Jackson Prep...What Happened?

[msaisbandkid]

It seems that since Ricky Black left, Jackson Prep hasn't been the same team. There has been a massive drop-off in talent from last year as well, but it feels like that the culture at Prep has completely changed for the worst. So what happened? Comment your thoughts below.

[TheAnswer]

They fired a legend. They deserve what they get.

[Arashatora]

They don't recruit as well as Greenville Christian, obviously

[HammerDown74]

If Alabama fired Nick Saban wouldn't you expect the same?

[msaisbandkid]

59 minutes ago, HammerDown74 said:

If Alabama fired Nick Saban wouldn't you expect the same?

Yeah but you would still expect Alabama to still have more wins than losses. Prep is on track to go 6-7 right now.

[Washed_Up_Athlete]

The short answer is that JP doesn't have enough skill players this year.  A few baseball players who could have helped the team this year opted to not play football. But I doubt the team would be in that much of a different spot at this point of the season had they played.

 

However, the thoughts that (1) Prep is on the downslide to long-term mediocrity and/or (2) Black is the reason for said downturn are wrong. The current 10th grade class has a few really good players. The 9th grade class is loaded with skill players and linemen. It's the most talented class in the school. JP should be good next year, and really good for the next couple of years after that.

 

As for Black, it was time for a change. Black's offense had fallen behind the times, his refusal to adapt allowed the program to grow stale, and his well-earned ego and gruff demeanor had eroded morale inside and around the program. Jerrion Ealy's immense talent masked these issues.

 

Coach Turner isn't the reason JP is having a down year, but like all of us, he's not perfect. He's made mistakes. But he's running a more modern offense and he will soon have the talent in place to fully implement it. 

 

The MAIS of today is more competitive than it has been in years. JA is good this year and was good last year. It was not very good for the 4 or 5 years before that. Hartfield is a new challenge to Prep's ability to lock down Rankin County talent. MRA has the benefits of geography and demographics. 

 

The elephant in the room is the willingness of MAIS schools to admit kids into school who are borderline academically but are top-notch athletically, and the willingness of boosters within those schools to pay for these kids' tuition. Hartfield is heavily recruiting and sponsoring athletes. While the extent to which MRA routinely does so is somewhat exaggerated, MRA certainly recruits and sponsors a few athletes every year. JA is good now - and there are obvious reasons. Pogue is a good coach and he's found ways to get boosters to supplement his roster in the skill positions. 

 

Prep doesn't recruit and sponsor athletes as much as these other institutions. It has always had the raw numbers to allow it to avoid recruiting and sponsorship. Whether it will be willing to fill its talent deficiencies in certain places with sponsored athletes remains to be seen.

[s1nglewing]

Stale program? Behind the times? Black's teams had won seven straight championships prior to 2019, and 13 in 24 seasons.

I do agree that demeanor means a lot, and humility is hard to come by in 400 game winners... but he is a 400 game winner... and has never been head coach of a losing team... ever. Absolute foolishness to run that kind of leadership and experience off. Coach Turner is definitely no Coach Black - take that however you wish.

 

And yes Prep took several steps backwards in football by ignominiously pushing him out the door, as is evidenced by the fact that Prep under this "modern" leadership has the potential to attain their first losing season since 1970, and will be lucky to be .500 at season's end.

 

[lions727]

1 hour ago, s1nglewing said:

Stale program? Behind the times? Black's teams had won seven straight championships prior to 2019, and 13 in 24 seasons.

I do agree that demeanor means a lot, and humility is hard to come by in 400 game winners... but he is a 400 game winner... and has never been head coach of a losing team... ever. Absolute foolishness to run that kind of leadership and experience off. Coach Turner is definitely no Coach Black - take that however you wish.

 

And yes Prep took several steps backwards in football by ignominiously pushing him out the door, as is evidenced by the fact that Prep under this "modern" leadership has the potential to attain their first losing season since 1970, and will be lucky to be .500 at season's end.

 

Seems pretty accurate to me. I think Ealy masked a lot of what Prep people were getting irritated about before he showed up. A lot of people were calling for Black to be out when JA went on its last run of three championships in a row. Doesn't really surprise me at all that they actually did it once MRA got two. 

