STARKVILLE — The beginning of the early signing period Wednesday came and went with as little drama as Mississippi State coach Joe Moorhead has seen in his 21 years of coaching.
And while MSU’s 22 commitment-haul was good for the nation’s No. 25 recruiting class according to 247sports.com, the final touches remain to be seen.
Speaking with the media following Wednesday’s festivities in the recruiting lounge beneath Davis Wade Stadium, Moorhead broached what his next steps will be.
“We’re going to have a certain amount to give going forward,” he said. “(I’ll) talk to (Director of Recruiting) Mike Villagrana, (Director of Player Personnel) Matt Wilson and (Director of Communications) Rod (Gibson) and them. On my desk (Thursday), I want the top available players out of junior college, grad transfer and at the high school level at certain positions that we’re going to target. We’re going to find out who they are, and we’re going to go like hell after them to try and fill those remaining spots and I’m on to 2021.”
According to one source close to the situation, MSU stands to add anywhere from one to four players depending on NFL Draft decisions and attrition.
Of the three categories of player Moorhead mentioned — junior college, graduate transfer and high school — one obvious player to watch is three-star Hinds Community College receiver Jonquarise Patterson.
Patterson, who previously signed with MSU out of Pearl High School in the class of 2018, never made it to campus and has spent the past two seasons between Jones County Junior College and Hinds. He again committed to the Bulldogs Sept. 16, but did not sign on Wednesday.
Patterson tweeted the following statement on his decision:
“…Unfortunately I will not be signing with any school today! I still have business to handle in the classroom. I’ve made mistakes in the past that has me in the position I’m in now. I can’t question God for what he has in store for me. All I can say is don’t forget about me, I’m coming (to) take what’s mine.”
Should Patterson not end up in Starkville, former Penn State receiver Justin Shorter is a name worth watching. Ranked as one of the top-10 transfers in the country by 247sports.com, Shorter was recruited to Happy Valley when Moorhead was still the Nittany Lions’ offensive coordinator in 2017. And while current Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis was his primary recruiter, the familiarity is there.
Shorter’s list of suitors stands to be lengthy. A New Jersey native, he was the No. 8 recruit in the country and No. 1 receiver in the 2018 class — choosing Penn State over in-state Rutgers, Michigan, Virginia Tech and Miami, among others.
Beyond receiver, MSU could stand to add another offensive lineman as they are set to lose starters Tyre Phillips and Darryl Williams to graduation.
Of note, MSU did add offensive tackle prospects Calvin McMillian and Grant Jackson in the early signing period along with walk-on offensive guard JT Zakkak out of Gulfport, but stand to find more interior talent.
The Bulldogs were in the mix at one point with now-LSU signee Xavier Hill — an offensive guard out of Olive Branch, but he passed on MSU to head to Baton Rouge after decommitting from Alabama earlier this fall.
Three-star offensive guard and former Missouri commit Jalen St. John is reportedly set to take an official visit to Starkville Jan. 17, but Arkansas remains heavily in the mix for his services.
That said, whether MSU adds another prospect or not to its already impressive haul, Moorhead was noticeably confident in the trajectory of his program following Wednesday’s Early Signing Period.
“Now, for three straight years having top-25 classes, building on the momentum of two Egg Bowl wins, building on the momentum of 10 straight bowl games — two under this staff and I think Coach (Jackie) Sherrill was the last one to have two (bowl appearances) in his first two years,” Moorhead said Wednesday. “The momentum and the positivity — it’s all very exciting.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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