For years, Dan Mullen had to convince recruits.

Have faith, he said to them on their visits and during meetings at their high schools. Never mind that Mississippi State had never finished higher than fourth in the SEC West since he took over the program in 2009. He wanted prospects to believe that as a Bulldog they could compete for national championships.

But faith and evidence are two different things. The proof had to be in the pudding -- in the win-loss record and the polls, as it were.

During one staff meeting before State’s showdown against No. 2 Auburn in mid-October, Mullen went over the week’s recruiting plans. But at one point he had to acknowledge the obvious: a win would make everything easier.

And it did, because that 38-23 victory said Mississippi State was for real. It propelled the Bulldogs to No. 1 in the country where they’d stay for five long weeks.

Atop the polls, faith was no longer required. Mullen and his staff no longer had to tell (or sell) anyone anything.

“A lot of these young men and their families see what we do,” Mullen told reporters on Wednesday afternoon in Starkville. “The proof -- we don’t have to show them. Before we had to talk about it a lot.”

As he would later put it, “It’s been proven that you can be No. 1 at Mississippi State.”

So it’s no small coincidence that signing day yielded what on paper is the best recruiting class in school history. With seven ESPN 300 signees and 11 four-stars overall, Mississippi State finished 16th in the ESPN RecruitingNation class rankings, a full 20 spots higher than the year before.

As far as the best-ever debate, Mullen said, “We’ll wait a couple of years to see if that’s true or not.” But for now he’d be forced to acknowledge that it’s at least the most star-studded with No. 2 safety Jamal Peters and No. 2 inside linebacker Leo Lewis.

Landing Lewis, in particular, was a major coup for Mississippi State. After watching in-state rival Ole Miss gain headlines in recent years for signing a number of top recruits, the Bulldogs got one of their own, and stole him away from the Rebs in the process.

“Obviously he’s got great size, he’s got great athleticism, he’s got great instincts, he’s an explosive football player; he’s got all of those,” Mullen said of the 6-foot-1, 230-pound linebacker. “But the thing that is most exciting about him is he’s got an excellent work ethic with that.”

He later added: “His ceiling is going to be much, much higher than where he is right now today. I expect him to have a tremendous career with us.”

Like Lewis, Peters is expected to come in and contribute right away.

“Timing in life can be a lot of great things,” Mullen explained. “The opportunity is obviously for him being a special talent back there in the secondary, but also a huge need for us at that position with guys graduating and Kendrick Market coming off a severe injury. If he showed up on campus today without stepping on the field he might be in the two-deep rotation right now because of numbers, never mind talent or anything else.”

Peters might even play some offense.

“He’s pretty electric when he touches the football,” a giddy Mullen said.

But, to be clear, the signing of top talents like Lewis and Peters doesn’t necessarily signal a change in Mississippi State’s recruiting philosophy.

Mullen may be able to land more highly sought after players now that State has shown it can compete in the SEC, but he still wants to find those diamonds in the rough the program has become known for -- under-the-radar prospects like Johnthan Banks, Benardrick McKinney and Dak Prescott.

“You look at guys that maybe four years ago on this day ... guys like Preston Smith or Benardrick McKinney where a lot of people were like, ‘Who is that?’ on the national stage, and now they’re potential first-round draft picks,” Mullen said.

As much as the winning and the success in the polls, high school prospects have noticed that too.

So don’t expect the Bulldogs’ momentum on the recruiting trail to slow down anytime soon. With three ESPN Junior 300 players already committed for 2016, Mississippi State is suddenly selling itself.