| 1996 | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | January | February |
01) Florida State - 9.81
02) Florida - 9.75
03) Tennessee - 9.68
04) Texas - 9.67
05) Texas A&M - 9.67
06) Alabama - 9.63
07) Miami - 9.61
08) LSU & Clemson - 9.52
10) Auburn - 9.51
11) Georgia - 9.49
12) Georgia Tech - 9.48
13) South Carolina - 9.47
14) Miss State - 9.46
15) Arkansas - 9.37
16) Ole Miss - 9.36
17) Vanderbilt - 9.21
18) Kentucky - 9.20
Jeff Whitaker: "Just a word abut ratings, please. Mine and everyone else's.
"Don't take them too seriously. Rating human potential is enormously difficult. It is inexact at best and ridiculous at worst. So subjective is it that no two lists will likely be the same. And I would point out that not only do recruiting analysts disagree over prospects' abilities, so do coaches.
It's important to keep in mind, however, that college football coaches are the best judges of athletic potential you'll find. It is silly to suggest otherwise, although some in this business do on occasion. And with so many different opinions being proffered, remember, the only ones that count are those of the coaches of your favorite team."
03/27/97 - Here's a synopsis of what Pigskin Preps said about Miss State's recruiting efforts:
State signed seven lineman that are all 300 pounds plus except for two 285 pound runts. This is Jackie Sherrill football. He signed running back James Johnson......who was heralded as the top RB in Mississippi this year, Juco or high school. Ellis Wyms, who has lots of potential, will be very good. Floyd Womack is a player. Edward Smith is from a Juco in San Diego and Joe Lee Dunn loves this kid. He is very strong and fast to the ball. Dorsett Davis can play for any program in the country. Kevin Cooper and James Jones are two of the state's top prospects from two years ago. Some have compared Kevin Prentiss to a young David Palmer, but faster.
"This class is obviously very short in shear numbers but the talent within it is pretty good."
They do not rank the teams.
Sorry, this is all that I can post - Gene.
03/26/97 - Don't look now, but the Chapman apple tree has more fruit to pick. Not only is MSU baseball player Travis Chapman a great player, but he has a "little" brother by the name of Austin Chapman, who at the ripe young age of 15, has the potential to be an outstanding football player. According to my sources, he is a 6-1, 175 sophomore OLB (has potential to grow 3 more inches, at least), who can already bench press 225 lbs, squat 315 and power lift 200. He has also run a 19.0 in the 110 meter high hurdles, placing him 7th in his district. To top that off, he garnered 6th place in his district's 300 high hurdles. He made 5 tackles in Bishop Kenny HS's game against Boles HS, one of the most talented teams in the country. Keep this youngster in the back of your mind.
03/25/97 - Here's what Super Prep says about our recent recruiting site:
They ranked MSU 11th out of the 12 SEC teams. But they also said MSU added much-needed depth on both lines and wide receiver.
032597 - Coming in a couple of days, a synopsis of what Pigskin Preps said about our recruiting class. Here's a tidbit from it: "Some have compared Kevin Prentiss to a young David Palmer, but faster." Pigskin Preps is one of the best Southeast recruiting publications available. Check my Recruiting Links and Publications Page for info on how to order it. I recommend it highly.
03/23/97 - Here is an oustanding pre-spring football practice article by Danny P. Smith, Sports Writer for The Commercial Dispatch.
03/23/97 - I heard at the game Saturday, injured Miss State running back Keffer McGee may forgo his medical red-shirt for this past season so that he can go pro after next season. My question is why would he do that? If he has a good season next year, he can still go pro even if he does accept a medical hardship red-shirt. If he doesn't accept it, he will be a senior next year, and if he doesn't have a good year he is out of luck because he will not have another season to play.
03/22/97 - How good can junior college running back signee James Johnson be? According to people who have seen both he and University of Houston running back Antowain Smith play, they are at the same level talent-wise. James, if he remains healthy, can be a possible first round pick just as Antowain is projected to be this year. Look for great things from James this coming football season.
03/20/97 - This was found on ESPNet Wednesday: Eric Moulds has been charged with harassment of a woman he allegedly poked in the face numerous times and picked up by the neck. The woman was Mould's ex-girlfriend. She had told him the relationship was over. He apparently showed up at her apartment in Buffalo about 3:15 a.m. and pounded the door so fiercely that the wooden frame on the door began to give away. Moulds has been ordered to appear in Buffalo City Court.
From all that I have heard about Eric, this is very uncharacteristic of him. Sometimes we do things we wished we had never done and I'm sure this is one of those times for Eric.
03/19/97 - I was talking to a friend of mine Tuesday and he said he talked to one of Miss State's football players Monday. The player told him he expected next season's football team to be the best team at State since the Peach Bowl team. He was really confident that Miss State would be good this coming season.
03/19/97 - Here's a senior-to-be football player to watch for this coming season: Joe Rush of Philadelphia, Ms. He is a 6-3, 235 linebacker with 4.6 speed and is a 2-year letter winner. My contact tells me Joe is very active in various school clubs and is an excellent student, making almost all A's. From what I was told, this kid is just an outstanding person as well as a football player. He is also a cousin of Bulldog Derrick Rush.
