Jackson Free Press

Football recruiting is as competitive as the game played on the field. Recruiting has become bigger and bigger in the digital age with sports sites building pages to follow top prospects.

Nearly everyone this preseason has gone gaga over Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s performance this NFL preseason by. Well, unless you’re Fox Sports radio personality Colin Cowherd.

Unless you’re Cowherd or thinks like he does, it is hard not to be impressed with the way Prescott has played in two games. It is the preseason, after all, but with each throw and each play, the budding legend of Dak grows.

In his first start in his first game, Prescott went 10 of 12 passing for 139 yards with two touchdown passes. The two incompletions were drops from a backup tight end against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Internet went wild, and rightly so. Prescott’s performance was great for a guy who was picked in the fourth round and expected to sit behind Kellen Moore as the third-string guy. Instead, Moore broke his leg, and Prescott was thrust into the backup spot.

It seemed right to slow down the hype train with just one game under his belt. But Prescott went on to put on a show in his second preseason game.

When Dallas played the Miami Dolphins this past weekend, Prescott got to work with both the starters and No. 2 players on the depth chart. It might have been a new week, but it was the same performance, if not better, than week one.

Prescott went 12 for 15 passing for 199 yards and two touchdown passes and ran two more in for touchdowns. In his second game, Prescott had a four-touchdown game, has yet to throw an interception and has taken just one sack.

Cowherd wasn’t impressed, but the rest of the Internet was going bonkers for Prescott. In the preseason, Prescott has gone 22 of 27 passing for 338 yards with four touchdowns passing and two touchdowns rushing.

He has an 81.5 completion percentage and a 158.3 passer rating. The former Mississippi State University star leads all rookie quarterbacks in nearly every passing stat.

Cowherd might not be impressed yet, but maybe he can be convinced if he sees the stats.

So far in the preseason, 22 quarterbacks, including Prescott, have seen some sort of playing time. Those 22 quarterbacks include the 15 that were drafted and the rest who were signed as undrafted free agents.

During the draft, seven quarterbacks were drafted ahead of Prescott, and one was drafted just four spots behind him. One of the quarterbacks, Christian Hackenberg, who the New York Jets drafted out of Pennsylvania State University, has yet to even take one snap in the preseason.

For our purposes, only quarterbacks who have attempted 20 or more attempted passes will get a full rundown. That means Cleveland Browns quarterback Cody Kessler, drafted out of the University of Southern California in the third round, doesn’t make the list with his five pass attempts.

The first overall pick …

There has been plenty of talk this week about the state of TV ratings for NFL games. Currently, the league is experiencing a dip of 10 to 11 percent in the ratings from the previous season.

Everyone is speculating what is causing the ratings to drop, but there is no magical answer to the decline in viewership.

But here are my reasons, from smallest to biggest.

6. Scandals

It seems like the scandals never end in the NFL—Bountygate, Conclusions, Deflategate, domestic violence by players, and so on and so forth.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see fans stop tuning in because they are tired of hearing about a different scandal each week. After a while, everyone gets fed up with the constant, never-ending negative news coming out of the league.

These fans will probably return around the playoffs as long as another giant scandal doesn’t grip the league for the rest of the season. If the scandals keep up, these fans could find something else to watch.

5. Anthem Protest

Just look on Facebook or other social media sites, and you will see articles on folks protesting the protesters in the NFL.

Since players started kneeling during the national anthem, fans have supported and criticized the players involved. Those who dislike the protest have decided not to watch.

Casual fans and those who don’t follow a team regularly are probably the ones more likely to not watch because of the anthem protests. Hardcore Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers and other national-team fans are going to tune in each week.

These fans will come back at some point, but they will probably not watch while they are mad at the players. Few people are that upset over the players to not watch at all, so in reality, this could make up a small number of viewer loss.

4. MLB Playoffs

The ratings for the MLB playoffs are up this year. Why? Because fans have strong interest in the teams still alive this postseason.

They want to see if the Chicago Cubs can break their curse and win their first World Series since 1908. They want to see if the Cleveland Indians can win their first World Series since 1948.

