It was one and done for Jeramiah McCloud over the weekend.
The Havana (Fla.) Gadsden County defensive lineman finally made it to Starkville for his first look at Jeff Lebby's program and he would exit the unofficial visit weekend as a Mississippi State Bulldog commitment.
"I got up there and I loved it," he said. "Coach (David) Turner, that's a great dude. He showed me how many people he's got in the NFL, how many he's developed.
"Campus was nice. The facilities were nice. When I came back from the basketball game, I told coach I was really liking it...the next day I told coach I wanted to commit before I went back."
By the next day, it was time to get up with Lebby and the rest of the staff.
"We made it happen," McCloud said. "I told coach (Lebby) I wanted to lock it in. He said, 'let's get the number one class started.' He's a good dude, he was very excited. He knows what he's doing.
"It felt like I was at home."
From fishing to the "country vibes" in Starkville, McCloud elected not to waste any more time as an undeclared recruit. Other programs will continue to come in, as West Virginia offered on Monday, but the 2025 talent is happy with his pick.
Especially when it comes to his future position coach.
"I'm gonna be an inside guy in college, I'm really comfortable with it," he said. "The scheme they run, and coach Turner showed me some stuff, I know I'll be developed. I know I will.
"He's got guys in the league now that I base my game off of, like Chris Jones. He coached Myles Garrett, too."
*****
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals100
TRANSFER PORTAL: Latest news | Transfer search | Transfer tracker/player ranking (football) | Transfer team ranking (football) | Transfer tracker/player ranking (basketball) | Transfer team ranking (basketball) | Rivals Portal Twitter
*****
McCloud is continuing to add scholarship offers, but the ability to play in the SEC was hard to pass up.
"It's about Mississippi State being Mississippi State, but the SEC thing was a plus," he said. "The State fans are showing a lot of love.
"I just can't wait to come in and ball."
