STARKVILLE — Less than a month after Mississippi State hired Jeff Lebby as head coach, the Bulldogs’ 2024 recruiting class is mostly in place.
Wednesday marked the first of the three-day early signing period, and 20 high school and junior college players, along with 10 transfers, have officially signed to play for MSU. That number will grow in the coming days, but the Bulldogs’ recruiting class is currently 35th nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings and their transfer portal class is at No. 11.
“You never know until you live it, how many people you need to get the job done,” Lebby said at a press conference Wednesday at Davis Wade Stadium. “Whether it’s operations, whether it’s facilities, whatever it is, we got a chance to host 19 guys one weekend and 20 the next weekend. There’s so much that goes into that to make sure these guys have incredible visits and experiences while they’re on campus.”
Lebby said at his introductory press conference on Nov. 27 that MSU would add a quarterback via the portal, and the Bulldogs secured Baylor’s Blake Shapen, who has started 23 games for the Bears over the last three seasons and completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 5,574 yards, 36 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Michael Van Buren, a four-star prospect from Baltimore, is MSU’s high school quarterback recruit for the class of 2024. Van Buren played all over the country with St. Frances Academy and faced some of the best competition possible, from California powerhouses St. John Bosco and Mater Dei to Florida’s famous IMG Academy.
“I feel great about where we’re at in that room,” Lebby said. “Blake coming in, the guy has played a bunch of ball, had production. … Adding (Van Buren) was huge. We obviously needed a difference-maker in the 2024 class, and we got it. We expect big things from him, and (he’s) a guy who at some point has the chance to be the face of our program.”
The Bulldogs bolstered their receiving corps more than perhaps any other position group, headlined by four-star JJ Harrell from North Panola High. Another four-star, Alabama native Mario Craver, also signed his letter of intent Wednesday, and Sanfrisco Magee and Matt Mayfield have not yet signed but remain verbally committed to MSU.
With Chad Bumphis remaining on board as wide receivers coach, the Bulldogs are thought to have a good chance to land Starkville High standout Braylon Burnside, who will announce his decision on Jan. 3 at the Under Armour All-America Game. MSU also added UTEP’s Kelly Akharaiyi, who ranked fifth nationally in 2023 with 21.52 yards per reception and totaled 1,033 receiving yards for the Miners, earlier this week in the transfer portal.
Lebby credited Harrell for helping hold the recruiting class together amid the coaching transition.
“(Harrell) was a guy who was serious about coming to State. He loves Mississippi State and wants to be here,” Lebby said. “His energy, his connection with guys has been incredible. Proud of that guy for what he’s done and who he’s going to be.”
A pair of running backs came on board Wednesday in Brookhaven High’s Xavier Gayten and Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Johnnie Daniels, the top-rated junior college running back in the class. Those backs will enjoy the services of Jimothy Lewis, a four-star offensive lineman from IMG Academy who had offers from nine other Southeastern Conference programs, blocking for them.
Four of the Bulldogs’ nine defensive signees are from junior colleges, including three from an East Mississippi Community College team that played in the junior college national championship game. Safety Tyler Woodard, defensive lineman Ashun Shepphard and linebacker Marcus Ross are all signed to play for MSU.
“All three of those guys have an opportunity to come in and have an immediate impact,” Lebby said. “Those three guys play the game the way we want it to be played. You watch them and you see that immediately. We need to do a great job in the junior colleges in our state. There’s great players here, always have been, and so for us to be back involved in that side of it is going to be really important moving forward.”
Coaching staff in place
Lebby finalized his coaching staff earlier in the week by hiring Cliff Odom as the Bulldogs’ special teams coordinator, and only Bumphis and defensive line coach David Turner are holdovers from Zach Arnett’s 2023 staff.
Three of the four new hires on the offensive side of the ball — Matt Holecek (quarterbacks), Anthony Tucker (running backs) and Jon Cooper (tight ends) have worked with Lebby at one of the head coach’s previous stops. Lebby said their knowledge of his offensive system should make for a smooth transition once spring practice begins.
“The familiarity from a scheme standpoint with what we’ve got going on in the room offensively will get us off the ground in a hurry,” Lebby said. “That’s from a support staff standpoint too. Just guys knowing what the expectation is, knowing what the shortcuts are, to be able to go get it installed and get us off the ground is going to be huge for us.”
MSU named Coleman Hutzler as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach on Dec. 8, with safeties coach Matt Barnes and cornerbacks coach Corey Bell filling out the defensive staff alongside Turner.
Lebby discussed the importance of SEC experience in hiring a defensive coordinator at his first press conference, and Hutzler checks that box, with a combined 10 years of experience at Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Florida.
“He’s had a chance to be part of some incredible defenses, and he’s been a huge part of coaching some NFL players who are having great careers,” Lebby said. “That was so important to me, getting a guy who knew exactly what it was supposed to look like.”
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