'09 FB Class Review: DB

Dennis Thames
Ht: 5'11" Wt: 185
Scout	*** #40 S
Rivals	**** #20 ATH, #10 in Mississippi
ESPN	78 #58 ATH

Dennis Thames had offers from Southern Miss, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn, Alabama, and Michigan. He played RB, WR, and S in high school and excelled at all three. Last year Thames had 97 tackles, 5 interceptions, and four defensive TDs. On offense he ran the ball for 677 yards and 8 TDs to go along with 532 yards receiving and 8 more TDs. Bottomline, he is a playmaker.

Thames was all set to play safety, but then Mullen saw the garbage that Croom left him at WR and so Thames will play there at least his freshman year. I'm leaving him at safety though in this review because I suspect once Mullen gets some more bodies in at WR, Thames will be moved back to safety. Of course if Thames excels at WR, which is entirely possible, he will stay there no matter how many WRs Mullen recruits.

You can check out some video of Thames at his ESPN evaluation.

Nickoe Whitley
Ht: 5'11" Wt: 185
Scout	*** #80 S
Rivals	*** #74 ATH, #22 in Mississippi
ESPN	73 #170 S

Whitley also had offers from Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Nickoe might actually be underrated. He tore his ACL and MCL in his second game of his senior year and missed the rest of the season. Hard to move anywhere but down in the ratings when you don't play. On the flip side, you don't know how that injury will affect him in the future.

Whitley played QB and defensive back in high school. One of those situations you see so often in Mississippi, and high school football in general really, where the best athlete on the team is put at QB. He'll be a safety here though. Whitley had 40 tackles and 5 interceptions his junior year and had returned a fumble 55 yards for a touchdown his senior year.

The big question is how good will Whitley be after that injury? Will he be the same player or is this one of those situations where he just is never quite the same again? I'd have to think he is almost certain to redshirt.

Cameron Lawrence
Ht: 6'2" Wt: 205
Scout	*** #84 S
Rivals	*** #50 ATH, #15 in Mississippi
ESPN	79 #41 ATH

Cameron Lawrence had offers from Louisiana-Monroe, Duke, Southern Miss, and Oklahoma St. Lawrence is another guy that played QB as well as in the secondary. Last year he had 57 tackles and 13.5 sacks playing defense.

Lawrence graduated early and came in during the spring. The coaches tried him out some at both quarterback and wide receiver but now he is settled in at his more natural position of safety. He has great size for a safety and could end up at LB down the road if he adds a few pounds. ESPN practically drools over him in their evaluation. Now ESPN's evaluations all tend to be ridiculously positive, but this one even more so than usual.

Jonathan Banks
Ht: 6'2" Wt: 175
Scout	*** #69 S
Rivals	*** #63 ATH, #23 in Mississippi
ESPN	80 #27 ATH

From what I can tell, Banks didn't have any other Div IA scholarship offers. Which is contradictory to his ratings and numbers. Now part of this is he committed back in March of his junior year. That tends to make people shy away, but if a team wants you bad enough, they won't let a commitment slow them down. If I'm not mistaken he plays for a smaller school so that might factor into it as well

Banks played a similar role to Whitley, playing both offense (QB/WR) and defense (S/LB) in high school. He'll be playing defense here at MSU and looks like he'll be starting out at CB due to a lack of numbers there but may end up at safety eventually as he is probably a better fit there. Banks had 35 tackles and 7 interceptions his senior season.

Banks is supposed to be supremely athletic and a big hitter but that was at a small school and poor competition. Nearly every game he was the best player on the field, now he will probably never again be the best player on the field. How does he adjust? Should be a candidate for a redshirt but thin numbers at both CB and S could dictate he play.

Maurice Langston
Ht: 5'11" Wt: 185
Scout	**** WR
Rivals	*** CB
ESPN	Doesn't rate JUCOs

Langston had offers from North Texas, Troy, UAB, Memphis, and Kentucky. He originally signed with Arkansas State 3 years ago, redshirted his freshman year, then went to junior college for a couple of years. He started out as a cornerback last year, which is what position he is coming to MSU as, but moved to receiver mid-season due to the teams need and excelled. On top of that he is a skilled kick returner. Last year Langston caught 44 passes for 658 yards and seven TDs, ran for 267 yards and 10 TDs on 54 carries, and returned 2 punts and one kickoff for TDs. You can see he is a playmaker

Unfortunately Langston was a moron and was selling weed either back in the spring or early summer. Or at least he is accused of that. He is still on the team but is not practicing and no further decision on his future will be made until a legal outcome has been established. Translation: he won't be playing this year, or at least not very much. He will just be too far behind with missing so many practices. Seeing as how he has already used his redshirt, the best case scenario is he helps the team on the field for one year.

