STARKVILLE — An evening like Thursday, and the ramifications that came with it, was one that Hattiesburg High School head coach Tony Vance expected out of first-year Mississippi State football head coach Zach Arnett and his staff.
Following Thursday’s Big Dawg Camp at Davis Wade Stadium, Arnett and MSU reeled in its highest-rated commit of the 2024 class, and one of the top in-state prospects, in four-star defensive lineman Terrance Hibbler (Holmes County Central).
With Hibbler’s commitment, the sixth before three-star offensive tackle Luke Work became the seventh Friday morning, MSU’s 2024 class moved to No. 35 in college football, according to 247sports.
It’s safe to say that Arnett needed that momentum booster.
Hibbler’s commitment was the program’s first since a two-day stretch in mid-April when three-star tight end Jay Lindsey and three-star wideout Matt Mayfield committed.
As of Thursday morning, MSU’s 2024 class ranked No. 46 in college football. The class had one in-state commit in three-star offensive lineman TJ Lockhart (No. 20 in the state, per 247sports).
Southeastern Conference foes were stealing Mississippi’s top talent, with Ole Miss, Tennessee, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida and Texas A&M all having higher rated in-state commits than MSU. And the Bulldogs were losing guys from their backyard to other Power Five programs.
“I’m gonna be honest with you, it is shocking to hear,” Vance told The Dispatch in a recent phone call. “That is shocking”
Reeling in Hibbler, the No. 8 player in Mississippi, is a move that made more sense to Vance because he’s seen the work Arnett and his staff have put on the recruiting trail since taking over in December.
Vance’s Hattiesburg team is filled with some of the state’s top prospects, including 2025 four-star defensive lineman Kevin Oatis. Arnett and his staff have been right in the middle of his recruitment.
“In some regards I feel like coach Arnett and his staff are doing a good job recruiting the state of Mississippi, from my experience,” Vance said. “Mississippi State is recruiting him harder than anyone right now.”
Vance, who’s been coaching in Mississippi for 27 years, knows recruiting can change on a dime, especially in June. Though there are still some concerns, Hibbler’s commitment was a sign for Arnett that things may be headed back in the right direction.
“I think you are going to see a lot of those (rankings) switch before signing day in December,” Vance said. “The people on that staff and the guys he has surrounded himself with have done a great job recruiting at Mississippi State.”
Arnett walked in to an unprecedented situation
Like many coaches across Mississippi, Bay High School’s Jeremy Turcotte idolized Mike Leach.
A copy of Leach’s book, “Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life,” sits on his nightstand and the school also has black shirts modeled after Leach’s “State” design, that instead read, “The Bay”.
Following a “larger than life character” after a sudden tragedy with Leach’s death, Turcotte recognizes the challenge’s Arnett’s staff may have selling their vision without anything yet to show for it.
“Changing over from pure air raid to a more conventional college offense, that is a hurdle they (MSU’s staff) have to overcome,” Turcotte told The Dispatch in a recent interview. “I am sure Coach Arnett and his staff just want to get things right. I feel like they are not the only staff that is being conservative in their approach.”
Thursday’s camp in Starkville was always going to be the turning point for Arnett’s first recruiting class. Historically, MSU has grabbed major pickups following the Big Dawg Camp, which is held during June’s “Quiet Period,” where all contact with recruits or parents must be on campus.
During the spring, Turcotte had upwards of 25 high-level programs check in on his players, including four-star offensive lineman Ziron Brown. Mississippi State would have been one of them, but dates during spring practices conflicted with the school’s calendar. Instead, Arnett and his staff wanted to see Brown at Thursday’s camp.
“That is not an anomaly or outside the norm to want to see these kids on campus,” Turcotte said. “…Until the season comes and the recruiting class has gotten sorted out, I wouldn’t make any judgments until much later in the summer.”
Winning the state will be key
For Arnett, the ultimate key to having long-term success will be winning the state of Mississippi on the recruiting trail, where there is no shortage of talent, according to Turcotte, who has been coaching high school ball for 23 years.
In recent cycles, the Bulldogs have succeeded in that. MSU has signed at least three of the top 10 in-state recruits over the past four recruiting classes. Ole Miss, in comparison, has only done that twice during that span.
Hibbler’s commitment, MSU’s first of the state’s current 247sports top-10 prospects, was the first step in turning the tide.
Marcus Rogers, Hibbler’s head coach at Holmes County Central, said Arnett’s staff did nothing special to secure the commitment, they just sold the program.
“Coach Arnett is doing a great job in using his resources,” Rogers said. “Having David Turner on your staff with his resume in developing guys in the NFL, as well as Tony Hughes (MSU’s running backs coach), it is hard to say ‘no.’”
There is also still the issue of letting local talent walk away, like Starkville High School’s three-star quarterback Trey Petty, who committed to Illinois, and West Point four-star running back Kahnen Daniels, who committed to Florida.
To Starkville head coach Chris Jones, MSU’s lack of local recruiting is somewhat concerning.
“They have some catching up to do, but they can’t panic,” Jones said of Arnett’s staff. “They have to stick to their plan (whatever that is) and stay true to their recruiting philosophy.”
That seems to be the case with four-star wideout Braylon Burnside (Starkville), who attended Thursday’s camp and appears to have his recruitment down to the state’s two flagship programs, with MSU wideout coach Chad Bumphis leading the charge for Arnett.
For Jones, Burnside is the type of talent that Arnett needs to keep home.
“There are enough kids in Mississippi and enough kids locally that they got to be Bulldogs,” Jones said. “Whatever it takes.”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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