[TheAnswer]

2 hours ago, Washed_Up_Athlete said:

 

Prep doesn't recruit and sponsor athletes as much as these other institutions. It has always had the raw numbers to allow it to avoid recruiting and sponsorship. Whether it will be willing to fill its talent deficiencies in certain places with sponsored athletes remains to be seen.

But yet they tried to recruit Brandon High’s RB, even going as far as picking him up in a limo. Go somewhere else with that…

[Washed_Up_Athlete]

2 hours ago, s1nglewing said:

Stale program? Behind the times? Black's teams had won seven straight championships prior to 2019, and 13 in 24 seasons.

I do agree that demeanor means a lot, and humility is hard to come by in 400 game winners... but he is a 400 game winner... and has never been head coach of a losing team... ever. Absolute foolishness to run that kind of leadership and experience off. Coach Turner is definitely no Coach Black - take that however you wish.

 

And yes Prep took several steps backwards in football by ignominiously pushing him out the door, as is evidenced by the fact that Prep under this "modern" leadership has the potential to attain their first losing season since 1970, and will be lucky to be .500 at season's end.

 

Yes, Prep had become stale. It ran a pro-style offense out of an I-back field. It's QB ran back and forth to the sideline between plays. Its players and many of its boosters were upset for years over Black's refusal to adapt. Using the Alabama example from above, Saban suppressed his ego, brought in Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, and modernized his offense. Black refused to do what Saban did. Instead, he leaned on Jerrion Ealy (a generational talent) and Chance Lovertich (a very good high school QB) and an otherwise overwhelming talent advantage to mask these issues for years. Once these players were gone, the concerns about the antiquated offense and Black's handling of players surfaced.

 

Prep has always had a raw numbers advantage. What has begun to happen in recent years (with the arrival of Herbert Davis at MRA, the well-documented happenings at Greenville Christian, and Pogue at JA) is that those who are able and willing to recruit and sponsor a significant number of athletes have not only closed the gap, they've pulled ahead. So, going back to the original observation by MSAISBANDKID - I agree. Prep is not as talented this year as it was last year. And last year was not nearly as talented as the years before it. And that happened under Black - not Turner.

 

But the talent decline is not solely Black's fault. Heck, it's not even mostly his fault. It's the result of demographics, geography, and the willingness and ability of a substantial enough group of boosters and school officials to bring in players in positions of need.

 

The reality is that MRA has a larger pool of kids to pull from than does Prep given its geography (Madison County) and demographics (more people who are willing and able to pay for private school within its footprint). Herbert and the school have done a fine job of exploiting these and other advantages.

 

Hartfield is new to the scene. Hartfield is substantially cheaper than Prep, it's also located in Rankin County, and it has boosters who are sponsoring players. It is a direct threat to Prep that Black never contended with. 

 

JA is a more difficult question. It does not have the inherent demographic and geographic advantages of MRA, Hartfield, or Prep. But it does have a good senior class, a coach that understands the school's challenges, and a handful of boosters who are willing to sponsor a few players a year. Whether JA can continue to remain competitive in the face of its challenges remains to be seen.

 

The question asked by MSAISBANDKID was whether the culture at Prep has changed for the worse, and if so, why. The answer is that yes, the culture has changed for the worse. But the change had begun years ago and the effects of it were covered up. Now that the program has a rare talent deficiency, they are easier to see. But I suspect the program will begin to turn the corner next year. As I mentioned earlier, there's a lot of young talent in the wings. More talent than most, if not all, of its competitors will have. 

 

Time will tell whether Prep "will be lucky to be .500 at season's end." It sits at 4-2 now, with games against MRA, JA, PCS, Hartfield, and Yazoo City remaining. Prep will likely lose to MRA. It is probable that it will lose to JA, but don't be surprised if that game is closer than anticipated. Prep, in my opinion, will likely beat PCS, Hartfield and Yazoo City. This would render a 7-4 record. If they win 2 of 3, Prep would have a 6-5 record. 

[Washed_Up_Athlete]

1 hour ago, TheAnswer said:

But yet they tried to recruit Brandon High’s RB, even going as far as picking him up in a limo. Go somewhere else with that…

 

Tried to recruit? Either it did recruit or it didn't? And if it did, that's perfectly acceptable. Prep's a private school. It wouldn't exist without recruiting. Nor would JA, MRA, Hartfield, St. Joe, or any other private school.

