lead for this guy. All I have heard are great things about him - Gene.) Source: The Clarion-Ledger
11/25/96 - Hinds CC defeated Holmes CC, 27-22, for the Mississippi State CC championship. Hinds now goes on to play in a bowl. Will update you as to what bowl when I find out. Source: The Clarion-Ledger
11/25/96 - A couple of names to remember, just in case MSU is recruiting them and I think we are:
11/24/96 - According to The Meridian Star, Brian Cole, a player MSU is recruiting, says he wants to go to Florida, but he has another option, Major League Baseball. He says he has been told he could get drafted in the 1997 MLB summer draft.
11/22/96 - Pigskin Preps rates three Mississippians among the top 31 cornerbacks in the south: Kevin Farmer, #25, 5-10 180, 4.45, Batesville; Kenny Smith, #30, 5-8 160, 4.32, Gulfport; Demitrius Shirley, #31, 5-9 175, 4.5, New Hope (Columbus).
11/21/96 - Here are some leanings for MSU, according to Pigskin Preps
11/19/96 - Here's some leanings and commitments of note, according to Southeastern Recruiting Alliance
11/16/96 - Kevin Prentiss, of Hinds CC, is averaging 25.17 yards per catch on 37 receptions, also 7 TDs, according to JC Gridwire.
11/16/96 - Bwana Bembry, of Hinds CC, had 10 solo tackles and 11 assists in a game against Gulf Coast CC. In a game against Pearl River CC, he had 5 solos and 5 assists. Source: JC Gridwire.
11/10/96 - According to Kevin Henderson, of MISSISSIPPI HOOPS, Dalymus McAllister wants to play football and basketball in college and he is very close to committing to Miss State in football. Stay tune. This would be great news for Miss State recruiting.
11/08/96 - A player who up to this point I didn't believe had Miss State on his list is L. P. Spence. According to today's issue of The Clarion-Ledger, Miss State, Ole Miss, Auburn, LSU and Ohio State have shown interest in him. If he meets NCAA freshman eligibility requirements, he will become one of the most highly recruited players in Mississippi, primarily due to his size, 6-3 205, and speed (he was one of the state's top 200-meter sprinters last spring). L. P. says he wants to play defense in college, because he likes to hit folks.
11/08/96 - Zack Grady, a 6-4 220 LB from Louisville, Ms., is considering Ole Miss, USM, Auburn, LSU and Tenn. According to recruiters, his size and speed makes him an ideal prospect for defensive end or outside linebacker in college. Source" The Clarion-Ledger.
11/08/96 - Here's what Dulymus McAllister, a RB Miss State is recuiting, said about what he is looking for in a college. "I'm not really leaning to anybody yet. I want to go where they have a chance of winning a division championship and, somewhere along the line, a national championship." BTW, his cousin is Miss State's very own Michael Davis. Here's what Rufus Brown and his father, Harry, said in the same issue of The Clarion-Ledger. "They (recruiters) really try to make you say where you think he wants to go," Harry Sr. said. "I keep telling them he hasn't made up his mind, but they still beat around the bush and try to get some kind of clue?" Rufus? "Well, that list could change," he said. "By January, I could have 9 or 10 schools on it. After the season I'll talk about it with my brother." The list he was referring to includes Ole Miss, Alabama, Florida, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Tenn.
11/06/96 - According to The Tuscaloosa News, Auburn has five sophomores and three true freshmen in their two-deep defensive backfield. Look for them to have trouble recruiting any defensive backfield players this year. Things like this are what you have to watch for in recruiting.
11/05/96 - Here's some info I found in The Tuscaloosa News Monday. Thought it might be of interest to some of you. "In football, UA is expected to sign as many as four junior college players as it looks to fix holes left by two years of NCAA probation. Running back isn't a position where there appears to be an urgent need, but Alabama, like most of the rest of the country, is very interested in Mississippi's leading JC rusher, James Johnson, a 6-foot-2, 228-pound speedster. Johnson already has over 1,000 yards this season. Another thing that makes him appealing: he's a dean's list student who'll be eligible for December enrollment and participation in spring practice. And while most ot the national powers are interested, Alabama may have an edge because Johnson is a native of the Mobile County community of Eight Mile.
"UA is also interested in two of Johnson's EMCC teammates, including 250-pound tight end Bobby Collins, who prepped at Sumter County."
(Look for Miss State to be in the hunt for these players also - Gene.)
11/04/96 - Forrest Davis, a well known recruiting analyst, was on the Mississippi Sports Talk Show tonight. Here's a few of his observations. He didn't name specific players Miss State is recruiting, but he did say we were recruiting very heavily in Georgia. Also, some in Florida and Alabama. He believes the state colleges will have to fight off Alabama for the elite players in Mississippi, because they are recruiting very heavily in Mississippi. He also said a couple of the Meridian players are going to have a tough time making their grades. (Most of the time this means ACT score - Gene.) Ole Miss is in contact with a lot of good players this year; although, that doesn't mean they will sign them. He believes Kenny Smith, from Meridian, is the best overall player in the state of Mississippi, then in this order the players he named were, Terrence Metcalf, Dorsett Davis, Orlando Dantzler, Muskingum Barnes, Romaro Miller and Kevin Jones. He said there are no Rufus French's or Brian Darden's in Mississippi this year, but there are some very good players. A caller asked him about Romaro Miller and he said he is the best QB in the state and probably one of the top ten in the South. Rated him a 4, which means if he goes to a middle of the road program, he will start as a sophomore. He also got a call about Burney Veazy, a QB who committed to Ole Miss. He said he is a very good running QB, whom he rates as a 3+, which means he will start late in his sophomore year for a middle of the road team. He believes USM will continue to recruit as they have in the past, but UAB could affect them some, since they will recruit the same area. He said he did not have his players' list with him, so he couldn't get into specifics at this time and he also said it is too early to say who will go where. He did say his Forrest Davis Recruiting Annual will be on the newsstands by mid-December. It will cost $3.95. I've bought it before and I highly recommend it.
11/04/96 - According to the Southeastern Recruiting Alliance, three players from the East Mississippi CC program are being heavily recruited. FB James Johnson (6-2, 220) from Mobile, AL; TE Bobby Collins (6-5, 245) from York, AL; and WR Quincy Jackson (6-1, 180) from Brundidge, AL. BTW, the head coach at East Miss. is none other than Tom Goode, a fellow MSU alumnus
11/03/96 - Here are a couple of items about two players from the Mississippi High School ranks. L. P. Spence rushed for 443 yards, a state record, against Caledonia Friday night. Unbelievable! Also, Tyler Peterson, a QB from Louisville and a player Miss State is recruiting, scored on runs of 71 yards and 55 yards Friday night against Neshoba Central. I've noticed in The Commercial Dispatch that Tyler has scored quite a few times on long runs this year. Sounds like another John Bond to me.
11/03/96 - Here are a few players that Pigskin Preps says have Miss State in the lead: Dorsett Davis, DT from Cleveland; Shalando Jones, WR from Pontotoc and Kevin Jones, RB from South Panola. All three of these players are considered in the Top 12 in Mississippi by almost all recruiting anslysts. Other Top 12 players from Mississippi they mentioned and the teams that are leading for their services are: Terrence Metcalfe - Alabama; Orlando Dantzler - Alabama & Notre Dame; Kenny Smith - Florida; Rufus Brown - Tenn & Notre Dame; Jamaal Dinkins - Nebraska.
If you have any information, please contact me at swindoll@ebicom.net.