Editor’s Note: This is the fourth installment of a five-part series on the Mississippi State football team’s recruiting methods.
STARKVILLE — Saquon Barkley aside, Joe Moorhead has never really benefitted from the transcendent talent. It’s a byproduct of a career formed at schools such as Akron, Georgetown and Fordham.
Moorhead doesn’t see this as a handicap. This is what he enjoys.
“This is why he chose Mississippi State: he’s not that kind of coach. He’s not that kind of coach that can take five-star players and put them on the field, he’s the kind of coach that wants to develop players,” former Moorhead quarterback Michael Nebrich told The Dispatch. “He wants to start them off young and develop them along the way.”
The Mississippi State job will give him ample opportunity to show that skillset.
Years of recruiting data proves MSU is not a five-star farm. Over the last four seasons, MSU has enrolled 69 high-school prospects; only one (Jeffery Simmons) was a five-star and only 14 were four-stars, according to the 247 Sports Composite, leaving 54 to the three-stars or two-stars. To compete, MSU has to take players viewed as less talented than their competition and develop them to a Southeastern Conference level.
This is how Moorhead does it.
“The first part of it is, you’ve got to gain their trust and get to know them as people before you can even address the football component,” Moorhead told The Dispatch. “It’s the old saying, ‘They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’
“Finding what motivates each kid, development of the whole person. You’re not just focused on them as a football player, you care about their academics, you care about their social development, you care about them as a player, I think that’s when you create that culture. Kids are willing to buy into the culture of the program because they understand all those things tie in together.”
Nebrich saw it all firsthand.
Nebrich was, by his own admission, not the hottest of prospects. He committed to UConn to play for Moorhead; when Moorhead left to become Fordham’s head coach and the new UConn staff didn’t perfectly gel with him, Nebrich decided to follow Moorhead.
They both entered a Fordham program coming off a 1-11 season; seven of those losses were by double-digits. That team ended its season with home losses by final scores of 21-0 and 41-21. Then Moorhead entered the room and told them they would be conference champions before long.
Nebrich looked around the room and saw skeptical faces. Two years later, the Rams were in the FCS playoffs; the year after that, they were Patriot League champions.
“His time at Fordham is a perfect example of what kind of developmental coach he is because he brings out the best in his guys not only in their skillsets but being better men off the field than they were when he got there,” Nebrich said.
On a team full of examples, Nebrich was one himself. He completed 73.5 percent of his passes in 2013 and 63.8 percent in 2014, combining for 7,979 yards and 64 touchdowns over those two seasons. He was the starting quarterback for the team that ultimately did as Moorhead promised and won the Patriot League.
Moorhead’s unique run-pass concepts certainly help players perform above their perceived talent level, but more so, Moorhead has a track record of making players better under his tutelage. The way he does it goes back to the relationship with the player; he sees that part as more important than anything he can teach a given player.
“The process ultimately determines the product,” Moorhead said. “I think it’s a little bit generational. With me coming up, a coach told you to do something and you did it; now with the information age, they want to know why and that’s a great thing.”
Moorhead’s ability to do the same could decide his future. The 2018 signing class he secured included 11 players ranked outside of the top 500 in the 247 Sports Composite; the 2019 class already has seven such players. They will be expected to compete with programs such as Alabama (four sub-500 signees in 2018), LSU (five) and Auburn (six).
They are the perfect fit for Moorhead.
“I think he’s going to tear up the SEC,” Nebrich said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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