With recruiting season rolling to a close, many analysts will make predictions on who will be the under-the-radar player in the 2012 recruiting class that will make a big impact on the field. Oftentimes these are players that come from small high schools, something Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen is well knows well. Mullen has made finding all of the talent inside the state of Mississippi a top priority for his program, something that has paid dividends with recruits like Johnthan Banks, who came from rural East Webster High School and turned into an All-SEC cornerback.
However, back in 1980 there was a wide receiver 20 minutes away from MSU at B.L. Moor High School, a rural, mostly African-American school in Crawford that State coaches never came to watch play.
That player was Jerry Rice.
Rice would go on to play at  Mississippi Valley State, where he was a consensus All-American in 1984 and finished 9th in the Heisman Trophy voting. Most people know the story of his pro career, the most prolific career of any wide receiver in the NFL.
The disadvantages for an athlete to make his way out of a place like B.L. Moor High (now East Oktibbeha County High School) are challenging. Funding for sports is an issue for many schools, and many teams receive little coverage in the media. Rice talked about his own recruitment and some of the challenges facing kids from small, rural schools recently with sports editor James Carskadon. The following is a transcript of that conversation.
The Reflector:What are the challenges of getting noticed out of high school coming from a place like you did?
Jerry Rice:Coming from B.L. Moor High School, I received so many letters from many of the major schools, but no one came out to talk to me face to face. Mississippi Valley sent their coach out and that was the reason I decided to go there. I had a chance to look this guy in the eye and shake his hand. That’s why I went to MVSU. It’s a big challenge because you only have access to so much. You have to work for everything and I was determined to make life better for my family. That’s why I wanted to go pursue my education but also look at football as a means of being able to move out of Mississippi and help my family to a better life. That’s why I worked so hard.
Reflector:Was it frustrating that MSU didn’t come out and watch you play?
Rice:Yeah, but at that time Mississippi State was running the wishbone. Running the wishbone is not really a good place for a receiver to go and expect to be part of the offense. That’s why I went to Valley State because at that time they were throwing the ball 90 percent of the time. I trained so many days at Mississippi State at the track and I was out on the football field. And after I made it to the pros, I would always come back home and train with the team and with players that were out at the track or on the football field. It was like something that I needed to do to push me to the next level, and that’s why I spent so much time in Starkville, Miss.
Reflector:Do you think it is easier now for a kid from a small school to get noticed?
Rice:I think now because there have been so many players that have been successful from smaller schools, like Walter Payton, myself, it opened the door to so many other players. If you go into those schools, you can probably find a diamond in the rough. So, I think the awareness is much better now. The scouting is so much better. These guys can go into small schools and be successful and get to the next level.”
Reflector:When was the last time you came back to East Oktibbeha High?
Rice:I was just home for a family reunion. I didn’t get a chance to go back to B.L. Moor High School, but I was in Starkville and out at State. Many of the players came out and wanted to shake my hand and take pictures. That tells me right there that I did everything the right way. A lot of these kids might have been in preschool and might not have had an opportunity to see my career, but they know about me and respected me. It was great coming back home.
Reflector:How important is it for those kids to have an example of someone who has made it?
Rice:I think it tells them that anything is possible. Any obstacle that’s in your way, don’t let that discourage you from working hard. You can be successful. If you want to be a professional football player, go for it. If you want to be a basketball player, or be in sports in general, if you want to be a doctor, to be a lawyer, know that (there is) nothing standing in your way. Just because you’re from a small school, don’t let that determine the outcome of your career.
Reflector:Dan Mullen has been big on recruiting all of Mississippi. Is there enough talent in the state to win a championship?
Rice:I feel like there are talented players in Mississippi that you can have those players come aboard and win a championship. There’s a lot of talent around there, but you just have to go in there and dig deep. There are so many diamonds in the rough that it’s just going out there with your eyes wide open and just give these guys an opportunity to prove themselves.
As long as coaches don’t predetermine their decisions about players from smaller schools, they should go in there and they should do their research and give those guys the benefit of the doubt. These guys can come and contribute to the organization and make us a better football team. He’s just got to leave himself open and go for it.