 

 

[Arashatora]

11 minutes ago, Washed_Up_Athlete said:

 

Tried to recruit? Either it did recruit or it didn't? And if it did, that's perfectly acceptable. Prep's a private school. It wouldn't exist without recruiting. Nor would JA, MRA, Hartfield, St. Joe, or any other private school.

 

 

I thought you went to private school so you can learn about God in school.... /s

[Washed_Up_Athlete]

3 hours ago, s1nglewing said:

"And yes Prep took several steps backwards in football by ignominiously pushing him out the door, as is evidenced by the fact that Prep under this "modern" leadership has the potential to attain their first losing season since 1970, and will be lucky to be .500 at season's end."

Prep is 4-2 with losses to Greenville Christian (#1 overall team in the state) and Heritage (a team that beat a Ricky Black coached team 2 years ago). I know you can't be seriously suggesting that this Prep team would have beaten GCS if Black were coaching it.  In 2019, Black lost to Heritage with a far more talented roster than this Prep team. Are you seriously contending that you're certain Black would have beaten Heritage this year with this Prep roster? You can't possibly know that.

 

I understand an affinity for Ricky Black and his career. He is a great coach. His record speaks for itself. I understand being upset with the circumstances surrounding the end of Black's tenure. But the idea that he'd have done better with this team is a stretch.

3 hours ago, s1nglewing said:

 

 

[SCVMC1G]

2 hours ago, Washed_Up_Athlete said:

 

Tried to recruit? Either it did recruit or it didn't? And if it did, that's perfectly acceptable. Prep's a private school. It wouldn't exist without recruiting. Nor would JA, MRA, Hartfield, St. Joe, or any other private school.

 

 

. . . wouldn't exist without recruiting? I'll assume you just worded that badly. Regardless it's totally untrue. Most private schools don't recruit. The ones that do are pretty easy to pick out. With that said, you are correct about it being acceptable, as long as their tuition isn't subsidized. Per MAIS rules, any student receiving finanacial assistance isn't allowed to play sports. For whatever reason MAIS is just crap at enforcing it. We all know it happens but it's mainly at the larger and more wealthy schools. There are a few exceptions but not many. 

[SCVMC1G]

2 hours ago, Arashatora said:

I thought you went to private school so you can learn about God in school.... /s

That's one reason. That and to prevent brainwashing with revisionist history and having wokeism crammed down their throats. 

[Arashatora]

34 minutes ago, SCVMC1G said:

That's one reason. That and to prevent brainwashing with revisionist history and having wokeism crammed down their throats. 

Lol, ok there guy

[HammerDown74]

I wouldn't care if Ricky Black had an offense with 10 people in it, huddled every play, and never got the ball outside the hashes, if he won 7 state championships in 9 years at my school with that, I would not say one word about it.

[Washed_Up_Athlete]

15 hours ago, SCVMC1G said:

. . . wouldn't exist without recruiting? I'll assume you just worded that badly. Regardless it's totally untrue. Most private schools don't recruit. The ones that do are pretty easy to pick out. With that said, you are correct about it being acceptable, as long as their tuition isn't subsidized. Per MAIS rules, any student receiving finanacial assistance isn't allowed to play sports. For whatever reason MAIS is just crap at enforcing it. We all know it happens but it's mainly at the larger and more wealthy schools. There are a few exceptions but not many. 

No, I worded it precisely as intended. Recruiting is not only legal, it's necessary. These schools need students from families who can pay tuition to continue operating. They obtain these students through recruiting. Drive down Lakeland Drive or I-55 and you'll see billboards of multiple schools (JA, Prep, St. Andrews, MRA) advertising for private schools. They are there to recruit students. Many private schools have personnel whose job is to direct or participate in student recruitment.

