Phil Steel ranks MSU's SEC position group

[57stratdawg]

Mississippi State:
QB-4
RB-13
WR-9
OL-13
DL-8
LB-9
DB-14
ST-13
Coach-5

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sa...teeles-2017-sec-positional-unit-rankings/amp/

 

[57stratdawg]

RB is way too low.
OL is too low.
WR is too high.
DB is too low (but I get it).

 

[maroonmania]

RB is way too low.
OL is too low.
WR is too high.
DB is too low (but I get it).

Agree, we have good options at RB, now way that one should be at 14.
WR is significantly too high, if there was anywhere that I would put us at the 13-14 position it would be at WR. Our WR group now, and its an indictment on Mullen and Gonzales, is as bad as it was under Croom.
OL and DB are both too low. WR and K are the two positions that we are near or at the bottom of the SEC. We have Durr, Peters, and McLaurin all returning in the defensive backfield plus 2 or 3 highly rated JUCOs to help out so we are OK there and if we get the transfer from Texas to play at RT I could see this OL group being the best we've had under Mullen at least since the 2010 group.

 

[HD6]

Aeris Williams is the 15th leading returning rusher among running backs in the SEC, and no other running back had more than 9 carries. For a preseason ranking, that's about where we should be.

 

[BlueRidgeMtns]

I'm not surprised by the rankings. However, if he does this list at the end of the year we will be sittin' pretty.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

Minus Fitzgerald's running totals, the Team totals are definitely at the bottom. But.....having a QB that runs like that could open up the rest of the running game this year. And the combination of a suspect OL with the returning numbers at RB earns us that rating. Let's see how they rank in November.

 

[patdog]

Phil Steele is an idiot.
QB - too low
RB - too low
WR - too high
OL - little too low
DL - about right
LB - about right
DB - too low, but like 57, I understand that
ST - about right based on last year, but with so many kickers coming in, it's got to be better
Coach - a little low

 

[maroonmania]

Aeris Williams is the 15th leading returning rusher among running backs in the SEC, and no other running back had more than 9 carries. For a preseason ranking, that's about where we should be.

Sometimes prognosticators need to use their brains in doing a "projected" analysis. In Aeris Williams' last 4 games all in the SEC (which includes the best rush defense in the country -- Alabama) he had 450 yards and averaged over 6 yards/carry. No way does that project us to have the worst RB in the conference. Now how he projected this WR group of ours to be 9th with nothing returning of note but Gray (who only scares FCS schools) is beyond me. That is probably where we should be 14th, not 9th.

 

[HD6]

Even taking that into account, we have no proven depth. Georgia, Mizzou, Alabama, Auburn all had two running backs who rushed for more yards than Aeris did. A&M only missed that by about 60 yards. I agree about our receivers, but our running back situation compared to the rest of the SEC isn't that great, we just have the best running quarterback in the conference to aid us with that.

 

[57stratdawg]

So, Shea Patterson should be 13th?

 

[maroonmania]

Even taking that into account, we have no proven depth. Georgia, Mizzou, Alabama, Auburn all had two running backs who rushed for more yards than Aeris did. A&M only missed that by about 60 yards. I agree about our receivers, but our running back situation compared to the rest of the SEC isn't that great, we just have the best running quarterback in the conference to aid us with that.

Agree, I'm certainly not saying our RB situation is great, just saying that 14th seems a little extreme. I'm fully happy with Fitz and Williams running the ball and I believe that either Gibson or Hill will end up being more than capable as the backup.

 

[HD6]

Oh we're going to go this route? Really?

 

[patdog]

He makes a good point. Neither played until the last 3-4 games of the season.

 

[aTotal360]

Projections are always a mix of perception and reality. Patterson was 5 star and #1 dual threat QB coming out of HS. Although OM sucked, his numbers were good in the games he played.

For the life of me, I don't understand why people give an ounce of give a **** to preseason rankings. It's like predicting the weather 3 months from now. I can play the odds and tell you it's gonna be hot and partly cloudy. That's what most of these guys do.

 

[HD6]

Well his point would be better if a) Patterson was the 13th leading returning passer in the SEC, which he isn't, he's 10th or B) if you want to go by quarterback rating which to me is a better metric for QBs, he'd be 8th.

