The Great Mississippi Debate continued this week between Sam Wells and me on Rebel and Bulldog Sports Radio, as we discussed defensive linemen for both Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Both schools have done an admiral job of building their defensive line depth and making an impact in the SEC and both have high profile players along the defensive front.
You can hear our analysis of both schools defensive lines by clicking on the media player below. Another item we discussed is the defensive line coaching at both schools between David Turner and Chris Kiffin. As you can imagine, the opinions were split down party lines, but after further research I am here to tell you that David Turner Trumps Chris Kiffin every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Kiffin has been at Ole Miss since 2011, while Turner is in his second stint at MSU.
While Ole Miss has the high profile five stars of players like Robert Nkemdiche and Channing Ward, to go along with a few four-stars, the Bulldogs have recruited at almost the same level as the Rebels as both show 14-defensive linemen on their respective campuses – Ole Miss with a 3.5 recruiting star average and State with a 3.3.
Kiffin is most known for his ability as a recruiter as he won the National Recruiter of the Year back in 2013 by Scout.com. Kiffin is also known by his family name and his late night Twitter rants and come at me bro approach to rival schools.
But – to me the one defining quality of a coach or a position coach is to develop talent and send them to the next level. David Turner has done this time and again and will continue to do so at MSU or anywhere else he coaches.
Turner currently has six former Bulldogs in the NFL, while Kiffin has zero. Yes Robert Nkemdiche is a lock for the first round, but most knew that about him coming out of high school.
Fletcher Cox, Kyle Love, Pernell McPhee, Josh Boyd, Preston Smith and Kaleb Eulls all fall under the Turner Tutelage.
Simply put, Turner just does more with his “ball of clay” than Kiffin does or has. While Nkemdiche is a name Kiffin will hang his hat on in the future, no other current Rebel defensive linemen are projected as “NFL Draft Picks”. Isaac Gross and Fadol Brown might find their way on an NFL roster via free agency but that’s about it. I guess Channing Ward could potentially play Canadian Football or in the Arena League, but that’s a far cry from the 5-star Kiffin inherited.
Meanwhile, Turner should see Chris Jones get drafted in the 2016 Draft and many Scouts are already raving about Ryan Brown being the next Preston Smith and grabbing a draft spot.
Both schools should be proud of their defensive line talent and depth and coaches, but when you talk coaching production, player development and giving guys the keys to the next level – there’s no question David Turner Trumps Chris Kiffin every day of the week and even twice on Sunday.