Mike Leach and the Mississippi State coaching staff came into Wednesday’s opening day of the early signing period with clear priorities.
Make an impact on defense. Bolster the offensive line. Recruit Mississippi hard. Get a quarterback.
In landing an 18-player recruiting class Wednesday, the Bulldogs seemed to meet those objectives.
“I think we’re off to a good start,” Leach said.
Mississippi State pulled in the No. 22 recruiting class in the country and the No. 10 group in the Southeastern Conference, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. The Bulldogs signed two four-star prospects — George County wide receiver Marquez Dortch and Crystal Springs edge rusher Trevion Williams — and 16 three-star recruits.
Leach and Co. flipped Dortch from Ole Miss to MSU in late November and did the same for Tupelo’s Jacarius Clayton on Wednesday afternoon, inking the defensive lineman to round out the class. MSU flipped junior college cornerback DeCarlos Nicholson from Kentucky, and Forrest County Agricultural linebacker Avery Sledge flipped from Tulane to sign with the Bulldogs.
Leach acknowledged part of the Bulldogs’ success in flipping players could be attributed to Mississippi State’s strong season. MSU went 7-5 with wins over four teams that spent time in the top 25.
“I think that it was definitely a part of it,” Leach said. “I think that we’ve had a lot of growth as a program this year.”
Offensive lineman Percy Lewis, Nicholson’s teammate at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and one of the top JUCO recruits in the country, signed with the Bulldogs on Wednesday. So did Lucas Taylor of St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Mobile, Alabama; Jakson LaHue of Azle, Texas; and Jackson Cannon of Ola, Georgia.
The four will help a Mississippi State O-line that stands to lose both left tackle Charles Cross and right tackle Scott Lashley. Leach said Lewis — 6-foot-8 and 360 pounds — could be a Day 1 starter in 2022.
“He’s certainly got the frame for it,” Leach said. “We want to attack the weight room, get him in great shape and just get him acclimated as quick as we can.”
In addition to the four offensive linemen, Mississippi State also signed four players on the defensive line and at defensive back.
On the line, Williams and Donterry Russell — the brother of current Bulldog De’Monte Russell — join Clayton and Lake’s Kalvin Dinkins, who was uncommitted before choosing MSU on Wednesday.
Nicholson is the Bulldogs’ highest-ranked signee in the secondary, joining Raymond’s Trent Singleton, Heritage Academy safety Wesley Miller and Audavion Collins of Covington, Georgia.
“We wanted to really make an impact on defensive line, defensive back and offensive line,” Leach said. “I felt like we did.”
The Bulldogs added three linebackers as well, signing Sledge, Poplarville’s Khalid Moore and Javae Gilmore of Amite High School in Louisiana — the same school as current MSU linebacker Tyrus Wheat.
Dortch and Horn Lake’s Jarnorris Hopson represent the receiver position, while Braedyn Locke of Rockwall, Texas, is Mississippi State’s lone quarterback in the class.
Leach said Locke, who set the Class 6A career passing touchdowns record in the Lone Star State, was trained by one of the Bulldogs coach’s former players. The connection helped Leach gain familiarity with the young signal-caller.
“Braedyn’s had a really impressive career,” Leach said. “He had a great career. The ball explodes off his hand. It comes off his hand really quickly.”
Locke is one of two recruits in the class from Texas. Two hail from Georgia, one is from Alabama, and one is from Louisiana.
The remaining 12 are from Mississippi, fitting the emphasis Leach said the Bulldogs put on recruiting the Magnolia State.
“We won’t ignore a great player no matter how far away they are,” Leach said. “The ones with ties here who grow up with the SEC and grow up with Mississippi State football, I think that’s a starting point.”
Wednesday’s events overall represented a similar starting point for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs have four commits still to sign — wide receivers Zavion Thomas and Kaydin Pope, Biloxi defensive lineman R.J. Moss and Jackson Academy running back Dakota Jordan (who will also play baseball at MSU) — to finish out the class of 2022.
But they’ll take everything they got Wednesday.
“I think that we filled out an awful lot of our class,” Leach said. “We’ve got to continue to improve and just sort of attack the task at hand in January.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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