 

What violates MAIS rules is being "shown financial consideration by a school, or any of its associated organizations, on the basis of his value to the activity program of the school." There are various "signs of misguided and faulty financial aid" listed in the MAIS rules. These include: (1) A pattern of transfers into an athletic program receiving financial aid, especially at the senior high level; (2) Shear numbers of athletes receiving financial aid; (3) Involvement of Boosters' Clubs with financial aid; (4) Discovery of transfers receiving aid, but not listed on the MAIS Eligibility Report; (5) Aid to athletes coming from one source, or benefactor, over an extended period of time; (6) No evidence of inclusion of non-athletes; and (7) Consistent reports from other member schools that a problem exists with the competitions' financial aid as it relates to recruiting.

 

So, your statement that "any student receiving financial assistance isn't allowed to play sports" is wrong. A school most certainly can provide financial aid to athletes so long as it also includes non-athletes in an overall financial aid program. 

[SCVMC1G]

9 hours ago, Washed_Up_Athlete said:

No, I worded it precisely as intended. Recruiting is not only legal, it's necessary. These schools need students from families who can pay tuition to continue operating. They obtain these students through recruiting. Drive down Lakeland Drive or I-55 and you'll see billboards of multiple schools (JA, Prep, St. Andrews, MRA) advertising for private schools. They are there to recruit students. Many private schools have personnel whose job is to direct or participate in student recruitment.

 

What violates MAIS rules is being "shown financial consideration by a school, or any of its associated organizations, on the basis of his value to the activity program of the school." There are various "signs of misguided and faulty financial aid" listed in the MAIS rules. These include: (1) A pattern of transfers into an athletic program receiving financial aid, especially at the senior high level; (2) Shear numbers of athletes receiving financial aid; (3) Involvement of Boosters' Clubs with financial aid; (4) Discovery of transfers receiving aid, but not listed on the MAIS Eligibility Report; (5) Aid to athletes coming from one source, or benefactor, over an extended period of time; (6) No evidence of inclusion of non-athletes; and (7) Consistent reports from other member schools that a problem exists with the competitions' financial aid as it relates to recruiting.

 

So, your statement that "any student receiving financial assistance isn't allowed to play sports" is wrong. A school most certainly can provide financial aid to athletes so long as it also includes non-athletes in an overall financial aid program. 

Where do I start . . . advertising your school is not the same as recruiting for football. Not even close. If you want to call it that fine but it's still untrue because most don't even advertise. Some is not all. Many (and it's not even that) is not all. Additionally the context being discussed is recruiting for sports and not only do not all do it, most don't. I've been involved with MAIS my whole life as a student, parent and grandparent of students, coach and boster and  your perception, guess, whatever it is isn't accurate. Recruiting for sports or just students in general is not necessary or needed and the vast majority don't even do it. As for the rules violations, once again the context of the discussion is schools, the few that do, recruting athletes with subsiduzed tuition to play football. You conveniently left out the first part of that first sentence where it states, "No student may be eligible to participate in inter-school athletics if he has been shown financial consideration by a school, or any of its associated organizations, on the basis of his value to the activity program of the school." The "Signs of misguided and faulty financial aid" are EXACTLY what schools who break this rule do. So to summerize: your statement that ALL private schools recruit, whether you take it in the context of the discussion or as your have twisted it as advertising, is false. Subsequently your comment that it's neccessary and they wouldn't exist otherwise is also false because only a few either recruit or advertise and they are the 6A schools in the Jackson area.  There are waiting lists to get in most private schools and most are in small town and rural areas. Lastly, my statement about financial assistance is absolutely correct in the context of what was being talked about, but If you like I'll word it differently. "Any student receiving financial aid based on their athletic ability isn't allowed to play sports."  

[Washed_Up_Athlete]

17 hours ago, SCVMC1G said:

Where do I start . . . advertising your school is not the same as recruiting for football. Not even close. If you want to call it that fine but it's still untrue because most don't even advertise. Some is not all. Many (and it's not even that) is not all. Additionally the context being discussed is recruiting for sports and not only do not all do it, most don't. I've been involved with MAIS my whole life as a student, parent and grandparent of students, coach and boster and  your perception, guess, whatever it is isn't accurate. Recruiting for sports or just students in general is not necessary or needed and the vast majority don't even do it. As for the rules violations, once again the context of the discussion is schools, the few that do, recruting athletes with subsiduzed tuition to play football. You conveniently left out the first part of that first sentence where it states, "No student may be eligible to participate in inter-school athletics if he has been shown financial consideration by a school, or any of its associated organizations, on the basis of his value to the activity program of the school." The "Signs of misguided and faulty financial aid" are EXACTLY what schools who break this rule do. So to summerize: your statement that ALL private schools recruit, whether you take it in the context of the discussion or as your have twisted it as advertising, is false. Subsequently your comment that it's neccessary and they wouldn't exist otherwise is also false because only a few either recruit or advertise and they are the 6A schools in the Jackson area.  There are waiting lists to get in most private schools and most are in small town and rural areas. Lastly, my statement about financial assistance is absolutely correct in the context of what was being talked about, but If you like I'll word it differently. "Any student receiving financial aid based on their athletic ability isn't allowed to play sports."  

