Some thoughts, observations and other stuff on this Wednesday morning.
1. This mid-year signing class is better and better the more I think about it. The first two additions, Christian Morris and CJ Hampton, began class this week, and Fahn Cooper, Kendrick Doss, Christian Russell, Marquis Haynes -- and potentially Jeremy Liggins -- will begin classes later this month and be available for spring practice. More and more prospects are enrolling in college in January, and it's imperative to get a few of those. The extra strength and conditioning and transition to the environment are key factors in getting D1 ready. Alabama had eight enroll early. Georgia had a ton last year. And it's not just numbers.
Morris, whether he gets a waiver or not, will help during his career. He was a top-10 national tackle last year, meaning the Rebels have three of the top 10 from 2013 on their roster -- joining Laremy Tunsil and Austin Golson. Cooper has previous Division I experience and should have that maturity level coaches desire in JUCO transfers. His film against Florida was vital in Hugh Freeze and Matt Luke placing him at the top of their wish list. Doss gets a spring in the system, and there's no pressure at all. See how it works. Get a first look. Russell has received high marks from those who know him. Work ethic. Leadership. Knowledgable. Sounds a lot like the guy he's hoping to replace. Haynes had a nice offer sheet out of high school and can be versatile in Dave Wommack's scheme. With Haynes on board, it's a blessing the Rebels didn't get Trevon Young. And then, potentially, Liggins. I don't know where he'll play. I just know he's athletic and can play somewhere.
Also, don't forget Anthony Alford and Fadol Brown. I'm pretty sure both those guys would have started this past season. They may as well be a part of this class for January. There are some intriguing spring storylines.
2. The Rivals Camp Series posted its 2014 schedule yesterday. Last year the closest two for Mississippi prospects where Birmingham and Atlanta. Those remain on the list, but there will also be camp stops at Hattiesburg High School and in New Orleans. That's great news for Mississippi prospects and should make our rankings even more accurate with Ole Miss targets. The regional stops and the Rivals100 Five Star Challenge allow analysts to see prospects in different settings against each other and compare.
The large majority of Under Armour All-America selections this past week participated in Rivals Camp Series stops earlier in the year. If you know a recruit, get them to sign up. It's beneficial for rankings and exposure, but it's also instructional. The camps feature coaches and NFL veterans who teach during the camp. It's also a big deal for Mississippi to get a stop along the circuit. There's a respect factor there. The 2015 cycle should be a good one in the Magnolia State.
3. Donte Moncrief opting to bypass his senior season got me thinking about what the buildup to the 2016 NFL Draft may be like in a couple years. Moncrief will get selected this season, and Bobby Massie bypassed his senior season to go pro in 2012, but the situations like that haven't been commonplace in Oxford. It's safe to assume four players could potentially leave early and be selected very high in 2016. Neal thinks it could be five if Derrick Jones continues to develop, but at this point it's an easy bet that, barring injury, Robert Nkemdiche, Antonio Conner, Laremy Tunsil and Laquon Treadwell are three-and-out talents with high draft grades likely.
That could be a huge PR situation for the Rebels. It's a message to prospects that Ole Miss can get you to the NFL, and it also means the Rebels likely have had success on the field. Freeze hopes this is an every-year occurrence because it means he's attracting that type of talent to Oxford, but it's even more noteworthy because the situation hasn't played itself out like this before for the program. Long way ahead. Have to avoid injuries and keep the upward trajectory, but I bet it's not just one player of interest in a couple years.
4. Next week Esquire Network, formerly the Style Network, is premiering Friday Night Tykes, a documentary series about a youth football league in Texas. It's fascinating and disturbing and everything else rolled into one show. The ages in this league span from four years old (FOUR!!) to 13 years old with state titles and everything. I'm certainly going to watch.
Here's the video trailer.
Here's a good feature on some of the participants and the set up for the show.
