Our #1 Recruiting Problem

ArcherSPS

Junior
Aug 22, 2012
3,637
244
63
Not sure about the gas station, but I know that little yellow building next to it is about to be torn down to make an entrance for new apts and a parking garage back there.
 

mount lefroy

Redshirt
Feb 10, 2013
2,501
0
36
Is the city of Starkville. I was in Tuscaloosa on Saturday and I noticed how perfect the town flows with the campus (in that "Strip" area). We simply just aren't blessed with that like other towns are (Oxford, Auburn, Tuscaloosa, etc) I am completely wrong in thinking that? They have nice looking streets near their campus where as we look like Kubal with HWY 182 and 12.

Recruits are usually coming in from GTR and all they see is a Microtel, farmland, abandoned fireworks store, and an abandoned Waffle House. Something needs to change soon.

Please tell me your name is really sterling archer..... It'll explain the entire sentiment.
 

engie

Freshman
May 29, 2011
10,757
92
48
Everyone thought I was crazy when I mentioned that instead of flying recruits into GTR and driving them straight thru every stereotype they have of the area, we need to fly them direct into Starkville and enter thru downtown and the Cotton District. That first impression means a lot IMO... And this would replace 30 minutes of fields with being in the heart of town in 5 minutes...

It would take some doing to say the least. May not even be possible in the immediate sense with possible recruiting restrictions against private aircraft and Starkville airport being a rarity for commercial. But that method is quicker than changing the infrastructure of the town that the old generation is desperate to hold onto...
 

The Peeper

Heisman
Feb 26, 2008
15,571
10,801
113
The "WaffuleHoufe" got a new sign Saturday that says its now the Jean Noodle Bowl and Chinese" restaurant or something to that effect
 

thatsbaseball

All-American
May 29, 2007
17,885
6,598
113
I haven`t checked to see but I can`t imagine the laughs that some on OM boards have to be getting out of you poor naive souls. The scenery driving in to Starkville is the main reason for our mediocre recruiting ???? ??? That is really just sad. I just hope some of you can make it through Christmas without finding out the truth about Santa Clause.
 

codeDawg

Redshirt
Nov 13, 2007
2,102
0
36
The #1 problem with our recruiting is the lack of #neckwork involvement. Every other school with success in recruiting are 10x more organized, or at least care 10x as much. Auburn has Jimmy Rane and Ole Miss has Sean Tuohy just to name a couple of "encouragers" of said activity.

You wonder why Rick Ray couldn't recruit ANYONE, but Howland is landing top 100 players left and right? It ain't the shrubbery outside The Hump or the proximity to Rick's.
 

DerHntr

All-Conference
Sep 18, 2007
15,831
2,789
113
This thread blaming recruiting on Starkville is similar to blaming poor play on black or gold uniforms.

Dan Mullen is the top paid person at MSU and second isn't very close. If we aren't recruiting well enough, it is on him.
 

MabenMaroon

Redshirt
Feb 2, 2014
128
0
0
I haven`t checked to see but I can`t imagine the laughs that some on OM boards have to be getting out of you poor naive souls. The scenery driving in to Starkville is the main reason for our mediocre recruiting ???? ??? That is really just sad. I just hope some of you can make it through Christmas without finding out the truth about Santa Clause.

Is there something about Santa Claus that I don't know? Please, please, please keep it to yourself and don't ruin my fondest Christmas memories ( unless you got pictures, then by all means please share )
 
Oct 29, 2009
2,614
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i live in oxford.....the town is no different than starkville....ZERO....mirror images of each other....the difference is the city and university work together like a great marriage.....doesnt happen that way in starkville.....getting better, for sure.....always something to do here, and the university is always involved.....ive always said this.....oxfords perception is greater than its reality, and starkvilles reality is greater than its perception.....and you dipshits who call it 'starkvegas' don't do us any favors....

live/lived in both towns....i know what I'm talking about...



