'09 FB Class Review: Special Teams

Signing day is behind is and Mullen pulled in quite the haul. His first class is already better than any of Croom's 5 classes, and that is with him being on the job for all of 2 months. Sure, Croom deserves some credit but Mullen did the bulk of the work, gaining commits from several who weren't looking at MSU while Croom was here and preventing the onslaught of decommits that was imminent had Croom been retained. Anyway, we get things started with special teams.

Sean Brauchle
Ht: 5'9" Wt: 175
Scout	*** #100 Juco
Rivals	***
ESPN	Doesn't grade JUCOs

I don't know how relevant offers for a kicker are but FYI Brauchle also had offers from Ohio, Southern Miss, and Hawaii. Played running back in high school, time to dust off the fake FG. 19/25 on FGs as a freshman and 14/19 as a sophomore. Converted a 52 and 55 yarder as a freshman and sophomore respectively. First team JC All American both years.

33/44 on FGs overall. 75%. That isn't as high as I would like it, but on the plus side he clearly has significant range. Maybe the days of the 20 yard line being out of FG range are finally over. 4 years has been long enough.

Heath Hutchins
Ht: 6'2" Wt: 215
Scout	*** #70 Juco
Rivals	***
ESPN	Doesn't grade JUCOS

Hutchins averaged 44 yard per punt during his two seasons in junior college. He led the country as a sophomore with a whopping 46.1 average. Coming out of high school he was the #1 punter at the Ray Guy Punting Academy. I don't know what that means but it sounds nice.


Overall Grade: A
As we all know, special teams were absolutely atrocious in every aspect last year. They were easily one of the worst units in the country. Both the starting punter and kicker have graduated and to be perfectly honest that is addition by subtraction, but even so replacements were needed. It appears special teams will be instantly upgraded at both spots. Hutchins averaged several yards more in JUCO than McAdams did last year and hopefully will finally eliminate the dreaded 5 yard punt and even flip field position every once in a while. Brauchle clearly has a much stronger leg than Carlson did. This will help in two ways: 1) We should be able to kick 35+ yard field goals if Mullen chooses. With Carlson it really wasn't even an option, the Egg Bowl being the exception. 2) Brauchle should be able to get some touchbacks every once in while. We don't think about it but those can be crucial. I believe Carlson kicked one touchback all year. Concerns about Brauchle's accuracy is all that keeps this from being an A+.

Wesley Carroll Transfers to FIU

We knew it was coming several weeks ago but this makes it official. Carroll is headed to Florida International. Scholarship counts in the sidebar have been updated.

Mark Hudspeth Joining MSU Staff

According to Veazey, Mark Hudspeth is resigning from his head coach position at North Alabama to join Mullen's staff. No word yet on what his role will be, but you have to think OC. Outstanding hire.

Its amazing the turn around that is going on here. Less than a month ago we had Croom and everything that came with him. I won't rehash it all. Now our staff consists of Dan Mullen, one of the top OC's in the country, and Mark Hudspeth, one of the top D-II head coaches. Amazing. Thank you Mississippi State for finally giving a crap about your football program.

New Helmet??

A different helmet made an appearance at the press conference.



Maroon!!! Don't know if this will be the helmet next year, but I sure hope this is the end of those awful white ones. Not only are they ugly I'll always associate them with Croom. I prefer the interlocking MSU or MS but I'm just happy to see the possible return of the maroon helmet. Maroon facemask is cool too. I think they need to outline the State banner in maroon instead of the silver or gray they've got going on now. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed that the white helmet is dead.

That Was a Breath of Fresh Air

Courtesy of Bulldawg Junction

Just got done watching the Dan Mullen press conference and boy was that refreshing. I always came away from Croom's press conferences thoroughly depressed, even in his first couple of years. The man had no energy, came off as lazy and uncaring, and never talked about football. Today though, this was the polar opposite. Energy, excitement, enthusiasm, a plan as far as x's and o's, etc.

A few notes, all from memory:

-4 year contract, 1.2 million per year. They didn't mention it but I'm sure he has incentive bonuses. I'm thrilled with that contract. Gives plenty of room to go out there and get quality assistants as well as giving us room to offer him a substantial raise to try and keep him should things go well.
-Mullen said he is going to make special teams a priority. Said he'll be directly involved if not the special teams coach. Thank you!
-Mullen is going to be heavily involved with the offense, to nobody's surprise. He will be hiring an OC though.
-We're going to be running the spread. Thank you! Like I said, breath of fresh air.
-He mentioned recruiting over and over again. Seems to have a passion for it.
-The man is just full of energy and passionate in general. Intense would be a good description.
-His whole philosophy on offense is to get his best players out in space. Spread the defense sideline to sideline, make them defend the whole field. Get playmakers one on one with the defense, get them in mismatches and let his playmakers make a play.
-He is "going to adjust the spread to fit his personnel". What a novel concept, adjusting your offense to fit your players. Did I mention this was a breath of fresh air?
-The standard aggressive, attacking D. 11 men to the ball . . . I think every coach in the history of football has said those exact words. Still, nice to hear from your coach.
-Goal is Atlanta
-"We can catch up in a hurry." Croom is furious. He say "that isn't the right way."

I'm sure there is more I've left out.

Mullen Officially Introduced

Mullen is going to be officially introduced at 11 eastern, 15 minutes from now. I'm cutting it a little short but you can watch via this link if you are so inclined.

The Search is Over!! Its Dan Mullen

ESPN has just broke the story, Dan Mullen is the next head football coach at Mississippi State. Go read the article. I don't know about you but it gets me pumped about this hire. Good job Byrne. I'll have more on Mullen, what I think of the hire and more this afternoon.

Dan Mullen Has Interviewed for the Job

From ESPN, according to Urban Meyer, Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen has interviewed for the job. Boy this has been a tight lipped search. I think this is the first official interviewee we've heard so far.

It Was Fun While It Lasted

Oh Well. Link.

Of course that report contradicts itself, what with Petersen saying he wasn't offered and a t.v. station just below that saying he was offered. Strange, but thats a coaching search for ya. The way it all is worded actually leaves the door still slightly ajar if you want to hold on to the dream. I'm moving on for the time being.

So who are we looking at now? Graham? Wilson? Dooley? Gill? We'll see.

F it, I'm Getting Your Hopes Up

More and more smoke out there so I'm just coming out with it. Chris Petersen. Yep, thats the rumor and it is spreading like wildfire. I've probably set you all up for a huge letdown but oh well. Lets have some fun.

Again though, NOTHING OFFICIAL. So stay tuned.