How many of you follow recruiting?

[Ranchdawg]

Just curious. I find it boring. Players commit then decommit then switch hats on signing day. If I wanted to watch drama I'd record the Young and the Restless and watch it every night (or tune in on Pluto TV). When a candidate says Alabama, OM, UGA and State then guess what???? We all know that the NC goes to the Money Trees so why bother? I'm proud of all our players that commit and sign with State so don't get me wrong. I've tired of all the bidding wars. Rant off.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Just a casual follower here.

And it’s become even more casual because of the Portal.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

Bidding war? We aren't really involved there.

 

[Shmuley]

Just curious. I find it boring. Players commit then decommit then switch hats on signing day. If I wanted to watch drama I'd record the Young and the Restless and watch it every night (or tune in on Pluto TV). When a candidate says Alabama, OM, UGA and State then guess what???? We all know that the NC goes to the Money Trees so why bother? I'm proud of all our players that commit and sign with State so don't get me wrong. I've tired of all the bidding wars. Rant off.

Used to. Don’t now.

 

[dawgstudent]

I mostly stopped with CJ Johnson. Then fully stopped with Chris Jones.

I've never been a huge follower regardless. I'll start to learn about them once they arrive on campus. I do pay attention to NIL. I actually find that interesting.

 

[kired]

I can't name one commit in any sport, if that answers your question.

Followed it fairly close 10-15 years ago but gradually became less interested. Pay no attention to it now since it's pointless until they sign. And even then half of them will probably transfer without ever seeing legit playing time.

 

[Seinfeld]

Just curious. I find it boring. Players commit then decommit then switch hats on signing day. If I wanted to watch drama I'd record the Young and the Restless and watch it every night (or tune in on Pluto TV). When a candidate says Alabama, OM, UGA and State then guess what???? We all know that the NC goes to the Money Trees so why bother? I'm proud of all our players that commit and sign with State so don't get me wrong. I've tired of all the bidding wars. Rant off.

I used to be borderline obsessed for both football and men’s basketball. After enough time on this earth, though, I eventually learned that ten teams get all the top guys, the next ten teams pretend that their classes are just as good but rarely ever deliver, and then everyone else pretty much signs the same class year after year. We’re of course in that last group, so I just don’t have much interest

I don’t care who the AD is, who the coach is, who we sign early or who we sign late. When you look up after the last signing period, it’s the same class that we signed the year before, the one before that, and so on

 

[The Peeper]

Not me, I don't want to even hear their names until the day they start on the field

 

[thatsbaseball]

Used to. Don’t now.

I remember when it was actually fun. Weeks of gossip and rumors culminated with recruiting parties. Then we kept up with signees in fall practice through two-a-days right up to kickoff. Now I won't have a clue who we signed or who our starting line up is until they take the field for the first game.

edited to add: I even enjoyed seeing the "bag man" regularly during recruiting season.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

I remember as a naive mid 20's guy anxiously waiting on Dawgs Bite to arrive via USPS so I could read the bios / accomplishments of our croots convinced JWS was gonna do great things with those guys. Of course I never read about those from other SEC Teams. I still click on our croots and check out their offer lists. The internet really changed things for fans checkin' out crootin'. NIL and Portal have really taken a big bite outta the once a year excitement of signing day. I reckon my age has taught me to not take it as seriously as I did as a youngster as well.

 

[Cantdoitsal]

Not me, I don't want to even hear their names until the day they start on the field

I'm calling BS. Especially since you're "The Peeper".

 

[mdm3045]

I do not follow but I listen to whatever is discussed on T&L’s crooting segments

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

I do and I hate myself for it

 

[DogStuckAtUM]

I used to be obessive over it, but I just don't care that much anymore. A light bulb went off the last year or two when a reciever—who State coveted out of high school—transfered out. A poster on 247 made the point about why even follow recruiting anymore if a good chunk of players will just end up in the portal.

 

[thekimmer]

I have a couple of friends who support another SEC school (not umiss.) and follow FB recruiting like it was another sport unto itself. Even though it is vital for success I have never been able to get into the rabid fan side of it. Something about grown men getting that worked up over where a 17 YO kid decides to go to college just seems a bit unseemly. Now the portal kind of makes it moot anyway since any signee can be here one year and gone the next.

 

[Faustdog]

Just curious. I find it boring. Players commit then decommit then switch hats on signing day. If I wanted to watch drama I'd record the Young and the Restless and watch it every night (or tune in on Pluto TV). When a candidate says Alabama, OM, UGA and State then guess what???? We all know that the NC goes to the Money Trees so why bother? I'm proud of all our players that commit and sign with State so don't get me wrong. I've tired of all the bidding wars. Rant off.