The area around campus looks really good. Take your Maroon and White glasses off for a second.
 

bgdog

Redshirt
Aug 21, 2012
182
0
0
Starkville is a ******** with some really amazing cool things in it. Unfortunately, you have to be here a while and legitimately care about the town university to find them.
 

TaleofTwoDogs

All-Conference
Jun 1, 2004
4,098
1,840
113
If some of you guys think today's Starkville is a pit, then you would **** a brick if you saw Starkville when I was a freshman back in the early 70's.
After a 20 year absence, we came to last year's Auburn game and we were astonished by the improvements to the campus and Starkville. I guess every thing is relative because we didn't think Starkville was so bad in the 70's. I agree with some posters that Bamaville & Bearville are not that great when you drive to parts of the town away from the campuses.
 

gptdawg

Redshirt
Jan 23, 2007
567
0
0
I agree completely. Starkville is every bit as "charming" as any of the other SEC small towns including Oxford. Just stick to the nice parts like the Cotton District, and the strip and thats pretty much the same amount of fancy as Oxford's Square or Toomer's Corner at Auburn. Our main problem is years of bad perception due to our identity as an agriculture college, and the stereotypes that surround Mississippi. The only difference between Starkville and Oxford is all the years of good press for them, and bad press for us. You can probably thank the Clarion Ledger for that.


100 times what he said.
 

ckDOG

All-American
Dec 11, 2007
10,043
5,912
113
Things a recruit is likely to say

Pick one

Group 1 -
They have a square
That town was cute
City planning was top notch
There is so much to do!

Group 2 -
Awesome facilities
They can offer early playing time
Winning program
They really took care of me

I agree, let's not parade these folks around ****** parts of down, but get real, recruiting is about what the program can offer an athlete and town aesthetics is wayyyyyyyyy down the list.
 

pmack65

Redshirt
Sep 7, 2013
427
0
0
I've read a lot of dumb posts and some really good ones but this one tops them all. Blaming a town, not coaches, not facility's but a town for not getting better recruits. So I guess Howland just landed a top 5-10 recruiting class by blindfolding the recruits when driving into or around town. Or even Cohen who I believe has a top 5 bb class. Guess he just had them dropped into center field by helicopter so they couldn't see the town but an old beat up Dudy Noble. Of course we can show them most of our facility's but not the older ones they might not commit to us. It's coaches, it's the facility's it's the people who represent the entire university that bring in the best recruits not a dam town fools.
 

WayboDawg

Redshirt
Jun 7, 2013
1,219
1
38
Not sure that's the case. It may be true of the poor self image some have for Starkville and MSU, but I don't think it's true across the country. Nobody outside Mississippi reads the Clarion Ledger.

I don't blame the Clarion Ledger for the bad press necessarily, just the fact that they haven't done nearly as much to promote the good parts of Starkville and MSU as they have Ole Miss and Oxford throughout the state of Mississippi. News travels by word of mouth, and if everyone in our state has been given the perception for 50 years that Oxford is a kingdom and Starkville is a pasture, well then that's what people are going to talk about when they meet others from other parts of the country. I think at some point if MSU is to take the next step in raising their perception, we are going have to shed our identity as a Agriculture school. Nobody wants to send their kids to college somewhere where they believe horseshoeing and milking cows is a major. Thats our biggest problem in my opinion.


On a side note, the Starkvegas nickname has really caught on with the high school age kids. I don't like the nickname myself, but it seems to be driving some good perceptions for us.
 
Last edited:
Oct 29, 2009
2,614
458
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Agreed. that was stupid.