So angry. This is just a message board. Here are quotes of your comments and my responses to them:

 

(1) "advertising your school is not the same as recruiting for football. Not even close. If you want to call it that fine but it's still untrue because most don't even advertise. Some is not all."

 

Whether most MAIS member-schools advertise is irrelevant to the questions of (a) is it illegal to do so and (b) what is the purpose of advertising. It is not illegal to do so, and the purpose is plainly to attract new students, ie. recruiting.

 

(2) "Recruiting for sports or just students in general is not necessary or needed and the vast majority don't even do it."

 

Whether recruiting for sports is "necessary or needed" is relative. If you're talking about a small, rural MAIS school that only competes against other small, rural MAIS schools - then perhaps not (so long as you don't want to compete with that small, rural MAIS school - Greenville Christian). If, however, you're talking about competing against MRA's newest D1 QB, his legion of 6'2"-6'4" receivers, 4 separate RBs that each run sub-4.6 40s, and an O-Line that routinely contains D1 prospects, then you must have players who can match up or your doors will be blown off. And some of those players don't just magically appear. Many of them are recruited. Some come from families who can pay tuition. Others do not. 

 

(3) "As for the rules violations, once again the context of the discussion is schools, the few that do, recruting athletes with subsiduzed tuition to play football. You conveniently left out the first part of that first sentence where it states, 'No student may be eligible to participate in inter-school athletics if he has been shown financial consideration by a school, or any of its associated organizations, on the basis of his value to the activity program of the school.' The 'Signs of misguided and faulty financial aid' are EXACTLY what schools who break this rule do."

 

The rule says that schools and associated organizations cannot provide financial consideration "on the basis of his value to the activity program of the school." Schools provide financial aid on a need-based basis. So, if a prospective student athlete is from a family that cannot afford tuition, then the tuition is reduced by the school to a more affordable level. This is done for all families. Thereafter, a group of boosters pool together resources and subsidize the tuition of a few kids. It may be one kid in any given year. It may be four or five. But the school is not involved in this subsidy and has no direct knowledge of it. The MAIS does not investigate - to address your comment from earlier in the thread - because there's nothing it can do. No law is broken. It can't sue. It has no authority over third parties. You want to know how Greenville Christian is getting away with what it's doing now? This is how. The MAIS is powerless if the school isn't involved and no one is providing proof.

 

(4)  "Subsequently your comment that it's neccessary and they wouldn't exist otherwise is also false because only a few either recruit or advertise and they are the 6A schools in the Jackson area.  There are waiting lists to get in most private schools and most are in small town and rural areas."

 

As I said earlier, recruiting in small, rural schools may not be necessary to compete with other small, rural schools - unless, of course, that school is Greenville Christian. 

 

(5) "Lastly, my statement about financial assistance is absolutely correct in the context of what was being talked about, but If you like I'll word it differently. 'Any student receiving financial aid based on their athletic ability isn't allowed to play sports.' "

 

That's not the rule. The actual rule is quoted above. As I discussed previously, the school and its associated organizations (ie. booster clubs) cannot provide financial consideration on the basis of an athlete's ability to help a sports program. But there's nothing in the rule that says Bobby, Sam, Tommy and Ted cannot each contribute to a pot of money that they then use to cover tuition for a kid - so long as the school is not involved and has no knowledge of the situation. You may not like it. You may think it violates the purpose and spirit of the rule. But, as the rule is written and enforced, it's perfectly legal. Just ask certain boosters at Greenville Christian.  