I used to follow it.

I forget the exact number, but Ole Miss has finished ahead of us in the team recruiting rankings something like 21 of the 23 years recorded. And yet, as we know, the results on the field in no way reflect that. So the rankings only somewhat matter.

 

[hatfieldms]

Just curious. I find it boring. Players commit then decommit then switch hats on signing day. If I wanted to watch drama I'd record the Young and the Restless and watch it every night (or tune in on Pluto TV). When a candidate says Alabama, OM, UGA and State then guess what???? We all know that the NC goes to the Money Trees so why bother? I'm proud of all our players that commit and sign with State so don't get me wrong. I've tired of all the bidding wars. Rant off.

It would be hard for me to follow it any less

 

[ronpolk]

Not me, I don't want to even hear their names until the day they start on the field

Me too… and now with the transfer portal so prevalent, there is probably a 50/50 chance whoever you sign never plays meaningful snaps anyway.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Casually. I used to check out the JUCO stuff more because they could help us immediately. Nowadays you add the portal to that.

High school? Not really at all anymore, outside of who we get at QB or DL. I do like to pay attention to the strategy, though, rather than specific names.

 

[aTotal360]

I hate players that commit and then decommit from State.
I love players that decommit from other schools and commit to State.

 

[Dawg1976]

All I see is whatever is discussed here.

 

[QMartinez]

I still follow it but not as close as I used to.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Just curious. I find it boring. Players commit then decommit then switch hats on signing day. If I wanted to watch drama I'd record the Young and the Restless and watch it every night (or tune in on Pluto TV). When a candidate says Alabama, OM, UGA and State then guess what???? We all know that the NC goes to the Money Trees so why bother? I'm proud of all our players that commit and sign with State so don't get me wrong. I've tired of all the bidding wars. Rant off.

I follow signing day.

 

[Hot Rock]

I follow it fairly closely and have for a number of years. I follow it less after the portal. NIL did change it but mostly that has helped state retain a veteran guy that was a lower NFL prospect that decided to stay another year so he can increase his stock in the draft. I think NIL will make it so State can't land as many high 4's and any 5 star guys. Those guys will be wanting to get paid out HS and I am not sure we can keep up.

The portal opens up the chance that if you miss on a guy, you may still get him in a year to two. That has happened. I have never talked bad about any recruit that I remember but I have seen others do it. Now, with the chance to get him back, we all need to keep out mouths shut.

But, you guys that say State pretty much will get what it gets no matter who is the coach aren't all wrong but Leach got better QB's & WR's than Mullen ever got. Sure, Mullen had Dak but we were about his only offer out of HS to play QB. Who the coach is does matter to a degree and it matters that he is shopping himself around every year to get a better job.

If I paid less attention to it, I would probably be happier though. State loses more battles than it wins in the recruiting game and it is frustrating. It would be nice to get a few top 15 type classes in a row and retain them. I do think that would bring more wins.

 

[NTDawg]

Just curious. I find it boring. Players commit then decommit then switch hats on signing day. If I wanted to watch drama I'd record the Young and the Restless and watch it every night (or tune in on Pluto TV). When a candidate says Alabama, OM, UGA and State then guess what???? We all know that the NC goes to the Money Trees so why bother? I'm proud of all our players that commit and sign with State so don't get me wrong. I've tired of all the bidding wars. Rant off.

Young and the Restless. You are telling your age. That was my grandma's story. I would watch in the summer when I stayed with my grandparents. Even though I only watched it for part of the 6 weeks each that stayed with them I could keep up with the story line. That damn Ms Chancellor was always up to no good.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

I don't pay for any info. Now that the portal is real it doesn't make much sense to sign up for premium content. I assume that business has taken a hit in the last two years.. but someone correct me if I'm wrong..

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

It's always been about who has the most money to pay the best players. It used to be done in secret.

Now that it's all out in the open, nobody really wants to watch the sausage get made.

Unless you know you're a high roller, of course.

We ain't.

 

[HumpDawgy]

Heck, we can't keep our ADs out of the dang portal!!!

 

[DirtyDog]

Just curious. I find it boring. Players commit then decommit then switch hats on signing day. If I wanted to watch drama I'd record the Young and the Restless and watch it every night (or tune in on Pluto TV). When a candidate says Alabama, OM, UGA and State then guess what???? We all know that the NC goes to the Money Trees so why bother? I'm proud of all our players that commit and sign with State so don't get me wrong. I've tired of all the bidding wars. Rant off.