5. Quick hits:
Rick Reily just keeps getting worse. When he was at SI, it made sense to read the back page first. He was funny, had a story to tell, could be poignant. He deserved the reputation. His tenure at ESPN has been abysmal. Nothing intelligent, nothing worth the time to read it. Now he probably doesn't care because ESPN is backing a dump truck full of money up to his house every week, but it's odd to watch someone just mail it in like this. The latest being the Thanks for Winning Florida State commentary that bookended the BCS final. There's too much wannabe Bill Simmons and not enough whatever it was that made him good in the first place.
The Saints pained a Seahawks logo on the practice field in an effort to simulate conditions this weekend. It's going to take more than pain and a stencil. I'm purposefully avoiding any hope. The went very poorly last time, and I expect more of the same, though I give Sean Payton credit for the gimmicks. He approached last week and all the cold talk perfectly. He made a highlight tape of Saints players in cold weather making plays. He put Winter Wonderland as the audio over it. He said he changed the Gatorade color and picked out new sweatsuits. What he did was lower the tension and let the guys have some fun. He's arrogant and standoffish to a lot of people, but he hits the right buttons more often than not with his team.
Give me Seahawks, 49ers, Broncos, Colts this weekend -- in that order of confidence.
Good move by the Ole Miss marketing staff to give out replica SEC Tournament title rings this Thursday to fans. Really neat giveaway. Reminds fans of the title. Anything to help out in a much-needed SEC opener.
The MLB Hall of Fame class will be unveiled today. Greg Maddux will get in, but he won't be a unanimous selection. Dodgers beat writer Ken Gurnick only voted for Jack Morris, leaving off every player from the PED era. I hate media sometimes. Gurnick knew it would be a publicity stunt that would get him attention. Lumping Maddux in with Bonds and Sosa and whomever else is the dumbest thing imaginable. I'm not a fan of media voting. I'm in the media. I know how writers think and what they pay attention to. It's no better -- for the most part -- than the SIDs who fill out head coach ballots. I don't know how it should work, but Baseball Hall of Fame voting format is so atrocious. Jim Callis doesn't have a vote Gurnick does. There should be a common sense committee to take away and hand out voting privileges.
1. This mid-year signing class is better and better the more I think about it. The first two additions, Christian Morris and CJ Hampton, began class this week, and Fahn Cooper, Kendrick Doss, Christian Russell, Marquis Haynes -- and potentially Jeremy Liggins -- will begin classes later this month and be available for spring practice. More and more prospects are enrolling in college in January, and it's imperative to get a few of those. The extra strength and conditioning and transition to the environment are key factors in getting D1 ready. Alabama had eight enroll early. Georgia had a ton last year. And it's not just numbers.
Morris, whether he gets a waiver or not, will help during his career. He was a top-10 national tackle last year, meaning the Rebels have three of the top 10 from 2013 on their roster -- joining Laremy Tunsil and Austin Golson. Cooper has previous Division I experience and should have that maturity level coaches desire in JUCO transfers. His film against Florida was vital in Hugh Freeze and Matt Luke placing him at the top of their wish list. Doss gets a spring in the system, and there's no pressure at all. See how it works. Get a first look. Russell has received high marks from those who know him. Work ethic. Leadership. Knowledgable. Sounds a lot like the guy he's hoping to replace. Haynes had a nice offer sheet out of high school and can be versatile in Dave Wommack's scheme. With Haynes on board, it's a blessing the Rebels didn't get Trevon Young. And then, potentially, Liggins. I don't know where he'll play. I just know he's athletic and can play somewhere.
Also, don't forget Anthony Alford and Fadol Brown. I'm pretty sure both those guys would have started this past season. They may as well be a part of this class for January. There are some intriguing spring storylines.
2. The Rivals Camp Series posted its 2014 schedule yesterday. Last year the closest two for Mississippi prospects where Birmingham and Atlanta. Those remain on the list, but there will also be camp stops at Hattiesburg High School and in New Orleans. That's great news for Mississippi prospects and should make our rankings even more accurate with Ole Miss targets. The regional stops and the Rivals100 Five Star Challenge allow analysts to see prospects in different settings against each other and compare.
