STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football saved the best for last on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs’ final addition on National Signing Day was announced at 10:42 a.m., less than 20 minutes before head coach Zach Arnett spoke with reporters in Starkville.
And it was a big one.
MSU topped Ole Miss and other schools to sign three-star Lawrence County defensive lineman Jonathan Davis, whose recruiting stock rose quickly during the past few weeks.
“People say, ‘Man, you beat some big-time programs out for Jonathan Davis,’” Arnett said. “Well, the way I look at it, we’re a big-time program, too.”
The Bulldogs showed it Wednesday, landing Davis and Alabama high school cornerback Will James while bolstering their roster with six additions from the transfer portal.
Those included Vanderbilt quarterback Mike Wright, Georgia tight end Ryland Goede and UCLA kicker Nick Barr-Mira.
MSU filled pressing needs at defensive back with Kentucky transfer Ja’Kobi Albert and Indiana import Chris Keys.
The Bulldogs lost cornerback Emmanuel Forbes and all three starting safeties — Collin Duncan, Jackie Matthews and Jalen Green — in the offseason.
“To go out and get some guys who have been in those battles, they’re battle tested, they know what it takes to play in a college football game, particularly in the secondary,” Arnett said.
James, a three-star signee from Theodore (Alabama) High School, should help with that depth.
He dealt with an injury that cost him time during his senior season, but Arnett and his new coaching staff did their research. The Bulldogs reached out to Mobile-area prep coaches, local coaches who watched James practice for the Mississippi/Alabama all-star game and anyone else they could find.
“We could not find a guy that had a negative thing to say about him,” Arnett said. “Everybody we talked to said, ‘Man, this guy is an SEC football player.’”
The Bulldogs certainly got one of those in Goede, an intra-conference transfer who becomes the first tight end on Mississippi State’s roster. Former head coach Mike Leach, who died Dec. 12, did not utilize the position.
New assistant coach Mike Schmidt will coach tight ends (as well as offensive tackles) as Mississippi State welcomes the position group back into the fold. More tight ends might be on the roster by spring camp, Arnett hinted Wednesday.
“Having the ability to put a tight end or two on the field, that creates some issues for defenses and makes them decide what personnel groupings they’re going to play in,” Arnett said.
While the Bulldogs had some impressive gets in the portal, they made their biggest splash with the addition of Davis.
Arnett and running backs coach Tony Hughes — a well-respected recruiter of Mississippi players — visited the 6-foot-5, 305-pound lineman in Lawrence County in December.
Leach’s death soon afterward muddled the process, but the Bulldogs’ early interest helped bring Davis aboard.
“We evaluated him beforehand, we recruited him beforehand, and I think that went a long way in signing him today,” Arnett said. “When a lot of other schools come late to the party and want to hop in and try to get a steal from the state of Mississippi, we were there first recruiting him from the very beginning.”
Recruiting players like Davis from the Magnolia State remains a huge emphasis for Arnett and MSU’s coaching staff.
The Bulldogs head coach often referred to the school’s “footprint” — a radius of 250 to 300 miles from Starkville that extends into states like Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee.
“That is our No. 1 goal: to recruit the best players in this state and in the surrounding states in that footprint I mentioned and keep them right here at Mississippi State,” Arnett said.
In Davis’ case, at least, MSU accomplished that goal.
Mississippi State Feb. 1 signees
Freshmen
Three-star DL Jonathan Davis, Lawrence County
Three-star DB Will James, Theodore (Ala).
Transfers
QB Mike Wright, Vanderbilt
WR Freddie Roberson, Eastern Washington
TE Ryland Goede, Georgia
DB Ja’Kobi Albert, Kentucky
DB Chris Keys, Indiana
K Nick Barr-Mira, UCLA
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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