You can make a case for Patterson being the 7-8th best QB in the SEC based off an eye test. If you ranked the QB's Hurts, Fitz, Allen, Stidham, Bentley, Eason, Patterson, I would have no problem with that. The problem at running back is I can make the exact same case for Williams being that low. He's not noticeably better than Guice, Chubb, Michel, Pettway, Travyeon Williams, Damien Harris, Scarborough, Scarlett, either of the two Mizzou backs, or Snell. That would be 12th, and then when you factor in the lack of depth, its easy to see why were that low.

We are all projecting Williams to have a big year, which I think he will, but the SEC is loaded with great running backs, Williams would have to break records to stand out in that group.

 

[TheStateUofMS]

How can Mullen be rated behind McElwain?? According to Steel, McElwain has a heck of a talented football team. His position rankings are extremely high for Florida: 6 units are in the top 6. There are only 8 units he ranks (not including coach). Given UF's results, this would suggest they DRASTICALLY UNDERACHIEVE. Given Mullen's rankings, he wayyyyyyyy over achieves, which should make him a top coach.

This is BS, but I like the set up. This is when we have good seasons.

 

[patdog]

You can make a case for Patterson being the 7-8th best QB in the SEC based off an eye test.

And I would agree with that assessment. But, based on that same test, Aeris Williams is nowhere near 14th best in the SEC. I agree there's little to no proven depth behind him, but at least three out of Mississippi, South Carolina, Vandy and Florida don't look as good as RB as we do.

 

[johnson86-1]

Even taking that into account, we have no proven depth. Georgia, Mizzou, Alabama, Auburn all had two running backs who rushed for more yards than Aeris did. A&M only missed that by about 60 yards. I agree about our receivers, but our running back situation compared to the rest of the SEC isn't that great, we just have the best running quarterback in the conference to aid us with that.

Auburn and Bama will likely have two of the best rushing attacks in the conference. UGA has been really good at RB. Mizzou I will grant sucks. But naming three of the best running teams in the conference and Mizzou as having better RB situation than us doesn't get us to 13th. To show 13 is right, you have to address the running back situation at Vandy, Ole Miss, UK, USCe, and UK. I honestly don't know what they have, but my uneducated guess is that I would be kind of surprised if at least three of those teams wouldn't prefer our RB situation to theirs.

 

[HD6]

Really? If Ralph Webb finishes this season with the same totals as last year, he'll be the second leading rusher in SEC history. Jordan Scarlett is a very good back for Florida. Rico Dowdle rushed for more yards on fewer carries than Aeris did.

 

[maroonmania]

And I would agree with that assessment. But, based on that same test, Aeris Williams is nowhere near 14th best in the SEC. I agree there's little to no proven depth behind him, but at least three out of Mississippi, South Carolina, Vandy and Florida don't look as good as RB as we do.

Yep, you don't have to break records and standout to be better than 14th in the SEC. Heck, OM doesn't even know what a RB is and they are ranked ahead of us as a group.

 

[notoriousD_O_G]

Auburn #1 at QB? Where have we seen this before

 

[HD6]

Vandy has Ralph Webb. Kentucky has Benny Snell. Carolina has Rico Dowdle. You said Kentucky twice. All three of those guys rushed for more yards than Williams.

 

[HD6]

Now that I agree, that doesn't make a lick of sense. They should be 14th.

 

[maroonmania]

How can Mullen be rated behind McElwain?? According to Steel, McElwain has a heck of a talented football team. His position rankings are extremely high for Florida: 6 units are in the top 6. There are only 8 units he ranks (not including coach). Given UF's results, this would suggest they DRASTICALLY UNDERACHIEVE. Given Mullen's rankings, he wayyyyyyyy over achieves, which should make him a top coach.

This is BS, but I like the set up. This is when we have good seasons.

Sort of agree with someone else who said that it appears that Steele does very little of his own real time evaluation and instead leans way too heavily on past recruiting rankings for different position groups on various teams. That is probably what is helping prop up Florida's different position groups.

 

[patdog]

And all 3 of those guys played a full season. I'd take Williams over at least 2 of those, if not all 3.

 

[HD6]

Rico Dowdle played in 9 games. Snell played in 11.

