STARKVILLE — Top high school football prospects used to announce their college decisions in early February. But now that enrolling in the spring has become a trend, the December signing period, introduced in 2017, is when most players make their commitments official.

That three-day window, previously held in the third week of December, was moved up this year to Dec. 4-6, the Wednesday through Friday preceding the conference championship games.

“Those are the rules we’re going to play by,” Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby said Monday. “I feel good about where our high school recruiting and junior college recruiting is. We have a chance to finish out on a couple of these guys here late, which will be huge. This weekend will be a huge weekend for us with some guys in town.”

With 19 high school and junior college players currently committed, the Bulldogs’ 2025 recruiting class ranks 13th in the Southeastern Conference and 29th nationally, according to 247Sports. The crown jewel is Noxubee County quarterback KaMario Taylor, who has been committed for more than a year even as other offers have poured in for him. Two more in-state prospects, edge rusher Tyshun Willis and linebacker Tyler Lockhart, also headline the class.

MSU will need to bring in impact players in the transfer portal this offseason, particularly on the offensive line and all over the defense. But with the early signing period taking place before the portal opens, Lebby and his staff will have a better idea of their specific needs once their incoming class is close to complete.

“I don’t think that necessarily changes anything on how we’re recruiting high school kids,” Lebby said. “For some high school kids out there, they want to make sure they don’t sign in February. They want to take their spot and understand that this signing day, for them, is what they need to go do. That’s where I think it changes the most. The February signing is something that will be nonexistent.”

Scouting Missouri

Following a bye week, the Bulldogs (2-8, 0-6 SEC) are back in action Saturday against the Tigers (7-3, 3-3). Missouri won 11 games last year and came into the season with realistic expectations of reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff, but was blown out on the road by Texas A&M and Alabama and then lost a back-and-forth heartbreaker at South Carolina this past weekend.

The Tigers are 6-0 at home but just 1-3 away from Faurot Field. Quarterback Brady Cook has battled an injury but played well when healthy, completing 63 percent of his passes with just two interceptions. Backup Drew Pyne, a former starter at Notre Dame, helped Missouri get past Oklahoma earlier this month.

Nate Noel leads the Tigers in rushing, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and Marcus Carroll is their short-yardage and goal-line back. Missouri has a strong duo at wide receiver in Theo Wease Jr. and Luther Burden III.

“Both sides of the football, they’ve been dominant on third down,” Lebby said. “Situationally, they’ve been really good. That’ll be huge for us on Saturday. We have to be able to stay on the field on third down offensively, be able to pitch and catch, play with great anticipation at the quarterback position. And then defensively, we have to get them into some third-and-longs to be able to get off the field.”

Johnny Walker Jr. leads the Tigers in tackles for loss and sacks, and Corey Flagg is among the SEC’s best linebackers. Missouri is in the middle of the SEC in most offensive and defensive categories, but defends the pass well — only Texas allows fewer passing yards per game than the Tigers’ 180.6.

Saturday will be the final game at Davis Wade Stadium for MSU’s seniors, who will conclude their college careers the following Friday in the Egg Bowl at Ole Miss.

“(With) the frustration and disappointment that’s been throughout the year, I’ve seen older guys have a bunch of energy, a great appreciation for opportunity,” Lebby said. “They were parts of laying the foundation in year one and giving us the ability to go build something to sustain. That’s why it is so important to play our best and be at our best on Saturday, for these older guys while they’re inside the walls.”