STARKVILLE — Copiah-Lincoln receiver Malik Heath doubled down.
After signing with Mississippi State out of high school, the nation’s No. 1 junior college wide receiver inked his commitment to the Bulldogs a second time last Saturday.
A four-star recruit and a 2018 Under Armour All-American, Heath joined coach Joe Moorhead’s initial class in 2018 but did not qualify academically.
Disappointment in tow, he headed to Co-Lin to play for coach Glenn Davis — helping the Wolves to 6-4 record and a 5-1 mark in conference play.
“He’s been a pleasure to coach and he’s done everything we’ve asked of him,” Davis said. “I think he’s grown up a bunch and people will see that when he leaves here and gets there.”
At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Heath is a dynamic, big-bodied receiver who should give the Bulldogs an instant impact performer.
In one season with the Wolves, he finished third on the team in receiving with 333 yards and four touchdowns on 28 receptions while playing within an offense that ran the ball more than twice as much as it passed.
“The biggest thing about him is he’s a guy that’s been a lot of places and camps and he’s worked on being a receiver that runs good routes,” Davis said. “Worked on releases. He’s a very polished guy. When he doesn’t think too much, things come naturally to him.”
Heath will be one of a handful of recent Bulldogs to have played for Davis at Co-Lin. Sh’mar Kilby-Lane, Tommy Champion and Jaquarius Landrews all spent time in Wesson playing for the Wolves before heading to MSU.
Four-star defensive end Jordan Davis and three-star guard Sebastien Dolcine will head to Starkville from Co-Lin in the class of 2020 as well.
“I’d be surprised if he’s not the best (receiver) they’ve got when he gets their,” Davis said of Heath. “I mean he’s going to learn obviously but he can line up and play every receiver position we have on our football team.”
With Heath’s commitment, MSU’s 2020 class has reached 22 commitments — leaving just a handful of remaining scholarships for Moorhead’s second full-cycle.
He is also the fourth receiver in the group and potentially fifth given four-star commit Lideatrick Griffin is listed as an athlete but could play receiver at the collegiate level as well.
In terms of scholarships, though it was announced LSU transfer Cole Smith will join the program and be eligible in 2020, he will walk-on and thus won’t count toward the overall total.
MSU’s 2020 class also lost a commitment Thursday night when three-star outside linebacker Jakivuan Brown flipped to Ole Miss.
MSU’s 2020 class currently sits No. 19 nationally and eighth in the SEC per 247sports.com’s rankings — up from No. 24 in the country for the class of 2019.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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