I've read a lot of dumb posts and some really good ones but this one tops them all. Blaming a town, not coaches, not facility's but a town for not getting better recruits. So I guess Howland just landed a top 5-10 recruiting class by blindfolding the recruits when driving into or around town. Or even Cohen who I believe has a top 5 bb class. Guess he just had them dropped into center field by helicopter so they couldn't see the town but an old beat up Dudy Noble. Of course we can show them most of our facility's but not the older ones they might not commit to us. It's coaches, it's the facility's it's the people who represent the entire university that bring in the best recruits not a dam town fools.
nm
 

Dog316

Redshirt
Aug 21, 2012
404
2
18
The waffle house is abandoned? WTF? Seriously, Starkville has always been our biggest opponent, hwy 12 looks like a 3 mile long flea market. No building codes what to speak of, and the alcohol/students/drinking population has always been viewed as pure evil by the old folks that ran it for so long. But its getting better, slowly. Its light years ahead of where it was in the late 90s, but I would love to see an area set aside for nothing but entertainment. Those cotton fields across from the softball stadium would be a great place for bars, shops, and eateries....its within walking distance to all of the sporting venues.
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Kinda sounds like you spent too much time seeking that demon rum and eating at the Waffle House to have actually have had time to notice a three mile long flea market. I've spent a lot of time working in Oxford and it has nothing on Starkville other that the quaint court square which consists of exactly four streets facing the court house. Give me Starkville. You can have Oxford.
 

BulldogBlitz

Heisman
Dec 11, 2008
16,292
20,607
113
Stark-patch was more the term than starkvegas when I was in school. If there was some interest in improving nightlife to even "put on airs", I could see where Vegas nickname could work.
 

Dog316

Redshirt
Aug 21, 2012
404
2
18
The only difference between Starkville and Oxford is all the years of good press for them, and bad press for us. You can probably thank the Clarion Ledger for that.[/QUOTE]
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You can also thank some of the posters on this thread for our image. We are overstocked with "poor ole us" fans. And I use the word "fans" loosely. People who devote their life to demeaning anything Bulldog: the town, the coaches, the players, the facilities.
 

SPMT

Redshirt
Aug 25, 2012
187
0
0
Some of the entrances onto LSU, especially on game day are some of the worst hoods I've seen. Definitely nothing special. Other areas you drive by the levee, again, nothing special.

We get beat in recruiting for two major reasons:

1. We suck at playing the game.

2. More traditionally successful or more national programs beat us......Bama, LSU, Florida, UGA, sometimes and Auburn.
We suck at playing the game.

Any other reason is going to be few and far between.
 

BulldogBlitz

Heisman
Dec 11, 2008
16,292
20,607
113
Get us a maroon and white whirlygig helicopter like tubby sumlin has at a&m and one won't need to rely on starkville having and airport.
 

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
21,852
14,631
113
We got ESPN'd...

[h=3]10. Mississippi State Bulldogs: 18 out of 25[/h]Favorable geography/local recruiting territory: 3 -- The state of Mississippi has produced 429 prospects who have signed with Power 5 conference schools since 2006. The Rebels also have to compete with in-state rival Ole Miss for top recruits.


Recruiting/football budget: 4 -- $477k according to the most recent data. In-state rival Ole Miss spent nearly 100k more on recruiting in 2013, the last year for which data is available.


Facilities to attract recruits: 3 -- Mississippi State has a nice stadium and facilities, but is not on the same level in that realm as Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M or Tennessee.


Next-level considerations: 5 -- 18 players selected in the NFL draft since 2010, more than twice as many as Ole Miss over that span and more than Tennessee, Texas A&M and Auburn as well.


Other intangibles: 2 -- Dan Mullen has shown that it's possible to have Mississippi State in the title conversation, but it’s still a very difficult task competing with teams like Auburn, LSU and Alabama both on the field and the recruiting trail every year. Combine that with the fact that Ole Miss is on the rise as well and it can be a difficult place to consistently attract the type of talent you need to win.
 

johnson86-1

All-Conference
Aug 22, 2012
14,373
4,875
113
Starkville is a ******** with some really amazing cool things in it. Unfortunately, you have to be here a while and legitimately care about the town university to find them.

Have you been to Oxford or Tuscaloosa? Tusaloosa is obviously bigger and does offer some more things, but mostly the difference between the three is how much of the ****** part of town you have to pass through to get to nice parts of town.
 

