It has been an interesting past year to 18 months in the state of Mississippi if you follow college football recruiting. If you have tracked the top prospects in the state, then it may have been hard to keep up.
Last year, out of the top 20 prospects in Mississippi, six flipped their commitment from one school to another. Two others actually committed to the same school twice as well. A quick recap of some of the craziness:
– James Williams (Mississippi's No. 5 prospect) flipped from Mississippi State to Ole Miss.
– Deuntra Hyman (No. 6) flipped from Ole Miss to Southern Miss.
— Fabien Lovett (No. 7 prospect) committed to Mississippi State August 2017, then decommitted Jan. 1. He then jumped back in with the Bulldogs February 7.
– Fabian Franklin (No. 8) flipped from Mississippi State to TCU.
– Jemaurian Jones (No. 10) flipped from Mississippi State to Southern Miss.
– CJ Bolar (No. 12 prospect) flipped from Iowa State to Vanderbilt.
– Jonquarise Patterson (No. 13) committed to Mississippi State twice. He committed in August, decommitted Jan. 1 and then recommitted Jan. 4.
– Jaylon Reed (No. 19) did the same. He originally committed to the Bulldogs in the summer of 2017, then decommitted in December after the coaching change and ended back up with Mississippi State on National Signing Day.
So will the 2019 class continue the Mississippi madness that 2018 began? Let's move forward to real time and focus on the current class.
COACHING CHANGES
There was a coaching change in Starkville last year when Dan Mullen left for Florida and Joe Moorhead came in from Penn State. At Ole Miss, Matt Luke was the interim head coach in 2017 before that tag was removed, so there were some unsettling situations going on, but all is settled now in Oxford and Starkville.
The recruiting though has been very fluid with a lot of shake-up. Rivals250 athlete Diwun Black was in the headlines again last week when he flipped from Ole Miss to Florida. This is the third school, but he said this commitment is different.
Black is the No. 6 prospect in Mississippi for the 2019 class.
JACKSON ON THE MOVE
Just before Black’s flip, there was four-star wide receiver Dannis Jackson a couple of days earlier. The Sumrall playmaker went from Mississippi State to Ole Miss. So while the Rebels lost one in Black, they gained one in Jackson.
HANDY DECISION
On March 3, four-star defensive end Jaren Handy committed to LSU while on a visit. On March 15, he decommitted. After visiting Auburn a couple of times, he committed to the Tigers on the Plains on June 18.
Like Handy, defensive end Jamond Gordon of Meridian committed to Auburn. That was after being committed to Ole Miss for seven months. He re-opened his recruitment in May, took visits to Auburn and Ole Miss in June, then committed to the Tigers on June 16.
KEEPING UP WITH JONES
Mississippi State received good news when he and his staff were able to flip Jarrian Jones from Oklahoma and Brandon Cunningham from Miami earlier this year. Jones has really become a leader for the Bulldog class since committing to the in-state school June 2.
EDWARDS OPEN
Zach Edwards is a linebacker out of Starkville and he was a one-time LSU commit. He announced his commitment the same night as Handy, but decommitted June 10 and remains open at this time.
PICKERING STILL SOLID
Nathan Pickering put this tweet out just after Black flipped to Florida, so he seems set on being a Bulldog at this time.
FARRELL'S THOUGHTS
National Director of Recruiting, Mike Farrell has covered recruiting for 20 years, so he has great knowledge of trends in Mississippi. He offered his thoughts on this subject.
“I think Mississippi is one of those states, and I don’t know why, where kids get recruited heavily a bit later than some others,” said Farrell. “So, the hard-core press from other schools often comes after they have committed. It also doesn’t help that neither Ole Miss nor Mississippi State have broken through with a season making a big push toward the SEC or national title. It allows other schools to come in and poach kids.”
AROUND THE TOP 10
The top prospect in the state is Nakobe Dean, and he is not one I expect to be in this type of story. He does not plan to make his decision until December, when he signs. Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Mississippi State and Ole Miss are in the running.
Jerrion Ealy is the No. 2 prospect and he is committed to Ole Miss. Alabama is viewed as a threat to the Rebels for the two-sport star athlete.
Byron Young (No. 4 prospect) and Brandon Turnage (No. 9 prospect) are currently committed to Alabama. Young appears to be pretty set, but Turnage is one to watch with the in-state schools involved along with Florida, Georgia and LSU being mentioned as well.
Charles Moore is the No. 8 prospect and although he has been committed to Mississippi State for nearly a year now, he has visited Tennessee twice this summer and made stops at Auburn and Ole Miss. It doesn’t look like his recruitment is over just yet.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2020
If you want to look ahead to 2020, McKinnley Jackson is the top prospect. He’s a five-star defensive tackle at George County and committed to LSU last November, then decommitted in February.