With the playoff games on TBS, MLB Network and FS1, fans are finding channels they don’t normally tune into and watching this postseason.

MLB’s postseason is going to steal more casual fans from NFL games. Everyone wants to see something they have never seen before, and a ton of people have never seen a Cubs or Indians team win the World Series.

These fans will return to football once the World Series is over in late October or early November, depending how long the series lasts. This is one of the few times in recent years that the MLB playoffs have been more compelling than the NFL regular season.

3. Too Much NFL

There has been plenty of news before the NFL Draft’s kickoff tomorrow night, Thursday, April 27, that could send players down the draft board. Some is understandable, and some could be considered ridiculous.

Let’s start with the ridiculous and work our way to more serious elements. One thing to remember: the run-up to the draft is one long job interview.

Last week in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, writer Bob McGinn reported the scores of several players who took the Wonderlic intelligence test at the NFL Combine. ESPN’s Darren Rovell pointed out two players who scored an 11 out of 50 on the test and Rovell was roasted on social media. Since then, Rovell took the official test and wrote about taking it and how it changed him.

The leaking of Wonderlic scores has gone on since the NFL began using the test in the 1970s. If you don’t know, the test is 50 questions taken in 12 minutes with just a pencil and scrap paper. The employers use the test to assess the intelligence of prospective employees.

If you follow the NFL Combine, everyone does the same testing. All the players bench-press 225 pounds, run the 40-yard dash, and so forth. Not all the tests really apply to every position, but to get an apples-to-apples comparison, every player does the same tests.

The Wonderlic doesn’t mean a ton for most positions. If any position makes sense, it is the quarterback position, where you have to process a good deal of information and do it quickly.

What other players score on the test really isn’t entirely game-changing but is important. Players have known for years that the NFL gives the test at the combine. Agents have been preparing players for the test for years, as well.

If everything is a test at the combine, the way a player approaches the Wonderlic is a test. Remember, this is a giant job interview. If a player scores low on the test, teams might do more research on the player to find out why.

NFL teams will want to know why a player bombed a test that he knew he had to take. Did the player care enough to even prepare for the test? Is the player bad at taking tests? If the player didn’t care to prepare for the test, teams will wonder if that player will prepare for a NFL career. The test is part of an evolution process and not really about how smart the players are.

No one should be made fun for what he scored on the test. It is simply a way for teams to see whether players are going to put in the work that is needed to be in the NFL.

It also never fails that a player or two will fail the drug test at the NFL Combine. This year, it was University of Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster and University …

Seventeen weeks of the regular season has reduced the NFL down to 12 teams. Only two of those 12 will play in the Super Bowl.

The Mississippi State's women's basketball team defeated Michigan State 74-72 in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament on Sunday. The reward for that win is a date in Bridgeport, Conn. to face No. 1 overall seed the Connecticut Huskies at 10:30 a.m. on ESPN.

UConn defeated Duquense 97-51 Monday, March 21, and moved to 34-0 on the season. The Huskies also won their 71st straight game and reached the Sweet Sixteen for the 23rd straight time. Connecticut scored at least 20 points in all four quarters, and the Dukes never topped 20 points in a single quarter.

There might not be a more dominating force in all of sports right now than Connecticut women's basketball. The Huskies are seeking their fourth straight national championship.

Just how dominant have the Huskies been this season?

UConn has defeated every team on their schedule by 10 or more points this season. Only Notre Dame and Maryland lost by 10 points, and South Carolina lost by 12 points. The Gamecocks beat Mississippi State by six and 14 points in their two meetings this season.

The Huskies haven't had a game where they failed to score 75 or more points all season long and have topped the century mark five times this season. UConn has also defeated nine ranked teams as they steamrolled the competition.

Even Las Vegas is all in for the Huskies to win it all. Just to win $100, you would have to bet $900 that UConn wins it all. One Vegas sports bookie is allowing those who bet to take the field or UConn, where a $100 bet against Connecticut would net $600 should the Huskies loose.

