STARKVILLE — Before his team plays Dec. 31 in the Orange Bowl, Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen fortified his roster for 2015 Wednesday.
On the first day of the early signing period for junior college prospects, Mullen welcomed five Bulldogs into the program, including three junior college standouts, including Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College offensive lineman Martinas Rankin, the nation’s highest-rated offensive tackle, according to recruiting service 247sports.com.
MSU also added Copiah-Lincoln C.C. teammates Donald Gray (wide receiver) and Johnathan Calvin (defensive end). While the two Co-Lin products were committed to MSU for some time, nearly two years in Gray’s case, Rankin made his decision known Wednesday morning. Rankin chose MSU over Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, and others.
At 6-foot-5, 305 pounds, Rankin is ranked the No. 5 junior college player, regardless of position, in the country. With MSU losing three offensive lineman to graduation, he has a chance to fill an immediate need.
Calvin and Gray have that same chance.
A 5-foot-9, 185-pound speedster, Gray signed with MSU out of White Station (Memphis) High School last year. After failing to qualify academically, he spent two seasons at Co-Lin, where he redshirted in 2013. That means the first-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American will have three years of eligibility remaining in Starkville.
A 6-4, 250-pound defensive end, Calvin was a three-star prospect, according to 247sports.com. He also had scholarship offers from Auburn, LSU, and Tennessee. In Starkville, he likely will be in the mix to replace senior All-Southeastern Conference standout Preston Smith.
While the junior college targets were MSU’s headliners, high school prospects Malik Dear and Deddrick Thomas signed paperwork and will enroll for the spring semester.
Dear is a four-star running back from Jackson, while Thomas is a three-star athlete from Memphis.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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