I typically pay attention to most recruiting for football, basketball, and baseball. I'll even cheer on the occasional softball commit. While there is drama, it gives me something sports related to do between sport seasons and when our favorite team is not doing well and I need a distraction. One thing that has continued to impress me in hindsight is Mullen and his staff's eye for talent, not always rated high, but they found a lot of lower rated guys that turned into players either through raw talent or development. Since I started officiating high school football and baseball, it's pretty interesting to get a close up view of the highly recruited kids. Many times the stars do not align with what I see on the field, but I don't know the intricate details of coaching all the different positions to be a fair judge.

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

This ^ It is still a bit of a crap shoot and you have to believe some of the young men and women who are given the keys to a new car and the campus kingdom will get soft/complacent. And those who were left out may be hungrier to prove their worth.
Development, coaching and a real ability to motivate may turn out to be more important than all the money being thrown around. We'll find out.

 

[Ranchdawg]

This ^ It is still a bit of a crap shoot and you have to believe some of the young men and women who are given the keys to a new car and the campus kingdom will get soft/complacent. And those who were left out may be hungrier to prove their worth.
Development, coaching and a real ability to motivate may turn out to be more important than all the money being thrown around. We'll find out.

I'll agree with this on teams that are closely ranked in the recruiting battles but the teams that get the 5 stars will win without much coaching and no motivation.

 

[macpappy]

10-12 years ago I use to pay to follow recruiting....Now, I would have to paid to follow it! Here's the bottomline:
1. I'm a Bulldog Fan regardless. I'm gonna at least begin watching every football game we play. If I continue to watch is completely up to our performance that day.
2. No, I do not care enough about MSU winning to give one red cent to these overvalued athletes. I simply love Mississippi State.
3. The good thing about football season is that it's also during hunting season. Give me a bad product and I will simply go hunting and remain happy. People let this stuff stress them out entirely too much. Just look away.

 

[Hot Rock]

Just a few years ago before the portal and the December signing day, I followed the Feb signing day borderline obsessively.

That one morning would shape your program for years to come. One bad recruiting cycle and you could survive it but 2 in a row and your coach is not surviving. Even loading up on JuCo's was a problem for the future. Watching that roster shape up on Feb Signing day was mesmerizing. Now?

Dec - Bulk of you class but ; Another signing in Feb.. OH, you still miss that guy. You have portal transfers over several time periods. Then they may even hit the portal again leaving you high and dry.

State's roster is more work than ever to keep it together but there are several ways to get players even if you miss your HS targets. You can have a bad signing class and improve the team. It's just not the same dynamics. So, root for the team and not the players until they hit the field is probably the best option. I need another hobby.

 

[tired]

Just curious. I find it boring. Players commit then decommit then switch hats on signing day. If I wanted to watch drama I'd record the Young and the Restless and watch it every night (or tune in on Pluto TV). When a candidate says Alabama, OM, UGA and State then guess what???? We all know that the NC goes to the Money Trees so why bother? I'm proud of all our players that commit and sign with State so don't get me wrong. I've tired of all the bidding wars. Rant off.

Used to follow it when I was younger. I think it’s an age thing. Once you become further removed from the age of the recruits, it becomes less interesting. Have nothing in common other than State.

 

[Pilgrimdawg]

I used to follow football recruiting daily in an obsessive fashion in the weeks leading up to signing day. I had a circle of people that I traded Information with about our recruits and all of the dirty deals going on in Oxford. Those folks in Oxford were ridiculous in what they would do to sign a player or even pay players they didn’t want to just not sign with us. Nut jobs. Now days with the NIL deals and portal issues I have completely lost interest in it. I will casually look on signing day to see how we did but unless I read something about a specific player here on the Pack I have never even heard of most of them. The annual NIL / portal shakedowns have really dampened my enthusiasm for the whole game.

 

[RockyDog]

It hasn’t been the same since Jean stopped doing the skuttlebutt

 

[HailStout]

Not in the slightest. I’ve reached the point where I may not know half the team’s names until a few games in. I think that comes from having a house of girls that all hate football.

 

[HailStout]

It hasn’t been the same since Jean stopped doing the skuttlebutt

This post deserves all the thumbs ups

 

[National Champion Chip]

Same.

 

[National Champion Chip]

Signing day. Same.

Edited bc either my fingers or two fat, or I’m too drink. Lol