Things don't get much better for the Bulldogs due to the site of the game. UConn is 54-1 in games played in Connecticut and 9-1 in Bridgeport, where Mississippi State will play.

All of these numbers don't mean the Bulldogs can't shock the world and beat the mighty Huskies. What it does mean is that Mississippi State has to play the best game in program history.

The Bulldogs have to be perfect on defense, force turnovers, get steals and don't under any circumstances give UConn easy baskets. On offense, Mississippi State has to hit shots and can't go cold from the field for long stretches like it did against both Chattanooga and Michigan State in the team's first two tournament games.

It would also help if the Huskies had an off day and played a little sloppy and were cold shooting. Because even if everything goes right for Mississippi State, it will take a monumental effort to defeat the Huskies.

A win by Mississippi State would be the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history for men or women. It would surpass, in my mind, the biggest upset ever when North Carolina State defeated heavily favored Houston and Phi Slamma Jamma and won the title.

If the …

After last Saturday's 59-27 loss to Grambling Stat, Jackson State made the decision to fire head coach Harold Jackson during the team's bye week. The firing was first reported by the Clarion-Ledger.

Jackson's tenure ended after just 17 games and a 1-4 start this season and a 1-2 record in SWAC play. In just a season and just over a quarter of a second season, Jackson had a 6-11 overall record and 3-8 record in SWAC play.

Jackson State has given up 30 or more points every game this season and has given up 50 plus points in three of four losses. The Tigers offense had only scored over 30 points twice this season. JSU's one win was by four points (34-30 to Texas Southern) and 10 points is the closest loss (35-25 to Tennessee State).

Last season, Jackson State lost to Mississippi Valley State for the first time in over twenty years but rallied to beat Alcorn State (2014-15 SWAC Football Champions) to end the season.

At the time of the Jackson's firing no interim head coach was named. Jackson State doesn't take the field again until October 17, when the Tigers hit the road to face Alabama A&M (who currently also has one win going into a game against Grambling State this weekend).

Update:

Jackson State has announced that former Tigers quarterback Derrick McCall will take over as head coach for the last six games of the 2015-16 season. McCall has is in his eighth season as a coach at JSU.

During his time with Jackson State McCall was wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. He was a standout quarterback for the Tigers from 1979-82 were he helped lead the program to two SWAC Championships and two berths in the Division I-AA playoffs.

McCall's first home game as head coach will come on October 24 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Last week the JFP College Football preview broke down the hopes and dreams of the colleges and universities in Mississippi. An entertaining issue that you should check out if you haven't yet. Before college football starts on Thursday night, let's look at each conference with some predictions. Enjoy.

The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Comes to a Close

This regular season of college basketball turned out to be wild and unpredictable, so fans hoped that the NCAA Tournament would be the same.

The first weekend of the tournament played out just like the regular season, with upsets and potential Cinderellas. Reality came crashing down during the second weekend as most of the upstarts went home, and the major conferences or basketball powers from non-football conferences were the only programs still standing.

Slowly, the tournament turned into the Atlantic Coast Conference invitational. Seven teams from the ACC got into the tournament, and six went to the Sweet Sixteen. Four ACC teams reached the Elite Eight and two reached the Final Four.

The ACC was so dominant in this tournament that three out of the six of the conference's losses have come at the hands of other ACC teams. University of Wisconsin's win over University of Pittsburgh, University of Oregon's win over Duke University and Villanova University's win over University of Miami (Fla.) were the only non-ACC on ACC losses.

So what began as wild and unpredictable became a question of whether anyone could stop the conference's march to end up as the eventual champion. The uncertainty became full-on blowouts in the Final Four as the University of North Carolina and Villanova rolled Syracuse and the University of Oklahoma, respectively.

Tonight, either the Tar Heels or the Wildcats will win a national championship.

This run in the tournament is something positive for North Carolina after an academic scandal rocked the school. UNC is still waiting for the NCAA to decide what will happen after former athletes and students were found to be taking no-show classes, where students signed up to take a class but didn’t ever see the inside of a classroom even though they earned high grades.