The large majority of Under Armour All-America selections this past week participated in Rivals Camp Series stops earlier in the year. If you know a recruit, get them to sign up. It's beneficial for rankings and exposure, but it's also instructional. The camps feature coaches and NFL veterans who teach during the camp. It's also a big deal for Mississippi to get a stop along the circuit. There's a respect factor there. The 2015 cycle should be a good one in the Magnolia State.
3. Donte Moncrief opting to bypass his senior season got me thinking about what the buildup to the 2016 NFL Draft may be like in a couple years. Moncrief will get selected this season, and Bobby Massie bypassed his senior season to go pro in 2012, but the situations like that haven't been commonplace in Oxford. It's safe to assume four players could potentially leave early and be selected very high in 2016. Neal thinks it could be five if Derrick Jones continues to develop, but at this point it's an easy bet that, barring injury, Robert Nkemdiche, Antonio Conner, Laremy Tunsil and Laquon Treadwell are three-and-out talents with high draft grades likely.
That could be a huge PR situation for the Rebels. It's a message to prospects that Ole Miss can get you to the NFL, and it also means the Rebels likely have had success on the field. Freeze hopes this is an every-year occurrence because it means he's attracting that type of talent to Oxford, but it's even more noteworthy because the situation hasn't played itself out like this before for the program. Long way ahead. Have to avoid injuries and keep the upward trajectory, but I bet it's not just one player of interest in a couple years.
4. Next week Esquire Network, formerly the Style Network, is premiering Friday Night Tykes, a documentary series about a youth football league in Texas. It's fascinating and disturbing and everything else rolled into one show. The ages in this league span from four years old (FOUR!!) to 13 years old with state titles and everything. I'm certainly going to watch.
Here's the video trailer.
Here's a good feature on some of the participants and the set up for the show.
5. Quick hits:
Rick Reily just keeps getting worse. When he was at SI, it made sense to read the back page first. He was funny, had a story to tell, could be poignant. He deserved the reputation. His tenure at ESPN has been abysmal. Nothing intelligent, nothing worth the time to read it. Now he probably doesn't care because ESPN is backing a dump truck full of money up to his house every week, but it's odd to watch someone just mail it in like this. The latest being the Thanks for Winning Florida State commentary that bookended the BCS final. There's too much wannabe Bill Simmons and not enough whatever it was that made him good in the first place.
The Saints pained a Seahawks logo on the practice field in an effort to simulate conditions this weekend. It's going to take more than pain and a stencil. I'm purposefully avoiding any hope. The went very poorly last time, and I expect more of the same, though I give Sean Payton credit for the gimmicks. He approached last week and all the cold talk perfectly. He made a highlight tape of Saints players in cold weather making plays. He put Winter Wonderland as the audio over it. He said he changed the Gatorade color and picked out new sweatsuits. What he did was lower the tension and let the guys have some fun. He's arrogant and standoffish to a lot of people, but he hits the right buttons more often than not with his team.
Give me Seahawks, 49ers, Broncos, Colts this weekend -- in that order of confidence.
Good move by the Ole Miss marketing staff to give out replica SEC Tournament title rings this Thursday to fans. Really neat giveaway. Reminds fans of the title. Anything to help out in a much-needed SEC opener.
The MLB Hall of Fame class will be unveiled today. Greg Maddux will get in, but he won't be a unanimous selection. Dodgers beat writer Ken Gurnick only voted for Jack Morris, leaving off every player from the PED era. I hate media sometimes. Gurnick knew it would be a publicity stunt that would get him attention. Lumping Maddux in with Bonds and Sosa and whomever else is the dumbest thing imaginable. I'm not a fan of media voting. I'm in the media. I know how writers think and what they pay attention to. It's no better -- for the most part -- than the SIDs who fill out head coach ballots. I don't know how it should work, but Baseball Hall of Fame voting format is so atrocious. Jim Callis doesn't have a vote Gurnick does. There should be a common sense committee to take away and hand out voting privileges.
