Your choice of WR recruits:

[Bulldoghair]

does size and "potential" outweigh the proven smaller kid than can really run and catch? i know when croom got here he wanted to recruit certain positions by certain body size standards. mainly the position im talking about is wr. he has really wanted "big, nfl type bodies over the smaller average size kids, even if they could run and catch.

we didnt get a wr from his first class.

in his second class we got aubrey bell, (big, very average speed, moreless a possesion type reciever) and tay bowser, (whom croom personally offered after looking at him at one practice session. i think croom only saw a 6'4 frame that was fast, didn't bother to see if he could run routes and get open, or the most important thing....catch

in his third class we got tony burks, (our best so far, but still very average speed and quickness, just another big possesion type reciever) and ryan mason, (huge reciever that can run a fast straight line, but again, refer back to the bowser investment)

in his fourth class, we got co eric rilley ( the first wr we got out of croom that wasnt at least 6'3, but still not a small guy at 6' 200 lbs. seems to be the quickest out of the wr recruits so far, but nothing to scream about. has another year to see what he can do at least)

yet to be seen, o'neil wilder (a 6'5 kid that can really run a fast straight line, no mention of route running or quickness, or better yet.....the ability to catch the ball)

all this and our starters and most consistant wr's of the past couple of years have been lance long and jamayl smith both of whom are under 6'.

also of note, croom refused to recruit brandon james (now with florida) because he said he was too small.

so i'm wondering why croom won't ditch the stupid nfl wr stigma that he has to recruit size over substance. mississippi is full of kids that can really really run and catch, they may not be 6'2 to 6'5, but come on. how many colleges have had really good wrs that aren't 6'0

can somebody say we need speed and quickness at that position in a bad way.

 

[rhs43]

i think with the type of offense we run it is best to have big wr's but we haven't proved that yet, but i agree there is room to take a risk on a small recruit that is quick and fast.</p>

 

[Bulldoghair]

yea, but again, the smaller quicker walk ons are getting open and thus have been more productive. so why not just recruit that way a little more so.

 

[Todd4State]

but typically if you run the WCO you value ability to catch, run routes, and football IQ over speed and size.

To me, Jerry Rice is the gold standard for WCO WR's. Yes, he did have good size, but at the same time he wasn't 6'5" either, and he certainly wasn't a track star. But as we all know, he was a very precise route runner, had great hands and was highly intelligent.

Croom's comments that you are referring to are probably becuase when he got here, our WR's looked like they belonged in the lollipop guild. We had people like Tee Milons who was 5'8" and Brandon Wright who was well under 5'10" and they were fast, but they coudln't catch or run routes, and Wright couldn't hold on to the football the rare time he was actually able to catch it.

Croom hasn't had a whole lot of luck recruiting WR's for some reason, as in they haven't panned out for the most part.</p>

 

[TR.sixpack]

All things being equal (relative speed, ability to catch and run proper routes) I'd rather have a taller WR. The reason some aren't more excited about Wilder is we've had bad luck with WR's <span style="font-weight: bold;">of all sizes</span>. I think the WR corp is as good as it's been since '98, however our QB's haven't been very accurate. Maybe some of the problem has been the lack of separation between the WR and the DB's, and some has been the lack of legitimate deep threat to keep DB's from rolling coverage over to our best WR (Burkes). Wilder can be that threat.

But to your point, the lack of the ability to catch hasn't been exclusive to the taller WR's and the lack of production in the passing game can't be blamed wholly on the receivers.

 

[MSUCE99]

some has been the lack of legitimate deep threat to keep DB's from rolling coverage over to our best WR (Burkes). Wilder can be that threat.

I am still amazed that Tyler Threadgill, who by all accounts was the fastest guy on the team, saw the field as little as he did. ****, coach, put him in some just to scare the defense. If he can get separation, he ought to be able to free up some other guys. I think I can count on one hand the times I saw him in the lineup.

I don't care if he had bricks for hands, if the defense couldn't keep up with him, he'd be bound to draw attention. Let him run around loose in the endzone every play just to attract attention away from the other receivers.

 

[FlabLoser]

We're stocked up on size, speed, & potential. I'm ready for catch & runners.

 

[bonedaddy401]

of it may be the fact that bigger WR's block better than smaller ones. They can chip linebackers and safteys better not to mention manhandle cornerbacks. A big guy has a better chance to catch a ball over the middle and hold on to it. He also has a better chance on jump balls in the end zone and flys down the sideline. Why do you think Randy Moss, Plaxico Burress, Antonio Gates, Marques Colston, Calvin Johnson and others are so valued in the pro's? Then you have a freak like Steve Smith that blows that my side of the arguement to Sh*t. I still prefer tall WR's.

 

[Bulldoghair]

We're stocked up on size, speed, & potential. I'm ready for catch & runners.

in short, this is exactly what i'm saying.</p>

 

[rhs43]

what do y'all think about elliott playing a little slot? kinda like reggie bush when deuce is healthy.

 

[bonedaddy401]

Leave Robert Elliott where he is in my opinion. We need a change of pace to go with Dixon. I like Ducre' back there as well just so when Dixon starts to get lazy he knows he has competition that is bringing a similar set of tools to the table.