Villanova on the other hand, is living life like it is 1985. The eighth-seeded Wildcats were the last team to win a title with no shot clock.

On its way to the title in 1985, Villanova beat North Carolina, but the Tar Heels won titles in 1993, 2005 and 2009. The Wildcats are looking for their second title in program history.

This game should feature two great defenses and two solid coaches. Villanova reached the final without a possible NBA player on the roster. North Carolina looks for its sixth title and is seemingly always loaded with top talent.

The Wildcats are a team where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. UNC is athletic and long and can control the paint area.

This matchup is the best overall team against the best conference. North Carolina is a three-point favorite in Las Vegas, but Ken Polmeroy’s model favorites Villanova.

Coverage starts at 8 p.m. on TBS for the national broadcast, TNT will provide the homer call for North Carolina, and Tru TV will give the Villanova homer call.

The first month of the NFL season is in the books and it has been a strange four weeks so far. At the quarter turn mark several of last year's playoff teams have started slowly or darn right awful. It is widely know that each year, nearly half the playoff teams from the year before fail to make the playoffs. Here is a quick look at last year's playoff teams.

The seemingly never ending story is over. ESPN's NFL reporter Chris Mortensen is reporting Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints have reached a deal before the July 16 3p.m. deadline.

Mortensen reports the deal is five years worth $100 million. First year is worth $40 million and Brees will earn $61 million in first three years of the deal with $60 million being guaranteed.

The $60 million guaranteed to Brees is the largest guarantee in NFL history. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio also has confirmed the numbers, adding that there are $22 million more in “rolling” guarantees as the contract unfolds.

Finally, one of the Saints offseason sagas is over. Now if that pesky "Bounty Gate" will ever end.

More details on the Brees deal:

Drew Brees becomes the NFL's first $20 million man.

Now that the new deal is in place, Brees' cap number will drop next season from $16.37 million to $10.4 million. The cap number for the record setting quarterback will be $17.4 million (2013), $18.4 million (2014), $26.4 million (2015), $27.4 million (2016).

It is important to note that in 2015 the new TV deal kicks in which is why the number jumps so high from 2014. Another important detail, although highly unlikely, on the third day of the wavier wire (normally the third day after the Super Bowl) in 2015 and 2016, Brees will be guaranteed more than half his $19 million base salary (2015) and again more than half his $20 million base salary (2016).

The unlikely part is the Saints must cut the quarterback before the third day of the waiver wire or the club is on the hook for the full guaranteed money. This would allow Brees more time to find a new team if the Saints decide to cut him. Again, highly unlikely as long as the quarterback is playing at a high level but if it does, Brees would hit the market before free agency begins in 2015 or 2016.

Brees will receive a $37 million signing bonus (paid out over the next six months) and a base salary of $3 million this season (2012). Because of the new deal, New Orleans gains $6 million in salary cap space for this season.

The team also announced that Drew will available in a press conference on July 24 at Saints Camp in Metairie. The time is to be determined.

Early today, I posted my predictions for the BCS conferences. Now I will look into my crystal ball and see if I can figure out the conferences on the outside looking in as far as the BCS is concerned. I'm adding BCS Buster potential in this post. Not every conference will have a potential BCS Buster. Since there are four FBS Independents I will just post what I think their win/loss record will be this year. Also, my biggest bold prediction of the year. Are you ready for it?

National Signing Day in college football is close to the draft in the NFL. Most every coach will say that his team got some of the players that it needed to win in the next season or in the near future through that event.

Just like the NFL Draft, football fans won’t know the true winners and losers from Signing Day for a couple of seasons. The high-school and junior-college players that signed with teams yesterday, Feb. 1, still have to live up to the potential that made them worth taking a chance on.

Most recruiting rankings, including Scout, Rivals and ESPN, only look at the Division 1 FBS teams. There are few sites that rank FCS teams, but 24/7 Sports ranks 250 teams across the nation. The website has Alcorn State University with the 186th-ranked recruiting class and Jackson State University with the 206th-ranked class.