BulldogBacker

Redshirt
Nov 23, 2001
128
0
0
I've read a lot of dumb posts and some really good ones but this one tops them all. Blaming a town, not coaches, not facility's but a town for not getting better recruits. So I guess Howland just landed a top 5-10 recruiting class by blindfolding the recruits when driving into or around town. Or even Cohen who I believe has a top 5 bb class. Guess he just had them dropped into center field by helicopter so they couldn't see the town but an old beat up Dudy Noble. Of course we can show them most of our facility's but not the older ones they might not commit to us. It's coaches, it's the facility's it's the people who represent the entire university that bring in the best recruits not a dam town fools.

I can tell you with all certainty that the current leadership in office in Starkville want to have a terrific relationship with our Mississippi State University. They are both alumni and great Bulldog fans. They have a tough time, however, with a couple of members of the Board of Aldermen. You have to have a forward looking Board of Aldermen. I live in Green Oaks and one of them actually wanted to reopen MacArthur Blvd off Stark Road, turning Douglas MacArthur Blvd into a drag strip of college students and others from the apartments west of Stark. I attended the meeting and warned they would have a law suit if some little kid got run over.
 

The Peeper

Heisman
Feb 26, 2008
15,571
10,801
113
I didn't know anything about a previous "Jean's", only saw a new sign going up. Spill the beans on the old one....
 

johnson86-1

All-Conference
Aug 22, 2012
14,373
4,875
113
I don't blame the Clarion Ledger for the bad press necessarily, just the fact that they haven't done nearly as much to promote the good parts of Starkville and MSU as they have Ole Miss and Oxford throughout the state of Mississippi. News travels by word of mouth, and if everyone in our state has been given the perception for 50 years that Oxford is a kingdom and Starkville is a pasture, well then that's what people are going to talk about when they meet others from other parts of the country.

The problem is that it was somewhat true at least through the '90's. Both Starkville and Oxford have grown tremendously as far as what they offer, but oxford did have more going for it (not just prettier access) until around the late 90's. The gap was never as big as it was perceived, but it was there. Strakville was held back badly by locals that for a long time (and there's still a significant number of these people) that wanted all of the benefits of a university being in town without actually being a college town. But by sometime in the early 2000's, the cities basically ended up roughly equivalent, and now it's just a perception issue.
 

pmack65

Redshirt
Sep 7, 2013
427
0
0
I agree and yes there are a few BOA that aren't the brightest or best people representing this city. But to blame a town on recruiting is absurd. Some mentioned Tuscaloosa as not the best city either and if that's the case how come Saban and UoA have been hugely successful ? It comes down to the coaches who recruit these players, it comes down to facility's, alumni and the University. Have yet to here a recruit say I'm not going to MSU because of the city. The coaches are great and I love the University but the city, no way. Ludicrous!
 

SPMT

Redshirt
Aug 25, 2012
187
0
0
Our #1 recruiting problem is not doing it right. Period. The ncaa has no ability to stop what auburn, the blacks and Tennessee are doing and what Bama and LUS have perfected, yet we have scared women menstruating over themselves out of fear while our Yankee settles for 17n **** classes.

This!
 

60sdog

Senior
Oct 9, 2010
722
475
63
I've always thought that simply the name, STARKville, was a huge problem. I mean, the word, "stark," as defined by Webster, means, "having a very plain and often cold or empty appearance."

Change the name to ANYTHING but Starkville. Even Mayberry.
 

Bane.sixpack

Redshirt
Sep 2, 2015
233
0
0
Problem with Highway 12 is that years ago we pumped high speed traffic right between campus and the City of Starkville!

First things first, we need to make it walkable from campus to the mill.. I'm surprised there hasn't been somebody hit there already on game days! Either way, we are stuck with it, so let's make the best of it, and put some more pedestrian bridges over Highway 12 like we did at University..
 

dhall2276

Redshirt
Dec 7, 2010
42
0
0
I didn't know anything about a previous "Jean's", only saw a new sign going up. Spill the beans on the old one....

Old one was Jean Cafe in the cotton district. And yes it is the same family opening a new restaurant in the old Waffle House location.