03/19/97 - The Clarion-Ledger's Rusty Hampton wrote a great article about Matt Wyatt in the Tuesday's edition. Here are some highlights:
Lynn Amedee said "We go into the spring saying Matt's our starter, but the other two young guys, Rob Morgan and Robbie Stillwell, will get a look. All three will get a lot of reps."
Amedee also said high school signee Wayne Madkin will get a look in the fall.
Amedee believes Wyatt can become a legitimate starter duing the spring.
While Wyatt, who is 6-5 225, was sacked 12 times last year in his limited playing time, Amedee expects him to cut down on those because "that comes with playing the position more and what we're going to do offensively."
Wyatt is working on increasing his quickness by doing more agility drills.
If any of you know Rusty, tell him thanks for a fine article on Matt.
03/18/97 - I read an article about former Bulldog great Norman Duplain in The Sun Herald. Norman will be among the honorees for Saturday night's All-America Football Foundation's Banquet of Champions. He is one of 15 college players being recognized as an unsung hero at the banquet. What kind of athlete was Norman? While at MSU, he played football, track, baseball and basketball while at State. This guy sounds like a heck of an athlete. And he is still very active at the age of 67; representing Mississippi in the Senior Olympics in golf on May 21st.
03/13/97 - Another up and coming senior running back is Justin Griffith, of Magee, a good, strong player from a solid program that produces strong minded players. Justin has good cut back ability and is a very tough player. Although he isn't one of the elite players in the state, according to my source, he is a solid D-I prospect. However, my source did tell me that others are more impressed with Justin than he is.
03/12/97 - Senior-to-be running back Dicenzo Miller, of Weir, is rated the best player that has ever played at Weir, according to his coach Joe Gant. According to my sources, he is as good as everyone says he is. His team was so dominate in their division that it was sometimes difficult to evaluate him, but he definitely appears to be a big-time player. He is 5-11, 175 pounds.
03/11/97 - Here's some info on running back Robert Gillespie, of Hattiesburg:
He is lightning quick and an excellent receiver out of the backfield. He is also a true breakaway threat. Robert, who is 5-8, 180 pounds, ran for over 1,700 yards this past year. Look for him to be highly recruited this coming recruiting season.
03/10/97 - I have received various info on some of next season's up-and-coming seniors-to-be. What I am going to be doing this week is posting info on one senior-to-be each day. Today's senior-to-be is linebacker Eddie Strong of South Panola:
According to the info on him, he is as good as advertised. People who have seen him play believe that he will be better than former Alabama Dwayne Rudd. This guy is the real deal, according to my sources. He is 6-3, 210, with 4.6 speed.
Tomorrow, RB Robert Gillespie of Hattiesburg.
03/09/97 - Just wanted you guys to know that the Los Angeles Times reported both Derrick Taite and James Jones were suspended from our team. See why it is best if I report all the news, good and bad. I was emailed this info from one of my readers from Los Angeles. By reading the info on my page, he found out the correct information.
03/08/97 - Since you guys voted 3 to 1 that you want all of the news, good and bad, I have decided I will post all the news; not rumors, but news. As a compromise, I will not post any negative news until it is reported by the mainstream press. I realize some of you are going to be upset with this decision, but the thing you may not realize is there are a lot of Miss State fans who read my page that are from far away distances and aren't able to find out things such as the Taite and Jones arrest. Even though this incident reflects negatively toward Miss State, it is only fair ALL Miss State fans know what it going on with our programs.
With that said, here is some info about the Taite and Jones arrest. Source: The Clarion-Ledger
03/07/97 - I received some great info Thursday night about former Bulldog football star Paul Lacoste. According to my source, Paul did very well in the recent Pro Combine, finishing in the top 25 players. He ran a 4.52 forty, a shade behind former Alabama star Dwayne Rudd, who ran a 4.5. Look for Paul to make some pro team next year. Great things happen to those that work hard. Good luck Paul.
03/07/97 - On this page, I try to be as positive as I possibly can; however, I also want to report Miss State news. I knew about the recent Derrick Taite and James Jones incident the night before it was reported in the newspapers. My question is; do you guys want me to report that kind of news when it happens? Give me your thoughts on this issue, because what you think is very important to me.
03/05/97 - As most of you may already know, the top two seniors-to-be in Mississippi are linebacker Eddie Strong of South Panola and quarterback Freddie Milons of Starkville. There are many other outstanding players in Mississippi, but the one I believe may be the 3rd best player is Weir running back Dicenzo Miller,. According to a source of mine, Weir Coach Gant has said Dicenzo is the best player he has EVER coached and he has coached two players that have gone on to play pro ball. Look for Dicenzo to be one of the most heavily recruited players in Mississippi this upcoming recruiting season. If anyone saw him play last year, let me know what you thought about him.
03/02/97 - As promised, here is the Joe Lee Dunn article. The future looks bright, according to Joe Lee.
03/02/97 - At the LSU Last Ditch meet, Miss State's Eric Brown finished second in the long jump with a 24-1 jump. Eric is one great athlete my friends.
03/01/97 - I will be posting a little Joe Lee Dunn article tomorrow.
If you have any information, please contact me at swindoll@ebicom.net.