 

[HD6]

Again if you look at the groups as a whole, Auburn is one of the few teams in the conference that will have an experienced backup to go with a talented starter.

 

[MarkDallas]

I think you have to remember that it's a rating of the entire position group, not just the number one guy.

 

[BertleTheTurtle]

Get outta here with all your facts, we're here to *****!

 

[KurtRambis4]

So we are going to

have one of the worst offenses in the league?

I'll take that bet, that we don't. As a matter of fact, I'd venture to guess we finish in the top 5, minimum.

 

[maroonmania]

Get outta here with all your facts, we're here to *****!

Well, in traditional MSU style, at least its equal opportunity bitching. We are complaining both about groups of ours that are rated too low and too high.

 

[57stratdawg]

Vandy has Ralph Webb. Kentucky has Benny Snell. Carolina has Rico Dowdle. You said Kentucky twice. All three of those guys rushed for more yards than Williams.

Mullen wen full retard with the carry distribution the first half of 2016. I'm not going to hold Aries' feet to the fire over that entering 2017.

Ill give you depth though.

 

[patdog]

A lot of that is due to volume. He's been a 4-year starter at a school that runs the ball a lot in a 12-game season. Kind of like back in the Felker days when James Williams led the SEC in tackles. He was a mediocre LB, but he played inside LB for a bad team whose offense went 3 and out a lot and a defense that couldn't get off the field. Of course he was going to lead the league in tackles. Webb had a lower YPC than Williams did last year and his career YPC is 4.52 to Williams 5.23.

 

[maroonmania]

Mullen wen full retard with the carry distribution the first half of 2016. I'm not going to hold Aries' feet to the fire over that entering 2017.

Ill give you depth though.

Yep, hate to say it but taking away Mullen's option to give the ball to Holloway or Shumpert is a big, big plus for our RB group. Although I'm sure we will suffer immensely from losing their masterful knowledge of our pass blocking schemes.**

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Projections are always a mix of perception and reality. Patterson was 5 star and #1 dual threat QB coming out of HS. Although OM sucked, his numbers were good in the games he played.

For the life of me, I don't understand why people give an ounce of give a **** to preseason rankings. It's like predicting the weather 3 months from now. I can play the odds and tell you it's gonna be hot and partly cloudy with a good chance of rue. That's what most of these guys do.

FIFY

 

[KurtRambis4]

I'd

Our WR group now, and its an indictment on Mullen and Gonzales, is as bad as it was under Croom

venture to guess that our WR corps this year (and I'm not saying it's the best ever) will outperform any under crooms.

Under crooms, our top 3 WRs' combined yards receiving averaged just over 1000 yards per season.

Under Mullen, it has been 1600.

I think we're going to be over 1000. Hell, Grey had 700 yards as the secondary option, last year.

I expect him to put up similar numbers (barring injury) and have two other guys combine for at least 400-500.

 

[blacklistedbully]

Yep, hate to say it but taking away Mullen's option to give the ball to Holloway or Shumpert is a big, big plus for our RB group. Although I'm sure we will suffer immensely from losing their masterful knowledge of our pass blocking schemes.**

Yep. Same thing happened when LP graduated. Mullen kinda got forced to use JRob more, and JRob kicked ***, just like he did in the few carries he got the year before.

Don't get me wrong. I loved LP, I just don't think we used him properly his senior year (up the middle for no gain again & again), and we overused him. We'd put JRob in once in a great while and he'd pop off a great run, blasting through defenders. Then we'd pull him right back out and watch LP take a couple of carries up the gut for 2 yards or less and kill a drive.

I love a lot of things about Dan Mullen. That is not one of them.

 

[HD6]

Wouldn't the fact that he plays for a mediocre team and he's this close to those kind of numbers point towards him being a really good running back? I mean, Felker gave Tay Galloway a lot of carries, but he didn't put up any kind of numbers.

If you want to equate Webb being the second leading rusher in the history of the SEC as "volume" be my guest.

 

[patdog]

There's a LOT of backs that have come through the SEC and averaged better than 4.5 YPC. So yeah, it's by definition a volume stat. He's already in the top 10 in rushing attempts and still has a full season to go.

Well ****, I replied to the wrong HD6 comment.

 

[aTotal360]

Thanks. Ruekie mistake.