Darius Slay
Ht: 6'0" Wt: 180
Scout	** #116 RB
Rivals	** WR
ESPN	76 #109 S

Slay had offers from Kentucky and Troy. He did a little bit of everything in high school and may have ended up at cornerback, safety, wide receiver, or kick returner at Mississippi State. He didn't have the grades though and will have to go to junior college. We'll see if he comes back around in a couple of years.

Overall Grade: B-

If you look at just safeties this is a good haul, and becomes a fantastic group if Thames eventually winds up at safety. A definite A+ with Thames and A- without. Either way safety is in good shape in the future. Cornerbacks are DBs too though and this position doesn't look so hot. There is some uncertainty that could help the cornerbacks out though. Does Banks stick at cornerback? Will Langston get his head out of his butt or is it already too late for him? If Banks and Langston end up at CB then things aren't so bad, it is still a pretty mediocre group though. On the other hand there is the potential for there to be not a single cornerback in this class and with a measly four CBs on the current roster, one being a senior, that would be an absolute disaster.

'09 FB Class Review: RB

Montrell Conner
Ht: 6'2" Wt: 215
Scout	**** #31 RB, #277 overall
Rivals	*** #34 ATH, #18 in Louisiana
ESPN	82 #7 RB, #63 overall

Conner had offers from pretty much everyone: Southern Miss, Ole Miss, TCU, Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama, Oregon, etc. Full disclosure though, many of those offers were for Conner to come in as a LB. That is what helped MSU get him, they're going to give him a shot at RB.

His junior year Montrell Conner split time with the starter and still ran for 1,139 yards on 205 carries (5.6 ypc) and 13 TDs. The following year Conner took over the starting job and carried the ball 247 times for 1,951 yards (7.9 ypc) and 19 TDs.

Like I said Conner is coming in as a RB and is clearly quite skilled in that department judging by the numbers. Its comforting to know though that if RB doesn't work out he was just as highly thought of. As a runner Conner isn't a shifty kind of guy. He doesn't juke, doesn't move well laterally, doesn't have much in the way of evasive movesm, and doesn't look very fluid. He is purely a straight north-south runner. What he does excel at is running over people and breaking arm tackles. He is a bruiser, not an elusive runner. You can see a video of him at ESPN here. When I watch him, what comes to mind is "I wish Dixon would run like this for once." There is no dancing, no useless juking, no sideline to sideline running. He just hits the hole full speed, runs straight ahead and dares anyone to try and tackle him. He knows his strengths and sticks to them.

LaDarius Perkins
Ht: 5'9" Wt: 185
Scout	*** #77 RB
Rivals	*** #37 all purpose back, #24 in MS
ESPN	78 #48 ATH

Perkins had offers from Louisiana-Monroe, Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss, BYU, and Auburn. He originally committed to Auburn but decommited at the last minute when Mullen took over. His senior year Perkins ran for 1,915 yards on 139 carries ( 13.8 ypc!!) and 29 TDs.

Perkins is pretty much just the opposite of Conner. He isn't a power back and won't be running through half as many tackles. What he is is elusive, quick, shifty, and fast. He'll play RB but I'm sure he will be split at in the slot frequently. For some reason, despite the rankings and offers I am more excited about Perkins than Conner. Maybe it is because he seems to be a much better fit in the spread. He just looks like your typical spread RB.

Rather than talk about him though, we have video! Judge for yourself. Turn the sound off. You're welcome.

William Shumpert
Ht: 6'0" Wt: 238
Scout	*** #14 FB
Rivals	*** #7 FB, #17 in Mississippi
ESPN	74 #22 FB

Shumpert had offers from Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, and Ole Miss. In high school he played both DE/DT and FB. His senior season, Shumpert made 96 tackles, 31 for loss, and 13.5 sacks. On offense he ran for 278 yards on 56 carries (5 ypc) and three TDs to go with 5 receptions for 81 yards and a TD.

