http://www.yardbarker.com/content/team/635 Recent articles about the Mississippi State Bulldogs en-us Off we go into yet another edition of the Big Orange Roundtable. This week our host is Rocky Top Talk, regarded as being one of the best, if not the best of all Volunteer blogs on the Internet. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:13:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293645 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/293645 Whether you believe he's a legend in the making or a liar, Urban Meyer stokes passions on all sides. Legend advocates will cite his second-year National Championship and a sophomore Heisman Trophy winner. Liar advocates are lining up against Meyer as stories continue to build, just as bridges linking Meyer to other coaches continue to burn. Consider these recent stories from other sites and sources on Meyer's recruiting tactics. It's unlikely the following schools have Meyer on their Christmas card list. LSU: Florida was ready to take all-star corner Patrick Johnson with what they thought was a bogus test score, but he committed to LSU. How did Florida respond? "Florida flagged my scores," Johnson said. "They called the compliance office." "I'm not upset," Johnson said. "Florida made an issue about the ACT score. They're cowards. They had to go behind my back. But that's OK. We play them this year (on Oct. 11 at Florida)." FSU (posted on noledigest.com): "While Gator fans will sit and give excuses or spin the details of what is going on, there is no denying that it seems like the UF staff flat-out lies to these kids. "Here is a quote from Trent Pupello (a player they initially compared to Jeremy Shockey), who is looking to leave the program this year: 'Coach (Steve) Addazio (UF tight ends coach) told me to work on my speed,' Pupello said. 'He didn't say that my speed was slow or anything. He just said that everything (at this level) is faster. "'I need to work on speed and getting stronger, which is pretty much what we all need to work on. He said that they need me at tight end, that I'll have an early chance to play and that all of the tight ends will play on the special teams.'" Michigan site (on the recruitment of Daryl Stonum): The University of Florida stayed on the four star pass-catcher well all the way through. Things crescendoed recently after a conversation with Urban Meyer. According to Stonum, Meyer had a compelling reason why he should become a Gator. "He told me that he talked to Coach Carr and Coach Soup and that they told him that I would be a much better fit in the Florida offense than I would be in the one at Michigan," Stonum recalled. "I thought, wow, my coaches are selling me out? I confronted them about it. I asked Coach Carr and Coach Soup about it, and they said they never talked to that guy and that there was no way they ever said anything like that and that they think I should be a Wolverine. I believed them. Right then, I knew just how Florida rolled." Just Funny: You can't tell the story about Jevan Snead enough (recounted in the book Meat Market). The funniest thing I read in it concerned what Urban Meyer told Jevan Snead. Snead had watched the Outside the Lines special on Tebow, which showed Meyer and OC Dan Mullen in the stands. Problem was, Meyer had told Snead, committed at the time, that he was the only quarterback they were going after. When Snead asked Meyer about it, Meyer responded, "We are recruiting him for linebacker." I had heard that before, but got a big kick out of reading it in the book straight from Snead. More LSU from Fox 26 in Houston: "Hempstead's Terrance Toliver, one of the nation's top high school football recruits, says negative recruiting tactics by the University of Florida first had him confused and bewildered. But in an unusual move, two Hempstead High School employees went above and beyond the call of duty to help Toliver make the biggest decision of his life. "After a vigorous early recruiting rush, it came down to LSU and Florida for Toliver, considered by many the No. 1 high school recruit in Texas and the best wide receiver in the nation. He ended up signing a letter-of-intent with LSU on National Signing Day Wednesday, but not before Florida coaches took several shots at LSU, leaving Toliver unsure what to do next. "'Every time (Florida recruiters) came, they just said LSU doesn't qualify their players,' Toliver told FOX 26's Mark Berman Wednesday. 'About (how) their academics are not all that. It kind of had me confused.'" "Eventually a bewildered Toliver asked his football coach Rick Sargent and Hempstead instructional coordinator Tina Johnson to go to Baton Rouge to find out the truth about LSU. The two went last weekend. 'They went and checked (LSU's) academics out and their facilities,' Toliver said. 'They just came back and told me whatever Florida was saying about the academics wasn't true.'" Notre Dame Blog: When Meyer recruited Justin Trattou he did so by the cover of night. Not that it's illegal, but he told Trattou not to tell anyone he was talking with Florida. Keep in mind that Trattou was committed to Notre Dame at the time. Amongst other things, Coach Meyer talked to Trattou about how the 3-4 defense was not a good fit for him and his football future (read: NFL, which is garbage—the Cowboys, Patriots, and Chargers all use the 3-4). Former Gators assistant coach Greg Mattison's favorite topics about Notre Dame (with several recruits), despite his previous love for the school, included how the weather sucked and the social life suffered. Case in point No. 2: Omar Hunter, same deal as before. Omar was snookered into lying to everyone from Notre Dame coaches and players to likely even his parents, especially his father, who wanted him at Notre Dame due to the academics. Hunter said that he was not talking to other schools, when in fact he was—Florida included—while being a Notre Dame commitment. In the end, Hunter was a fraud himself, but he was not the one who was truly taken for a ride. Coach Mattison recruited Hunter. He had an ax to grind with Notre Dame after leaving South Bend on not so good terms, and he definitely took it to another level with Hunter. Mattison, you see, had an assistant coaching job lined up with the Baltimore Ravens long before this past National Signing Day came around. So when Hunter switched his commitment to UF after initially deciding to attend Notre Dame, Mattison and Meyer did what came naturally. They lied to Hunter about the entire situation, telling Hunter that Mattison was not leaving Gainesville. Just by complete and total coincidence, Mattison ended up taking a job with the Ravens right after National Signing Day. Shocking! And oh yes, Notre Dame assistant coach Bill Lewis, who recently retired as a football coach, told Hunter what was about to happen. Hunter did not listen and signed with the Gators. Urban continues to build the best talent base not located in Southern California. Success certainly breeds enemies, but so does recruiting. Urban Legend or Urban Liar? Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:09:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291802 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/291802 Las Vegas doesn't think the Mississippi State Bulldogs will get more than seven wins on the football field this fall......6.48 wins is the actual prediction. Is this accurate and can the Bulldogs be at least 7-5 this upcoming season? Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:33:08 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290625 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290625 These are my rankings for the SEC defenses for fantasy college football. In no way does this reflect how I predict teams to finish in the conference standings. Thanks for viewing! Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:43:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288273 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288273 These are my rankings for the SEC offenses for fantasy college football. In no way does this reflect how I predict teams to finish in the conference standings. Thanks for viewing! Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:33:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288270 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/288270 Florida is stockpiling weapons for a run at the national title and Percy Harvin is expected to be a huge factor for this team. Not only is Harvin one of the best receivers in the NCAA, he's also the top fantasy receiver in Athlon Sports' 2008 SEC Fantasy WR Ranks. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:44:35 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281803 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/281803 After a stellar freshman season, Georgia's Knowshon Moreno has his sights set on an even better 2008 - and one that could result in a Heisman Trophy. Moreno is one of the top five fantasy running backs in college football and is the top rated option in the SEC. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:35:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279385 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/279385 Ole Miss Football Program Has Multiple Departures, SEC Basketball Tournament in Memphis and the SEC Announces Early Season Football TV Schedule. Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:36:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278711 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/278711 I admit to having a bias towards the SEC, in fact, I'm convinced the SEC is the best football conference in America. However, I'm not so nearsighted that I didn't recognize other teams and conferences play a respectable brand of football. Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:08:59 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275507 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/275507 Every team in the SEC has rounded out their 2008 schedule and I thought it might be fun to grade each team. I'm going to rank the top four teams based on difficulty of their season opener, first and second half schedules, home and away schedules and toughest overall schedule. Tue, 20 May 2008 03:11:01 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268842 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268842 After having the brilliant idea of firing guns on campus in March, Mississippi St. football players Michael Brown and Quinton Wesley have been suspended for two years and three years, respectively. Each will be on probation during the sentence. Wed, 07 May 2008 15:00:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264386 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/264386 SportProjections.com has released their first version of the college football bowl projections for next season. Where is your team bowling? Visit each team page to get the latest headlines from local newspapers and the best bloggers on the web. Remember to add a profile for other sport fans to discuss the picks. If you're a blogger, add your profile and website address to help your SEO and advertise your site. If you're a fan of a smaller school that doesn't have a group on our site please add your team and rss feeds for the team. If you have any questions how to create it please contact us at sportprojections@gmail.com Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:47:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/167407 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/167407 This guy can lay the Lumber big Time! Tue, 22 Jan 2008 06:05:09 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/79998 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/79998 This will be an awesome game. Conference USA vs SEC. Sat, 29 Dec 2007 07:13:41 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/55346 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/55346 Instead of mostly every game on New Years Day, the casual sports fan must now wade through three weeks of bowl games and hope you can catch maybe one or two that will remain with you until the next bowl season comes around. This year might not produce the greatest bowl game ever, but here are seven bowl games that you must tune into. Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:33:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/51337 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/51337