Edited September 30, 2021 by Washed_Up_Athlete

[SCVMC1G]

1 hour ago, Washed_Up_Athlete said:

So angry. This is just a message board. Here are quotes of your comments and my responses to them:

 

(1) "advertising your school is not the same as recruiting for football. Not even close. If you want to call it that fine but it's still untrue because most don't even advertise. Some is not all."

 

Whether most MAIS member-schools advertise is irrelevant to the questions of (a) is it illegal to do so and (b) what is the purpose of advertising. It is not illegal to do so, and the purpose is plainly to attract new students, ie. recruiting.

 

(2) "Recruiting for sports or just students in general is not necessary or needed and the vast majority don't even do it."

 

Whether recruiting for sports is "necessary or needed" is relative. If you're talking about a small, rural MAIS school that only competes against other small, rural MAIS schools - then perhaps not (so long as you don't want to compete with that small, rural MAIS school - Greenville Christian). If, however, you're talking about competing against MRA's newest D1 QB, his legion of 6'2"-6'4" receivers, 4 separate RBs that each run sub-4.6 40s, and an O-Line that routinely contains D1 prospects, then you must have players who can match up or your doors will be blown off. And some of those players don't just magically appear. Many of them are recruited. Some come from families who can pay tuition. Others do not. 

 

(3) "As for the rules violations, once again the context of the discussion is schools, the few that do, recruting athletes with subsiduzed tuition to play football. You conveniently left out the first part of that first sentence where it states, 'No student may be eligible to participate in inter-school athletics if he has been shown financial consideration by a school, or any of its associated organizations, on the basis of his value to the activity program of the school.' The 'Signs of misguided and faulty financial aid' are EXACTLY what schools who break this rule do."

 

The rule says that schools and associated organizations cannot provide financial consideration "on the basis of his value to the activity program of the school." Schools provide financial aid on a need-based basis. So, if a prospective student athlete is from a family that cannot afford tuition, then the tuition is reduced by the school to a more affordable level. This is done for all families. Thereafter, a group of boosters pool together resources and subsidize the tuition of a few kids. It may be one kid in any given year. It may be four or five. But the school is not involved in this subsidy and has no direct knowledge of it. The MAIS does not investigate - to address your comment from earlier in the thread - because there's nothing it can do. No law is broken. It can't sue. It has no authority over third parties. You want to know how Greenville Christian is getting away with what it's doing now? This is how. The MAIS is powerless if the school isn't involved and no one is providing proof.

 

(4)  "Subsequently your comment that it's neccessary and they wouldn't exist otherwise is also false because only a few either recruit or advertise and they are the 6A schools in the Jackson area.  There are waiting lists to get in most private schools and most are in small town and rural areas."

 

As I said earlier, recruiting in small, rural schools may not be necessary to compete with other small, rural schools - unless, of course, that school is Greenville Christian. 

 

(5) "Lastly, my statement about financial assistance is absolutely correct in the context of what was being talked about, but If you like I'll word it differently. 'Any student receiving financial aid based on their athletic ability isn't allowed to play sports.' "

 

That's not the rule. The actual rule is quoted above. As I discussed previously, the school and its associated organizations (ie. booster clubs) cannot provide financial consideration on the basis of an athlete's ability to help a sports program. But there's nothing in the rule that says Bobby, Sam, Tommy and Ted cannot each contribute to a pot of money that they then use to cover tuition for a kid - so long as the school is not involved and has not knowledge of the situation. You may not like it. You may think it violates the purpose and spirit of the rule. But, as the rule is written and enforced, it's perfectly legal. Just ask certain boosters at Greenville Christian.  

You know you have thrown a lot of words like  "if", "may"  and "could" in this long response. This comment, "Whether most MAIS member-schools advertise is irrelevant to the questions of (a) is it illegal to do so and (b) what is the purpose of advertising. It is not illegal to do so, and the purpose is plainly to attract new students, ie. recruiting." really had me cracking up. IT IS TOTALLY RELEVANT BECAUSE YOU SAID NO PRIVATE SCHOOL COULD EXIST WITHOUT DOING IT! LOL! Bottom line, this is your original comment: "Tried to recruit? Either it did recruit or it didn't? And if it did, that's perfectly acceptable. Prep's a private school. It wouldn't exist without recruiting. Nor would JA, MRA, Hartfield, St. Joe, OR ANY OTHER PRIVATE CHOOL."  It was a false statement when you typed it, false when I initially responded to it, and false now. These schools have existed for 50 years without recruiting and will another 50. The small few that do it do so to gain an athletic advantage, NOT because they must to survive. For you to insist they have to do that to exist shows how little you know about MAIS schools. When they do that and support the athletes financially it is illegal . . . boosters or anyone attached to the school doing it is illegal. You can twist things and type long convoluted responses all you like but when you get through you're still wrong. 