Shumpert is starting out on offense at RB/FB. Although he is supposed to be a terrific blocker he might have trouble breaking through there. The primarily blocking FB rarely makes an appearance in Mullen's offense. If he can prove his value running, even if its only in short yardage situations, or catching the ball out of the backfield to go along with his blocking then Mullen will find a place for him. Although the smaller, shifty guys tend to excel in this offense, there is still plenty of room for a big bruising RB. Even if offense doesn't work out though , he still might be able to make the move to the DL. Heck, that might even be a better fit.

Overall Grade: A+

Yes A+. Mississippi State loses 3 runningbacks after this year so they really need to hit a homerun in this class, and they did. Conner is highly thought of by everyone and while Perkins doesn't have the offers, his skill set is perfect for the new offense. On top of that you get two very distinct and unique styles and skill sets. I'm not sure how or if Shumpert fits in on offense. It will all depend on how Mullen decides to use the FB. Shumpert is the only scholarship FB at this time and we know Mullen is much more creative than Croom so I'm not counting Shumpert out.

Dakota Merritt Leaves Team

Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Dakota Merritt has left the team. It isn't clear whether he is transferring or simply giving up football and staying at MSU. Probably doesn't affect this year that much except now MSU will only have 13 scholarship OL which is a little lower than you would like. However Mullen will have to hit OL hard in recruiting the rest of this year. 3 OL is probably the minimum needed now instead of 2.

'09 FB Class Review: LB

Chris White
Ht: 6'4" Wt: 235
Scout	****
Rivals	*** #64 JC
ESPN	Doesn't grade jucos

Chris White is a bit of a puzzling story. As a freshman in junior college, White had 87 tackles. Last year he had 113 tackles, 9 TFL, 2 interception, and 2 fumbles returned for touchdowns. He enrolled in the spring semester and quickly locked down the open OLB job vacated by the departed Dominic Douglas. Nothing has changed thus far in fall practices and White will be starting come September 5th. Now comes the head scratcher, his other scholarship offers were from South Alabama and South Florida.

So whats the deal? Did everyone else just whiff on him? I almost never subscribe to that theory but when he comes in and wins the starting job so easily . . . Look I know MSU isn't loaded with talent, but the LBs behind K.J. Wright and Jamar Chaney are decent. I'm cautiously optimistic but the lack of offers does give me pause. White played MLB in junior college but will be playing OLB at MSU.

Deontae Skinner
Ht: 6'1" Wt: 234
Scout	*** #28 SLB
Rivals	*** #39 Weakside DE, #19 in Mississippi
ESPN	74 #111 DE

Skinner is a bit of a DE/LB hybrid. He would probably be a good fit as a 3-4 OLB but seeing as how MSU doesn't run a 3-4, that won't be his fate. I suspect he will eventually end up a DE, where he played his senior year of high school but he will at least start at LB so that is where I'm putting him.

Deontae Skinner held offers from Southern Miss and Ole Miss. Skinner had 122 tackles and 5 sacks as a junior, followed up with 134 tackles, 28 TFL, and 11 sacks his senior year.

Skinner seems like a prime candidate for a redshirt, regardless of whether he ends up at DE or LB. Just too many bodies in front of him.


Overall Grade: B-

The problem here is MSU may have only brought in one LB. True there are a fair number already on the team (seven) and only one leaves after this year (Jamar Chaney) but I still feel State could have used at least one if not two more LBs besides Skinner. Secondly I feel pretty good about White's talent level. Actually I feel very good about it but the lack of scholarships is something that kind of hangs in the back of my mind. If White doesn't pan out and Skinner ends up at DE, MSU may have problems at LB the next couple of years. After Chaney and Wright, the linebackers are decent but nothing to write home about. They still have time to develop so we'll see.

Terrance Davis and Delmon Robinson Transferring.

Look, transfers are just part of a coaching change. Its inevitable, even when you go from an incompetent one like Croom to Mullen its still going to happen, but couldn't someone besides two WRs leave? Outside of QB, no position can less handle the departure of two players. Plus the fact that the two were battling it out for the last of three starting jobs. Robinson looked pretty good last year when Croom remembered to put him in the game and Davis was the 2nd best WR in the spring game. Both their skills were nice fits for the slot WR position.

Not sure why they left. Both were guarenteed lots of playing time and little competition with the increased number of WRs used in this offense and the barren wasteland that is our returning WRs. With their departure, MSU now has two returning WRs that have ever caught a pass in a Div I game. One of those is Arceto Clark with a whopping 3 catches for 11 yards. . . You better be ready to go Bumphis. You are going to be playing this year . . . alot.