Mississippi Valley State University wasn’t ranked in the top 250 schools in the 24/7 Sports rankings, but interestingly, Mississippi College ended up at 218th on the site.

While the recruiting rankings are somewhat lacking for FCS schools, there are plenty of options for FBS-school rankings. Some look at every FBS schools, and some have a cut-off point at the top 75 or 100 schools.

The top-10 national recruiting classes, no matter which ranking service you are looking at, feature mostly blue-bloods of the sport. The University of Alabama, the University of Southern California, Florida State University, the University of Michigan, Louisiana State University, Ohio State University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Oklahoma all finished in the top 10 in the four ranking lists used for this article.

Alabama finished as the top class in every ranking, and the SEC finished with three teams in the top three. The Big Ten placed two teams, and the ACC, PAC-12 and Big 12 placed one team each.

Mississippi State University ended up with the best ranking out of the three FBS schools in our state. The Bulldogs had the 24th-ranked class for 24/7 Sports and ESPN, 25th class for Scout and 27th for Rivals.

The University of Mississippi finished with the 29th-ranked team on Scout’s list, 30th for 24/7 Sports, 36th for ESPN and 39th for Rivals.

In the SEC recruit rankings, MSU finished ninth according to 24/7 Sports, Scout and ESPN, but finished 11th for Rivals. The Rebels ended up 12th in the SEC for ESPN, 24/7 Sports and Rivals, and11th for Scout.

The University of Southern Mississippi finished with the 71st-ranked class according to Rivals, 79th for 24/7 Sports and 81st for Scout. ESPN didn’t have the Golden Eagles ranked among its 75-team rankings.

USM finished with the second-best ranking in Conference USA according to Rivals and the third best in the conference for 24/7 Sports and Scout.

These …

The Miami Heat stopped celebrating their NBA Championship to join the rest of the league in New Jersey for the NBA Draft. Miami used their 27th pick to draft Mississippi State forward Arnett Moultrie.

Before the night was done, the Heat trade Moultrie to the Philadelphia 76ers for a second round pick (45th) this year and a future first round pick. That 45th pick turned out to be center Justin Hamilton out of LSU, the Heat's only selection of the night.

Other MSU players who were were looking to hear their name called were Renardo Sidney and Dee Bost. Neither Sidney nor Bost got drafted and will have to try to make a NBA roster as a free agent.

Things got very interesting quickly in college football last week. The near upsets from week one turned into upsets in week two. Several national championship contenders went down before we even reach the end of September. Biggest winner of week two has to be the Pac-12 (sans Colorado and Utah) from the pre-expansion teams. That means the Big Ten is the biggest looser this week and the conference laid an egg before their normal New Year's Day implosion.

The New Orleans Saints ended the preseason doing something they haven’t done since 2006 and achieved something the team had never done in franchise history: It played quarterback Drew Brees in the final preseason game for a series.

Brees hadn’t played in the final preseason game since 2006, which was his first season with the team. That year, he was coming off a shoulder injury and was trying to find his groove again.

As shocking as Brees playing might be, even more shocking might be the fact the Saints would go winless in back-to-back preseasons for the first time in franchise history. Before the 2015 preseason, the last time New Orleans went winless in the preseason was 1971.

When the Saints went winless during the 2015 preseason, they finished the year with a 7-9 record in the regular season. The 1971 team went 0-6 in the preseason and finished the regular season with a 4-8-2 record.

Every preseason you hear, “Don’t put too much stock in preseason games,” but you can glean certain things during these games, such as the fact that most teams that look bad and have issues in the preseason will have issues in the regular season.

When starters are facing starters, it’s another good indication of how well a team could be in the regular season. Plenty of teams win games in the third and fourth quarter of the preseason with players who won’t be on the roster when the regular season starts.

The scores don’t matter. Unless it is first- and second-string players, it is the look of a team that is worth the watch. This season, the Saints have given glimpses to several questions going into the season.

Can the starting and backups on the offensive line protect the quarterback and make holes in the running game?

Can the defense make tackles, stop the run and cover receivers in the passing game?

