STARKVILLE — For a time of year that normally is hectic and riddled with rumors, the Mississippi State football team might be poised for something new on the recruiting trail this season: a quiet finish.
With one week remaining before student-athletes can sign National Letters of Intents to play at the next level, MSU has 28 commitments in its Class of 2015.
To date, the drama surrounding each of the verbal pledges has been minimal. But plenty of time remains for the Bulldogs to sway more players into spending the next four years in maroon and white.
So what remains for MSU?
The answer is complicated because the final week could see no activity or a flurry depending on what several top prospects decide to do.
“There isn’t a ton of room for Mississippi State to add in more pieces to the 2015 recruiting class,” said Mike Singer, recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. “Mississippi State’s recruiting class is solid, but there’s no doubt that adding a player like a Leo Lewis would be icing on the cake.”
Lewis, a consensus four-star inside linebacker from Brookhaven High School, has been committed to Ole Miss since last September. But Lewis took an official visit to Starkville on the weekend of Jan. 16 and because of that, analysts like Singer believe MSU still has a chance with the 6-foot-1, 210-pound prospect.
“I think he’ll end up at Ole Miss, but wouldn’t be shocked if he signs the dotted line with MSU,” Singer said.
With or without Lewis, MSU coach Dan Mullen’s seventh full recruiting class likely will rank among his best. It’s a class headlined by two in-state defensive products and built on filling needs for a team that won 10 regular-season games for the first time in school history.
MSU’s highest-rated recruit, Jamal Peters of Bassfield, plays safety, a position MSU will enter the 2015 season looking to replace departed seniors Jay Hughes and Justin Cox. At 6-2, 215 pounds, Peters could see playing time immediately.
Defensive tackle Fletcher Adams is another player who could see the field early at MSU. The younger brother of MSU defensive tackle Nelson Adams, Fletcher Adams is a four-star recruit, according to 247sports.com. He committed to MSU in October over offers from Ole Miss, Alabama, and Florida.
Peters and Adams are among MSU’s most highly sought after commitments. In all, seven Bulldogs have earned four stars by at least one recruiting service. That list includes Peters, Adams, running back Malik Dear, of Jackson; running back Nick Gibson, of Pinson Valley, Alabama; Louisville High wide receiver Dontae Jones; and junior colleges products Donald Gray, a wide receiver; and Martinas Rankin, who will try to plug MSU’s hole at left tackle after the graduation of four-year starter Blaine Clausell.
The 28-player recruiting haul has MSU in the top 20 nationally of three major rankings — No. 16 in the nation (Rivals.com), No. 19 (247sports.com), and No. 14 (Scout.com).
For Alec Murphy, a three-star running back from Nixa, Missouri, who committed to MSU on July 18 of last year, the excitement pulsing through MSU’s incoming class has been contagious.
“It’s a very exciting time to be around this program,” said Murphy, who was one of eight players who committed to the Bulldogs at MSU’s Big Dawg Camp in the summer. “Mississippi State fans are pumped up to see the team expanding and improving.”
Murphy is one of five high school running backs MSU will add to the mix, a list that includes Dear, Gibson, and Alabama product Keith Mixon.
Mullen doing well in-state
From the moment he accepted the MSU job in December 2008, Mullen has insisted he plans to build his program by winning the recruiting battle in the state of Mississippi. For the most part, he has done well, uncovering gems like two-star Benardrick McKinney, now a projected first-round pick at linebacker; two-star cornerback Johnthan Banks, an overlooked defensive back from Maben who plays for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers; and defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, who moved on to the NFL after three years in Starkville.
This year, Mullen has continued to mine the state for talent that is highly rated and overlooked. For every Peters and Adams, there’s small-school equivalents like Collins safety Mark McLaurin, a 6-3, 205-pounder who can play multiple positions, and linebacker Traver Jung, a 6-4, 215-pound outside linebacker from Holmes Community College, who could play a role similar to the one former MSU linebacker Matthew Wells played.
Both players continue Mullen’s philosophy of trying to build with talent from within the state.
“The Magnolia State is a top-20 NFL talent producer overall, and annually is top five per capita,” said J.C. Shurburtt, national recruiting analyst for 247sport.com. “Combine that with Mullen and staff’s ability to find diamonds in the rough, and suddenly his program is in position.”
Hunting out of state, too
While Mullen’s Mississippi-first strategy has paid off — MSU went to No. 1 in both major polls for the first time in 2014 — he and his staff have appeared to expand their recruiting base this year.
Of MSU’s 28 commitments, 13 come from out of state, a total that includes eight from Alabama and three from Tennessee.
The Alabama group includes Kendell Jones, a 6-4, 250-pound defensive end, and Justin Johnson, a 6-4, 200-pound wide receiver from national power Hoover High.
Johnson, who caught the game-winning pass for Alabama squad in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star Game, could be one of the jewels of the class.
“I don’t know if Justin Johnson is considered underrated, but he definitely has a high ceiling,” Singer said. “He had a great week at the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic, and he’s a proven winner at Hoover High School. Johnson is already built well physically and is solid in his fundamentals.”
Johnson said the chance to join a program that features a first-team All-Southeastern Conference quarterback in Dak Prescott was a perfect fit.
“With the guys we have coming in, I think things are going to come together pretty fast,” Johnson said. “We’re bringing both size and speed to the offense. The defense can already hold its own, and now things are going to click for the whole team. It’s going to happen quickly.”
Flips forthcoming?
In a fluid situation like college recruiting, changes of heart can alter the dynamic of a team’s class in a hurry. Luckily for the Bulldogs, Singer doesn’t see much drama unfolding for MSU in the final seven days.
“Darrien McNair (LB from Ocala, Florida) took an official visit to Louisville, but I don’t think there’s too much to read into there,” Singer said. “Fletcher Adams is also looking at Ole Miss, but I doubt he’ll flip.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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