Edited September 30, 2021 by SCVMC1G
Typo

[Washed_Up_Athlete]

[msaisbandkid]

On 9/28/2021 at 3:40 PM, Washed_Up_Athlete said:

Yes, Prep had become stale. It ran a pro-style offense out of an I-back field. It's QB ran back and forth to the sideline between plays. Its players and many of its boosters were upset for years over Black's refusal to adapt. Using the Alabama example from above, Saban suppressed his ego, brought in Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, and modernized his offense. Black refused to do what Saban did. Instead, he leaned on Jerrion Ealy (a generational talent) and Chance Lovertich (a very good high school QB) and an otherwise overwhelming talent advantage to mask these issues for years. Once these players were gone, the concerns about the antiquated offense and Black's handling of players surfaced.

 

Prep has always had a raw numbers advantage. What has begun to happen in recent years (with the arrival of Herbert Davis at MRA, the well-documented happenings at Greenville Christian, and Pogue at JA) is that those who are able and willing to recruit and sponsor a significant number of athletes have not only closed the gap, they've pulled ahead. So, going back to the original observation by MSAISBANDKID - I agree. Prep is not as talented this year as it was last year. And last year was not nearly as talented as the years before it. And that happened under Black - not Turner.

 

But the talent decline is not solely Black's fault. Heck, it's not even mostly his fault. It's the result of demographics, geography, and the willingness and ability of a substantial enough group of boosters and school officials to bring in players in positions of need.

 

The reality is that MRA has a larger pool of kids to pull from than does Prep given its geography (Madison County) and demographics (more people who are willing and able to pay for private school within its footprint). Herbert and the school have done a fine job of exploiting these and other advantages.

 

Hartfield is new to the scene. Hartfield is substantially cheaper than Prep, it's also located in Rankin County, and it has boosters who are sponsoring players. It is a direct threat to Prep that Black never contended with. 

 

JA is a more difficult question. It does not have the inherent demographic and geographic advantages of MRA, Hartfield, or Prep. But it does have a good senior class, a coach that understands the school's challenges, and a handful of boosters who are willing to sponsor a few players a year. Whether JA can continue to remain competitive in the face of its challenges remains to be seen.

 

The question asked by MSAISBANDKID was whether the culture at Prep has changed for the worse, and if so, why. The answer is that yes, the culture has changed for the worse. But the change had begun years ago and the effects of it were covered up. Now that the program has a rare talent deficiency, they are easier to see. But I suspect the program will begin to turn the corner next year. As I mentioned earlier, there's a lot of young talent in the wings. More talent than most, if not all, of its competitors will have. 

 

Time will tell whether Prep "will be lucky to be .500 at season's end." It sits at 4-2 now, with games against MRA, JA, PCS, Hartfield, and Yazoo City remaining. Prep will likely lose to MRA. It is probable that it will lose to JA, but don't be surprised if that game is closer than anticipated. Prep, in my opinion, will likely beat PCS, Hartfield and Yazoo City. This would render a 7-4 record. If they win 2 of 3, Prep would have a 6-5 record. 

The only remaining team Prep could beat at this point is PCS. Hartfield and Yazoo are both bigger and have more talent on both sides of the ball. Tack on a first round win and a probable playoff game loss in the semifinals and you have a 6-7 record.

[Washed_Up_Athlete]

36 minutes ago, msaisbandkid said:

The only remaining team Prep could beat at this point is PCS. Hartfield and Yazoo are both bigger and have more talent on both sides of the ball. Tack on a first round win and a probable playoff game loss in the semifinals and you have a 6-7 record.

 Time will tell. 

[choctawman]

Yazoo is terrible.