Can the team force and avoid turnovers?

New Orleans has struggled on the offensive line in pass and run-blocking. Overall, the offense has struggled to keep drives going and score points.

If this team is going to reach the playoffs, the offensive line must play better. Brees needs the running game to help take pressure off him having to make every play.

The New Orleans defense wasn’t terrible in the first two preseason games. Then came the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-string offense, which took the Saints defense behind the woodshed.

Pittsburgh did whatever it wanted, for the most part, against New Orleans. The Steelers’ passing game torched the Saints’ pass defense.

New Orleans has forced three turnovers but has committed 10 turnovers for a minus-seven turnover margin. It is hard to win games in the preseason when you can’t keep the ball.

Still, winning at least one game in the preseason is a good idea.

Since 1990, 49 teams …

Michael Johnson might be best know for his golden shoes he wore during the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. He is the only male athlete to ever win the 200-meter and 400-meters in the same games.

Johnson is currently working in England for the BBC as a commentator. He made some recent comments to British media outlet the Daily Mail, that has created some buzz.

The Daily Mail published comments made by Johnson about slavery and athletics. Here are a few quotes from the article:

‘All my life I believed I became an athlete through my own determination, but it’s impossible to think that being descended from slaves hasn’t left an imprint through the generations."

"Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefited descendants like me – I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us."

Are Johnson's comments fair or foul? Read the whole Daily Mail story here.

Johnson is not the first sports figure to make these claims. Former CBS Sports commentator and Las Vegas bookmaker Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder made similar comments in 1988.

ESPN did a 30 for 30 film on Snyder and his downfall after his comments.

There might be hope for the country after all. ABC reported yesterday (Wednesday, July 11) that uniforms that will be worn by team USA at the 2012 London Olympic Games were made in China.

Both Democrats and Republicans denounced the U.S. Olympic Committees decision to dress team USA in uniforms made in China. Chinese manufactured berets, blazers and pants while the American textile industry struggles economically with many U.S. workers desperate for jobs sparked the outrage.

"I am so upset. I think the Olympic committee should be ashamed of themselves. I think they should be embarrassed. I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference on taxes.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news conference that she's proud of the nation's Olympic athletes, but, "They should be wearing uniforms that are made in America."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said simply of the USOC: "You'd think they'd know better."

Now if both sides could find common ground on all issues.

NFL Wild Card Weekend proved just how big the NFL is in America. The ratings for last weekend were huge for the NFL and showed how much we love football in this country.

Wednesday after the MLB All-Star game is without a doubt the slowest sports day of the year. Nearly every professional and college sports event takes the day off the day after the midsummer classic.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t any sports on TV today. But it does mean you will have to watch reruns, catch early games, media days or sports outside the country.

Of course, you can catch SEC Football Media Days on the SEC Network nearly all day long. Various networks such as ESPNU and the Longhorn Network have replays of college football.

If you are looking for live football, look no further than ESPN3 and north of the border. Canadian Football League action features the Ottawa Redbacks against the Toronto Argonauts.

FS1 has UFC Fight Night, McDonald vs. Linker starting at 6 p.m. The UFC just sold for $4 billion this week, and on a slow sports day, you can judge for yourself if it was worth the cost.

Of course if you can always watch ESPN’s coverage of the ESPY Awards.

The network began coverage at 4 p.m. with ESPY's Countdown and continues with ESPY's Roadblock and countdown at 6 p.m., which will lead you up to the start of the show at 7 p.m. on ABC.

WWE Superstar John Cena hosts this year’s ESPY Awards, so things could get interesting.

Will the crowd chant “Let’s Go Cena” and “Cena Sucks” just like at live WWE events? Is there a chance The Rock will show up and give the host a “Rock Bottom,” or if The Rock shows up, will the two trade verbal jabs?

Other WWE superstars might not be in attendance, with both WWE Raw and Smackdown broadcasting on the USA Network, which NBCUniversal owns, but other wrestling stars could show up, as the wrestling organization heads toward the draft on the new live Smackdown next Tuesday.