'09 FB Class Review: OL

Gabriel Jackson
Ht: 6'4" Wt: 295
Scout	*** #52 OT
Rivals	*** #85 OT, #28 in Mississippi
ESPN	74 #124 OT

Ah, the offensive line. No stats and notoriously difficult to evaluated for the future, even for coaches nevermind someone like me. So this will be short yes? Yes. The weight I've shown above might not be accurate. That is around the area the consensus hovered around back in October. Now I'm seeing much more in the 310-320 pound range. The point is he is a big dude. Most are projecting him as a tackle but his height suggests guard to me. 6'4 is a little short for a tackle though they are out there. More often at schools like MSU that can't get the prototypical OT, so yeah. Jackson also held offers from Southern Miss, Ole Miss, Auburn, and LSU. The offers and the ratings say a very good pick up by MSU standards.

Sam Watts
Ht: 6'4" Wt: 290
Scout	*** #66 OT
Rivals	*** #12 C, #50 in Georgia
ESPN	75 #18 C

VIDEO!!



Watts was the first commitment of this class, joining up back in February. . . of 2008. Alot of what I read about him is more about how good of a guy he is than how good of a player he is. Anyway, his stock went up during his senior year, but I can't find any other scholarship offers for him. Likely partly due to the ridiculously early commitment, but also partly due to his talent. I'm kind of meh on him for now. I'll admit it is my bias showing through. After 5 years of Captain Character, hearing about how good a kid is just isn't going to cut it for me anymore. I want the horses to start kicking some ass.


Overall Grade: C+

I wavered on what grade to give here. I went with the harsher end of the spectrum. Only two lineman from last year moved on (not counting Alford) and only one was a starter so in that sense I can see OL not being a big need. But now we only have 14 OL (Feld is purely a long snapper, nothing more) and I would like to see at least 15 if not 16 total. On top of that the OL has been bad for years. It needs an infusion of talent. Basically it was the numbers game that yielded the final grade. Jackson looks like a good and Watts looks like a flier on a project. I don't mind that combination, especially on the OL. However, the lack of one if not two more recruits at this position is cause for concern though. Mullen needs to hit the OL hard in the upcoming year. Three will be the bare minimum.