Simmons Road Show: Takeaways from Mississippi state championships

CLASS OF 2019 RANKINGS: Rivals100 | Rivals250 | State | Position | Team

CLASS OF 2020 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | State | Position

I spent the weekend in Hattiesburg watching some of the best in Mississippi compete for a state championship. A lot of talent was there and here are five takeaways from the weekend.

On Friday night, Raydarious Jones, known as “Raydar” by many around the Horn Lake community, made some big plays to help lead his team to a state title. He plays quarterback, but he is likely to end up at another position on the next level. Ole Miss, the school he visited last weekend, is viewed as the favorite, but Auburn, LSU (official visit this weekend) and Mississippi State are still very much involved.

He is being recruited more as an athlete, but cornerback could be the position he could excel at with his frame. Jones is a long athlete, the type of body coaches covet at cornerback. Wide receiver is another option, and he would love to get an opportunity to play quarterback, but playing in the secondary may be the best fit.

The first game on Saturday morning featured Louisville. Like Horn Lake, they won the state title, and like Jones, Ashanti Cistrunk played a big role.

Cistrunk made his plays on the defensive side of the ball. Poplarville is an old-school running team, so Cistrunk was close to the line of scrimmage all day, and he stayed around the ball. He is another athlete who could project at safety or outside linebacker.

The Ole Miss commit has good length and he really closes on the ball well. He can still improve on his angles to the ball and playing with better pad level, but he is an athlete who could surprise some in the SEC. I really liked his toughness, length and speed. Mississippi State’s defensive coordinator Bob Shoop was in attendance, and he made sure to speak to Cistrunk after the game. He had to be impressed too.

Nakobe Dean is a new five-star on Rivals.com and there is no doubt in my mind that he is just that. The Horn Lake linebacker is a special talent. He is a football player that happens to be a very good athlete, not to mention a 4.0 GPA student. It is easy to see when watching him why Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Texas A&M are still fighting for him.

Aggies’ coach Bradley Dale Peveto was in the Horn Lake section holding a Dean Big Head. These schools want Dean leading their defense, and there are plenty of reasons why.

Dean was in charge against Oak Grove. He was always lining up the defense, making changes and was constantly doing his job. He would drop into coverage at times, then he would make a play in the box and he was always playing sideline to sideline. The bottom line is Dean can do it all.

Is he the tallest linebacker? No. But he is one of the best. He knocks running backs backwards when he makes tackles. He can blitz, he can cover, he can play the run, he can move in space, he seems to be in the right spot and he is a leader.

Who will be the winner when he announces on Dec. 19? Most feel it is between Alabama and Georgia, but Dean is definitely not tipping his hand.

The 2020 class in Mississippi will not be as deep as the 2019 class, but there is still some top talent to know. The defensive line until in 2019 is very strong, and you could make a case for four or five guys that line up at that position to be on top.

In 2020, it looks like it will be a battle between two prospects. McKinnley Jackson of George County and Josaih Hayes of Horn Lake.

I ranked Hayes in the Rivals250 early, before he had most of his offers. After seeing him play last season, I liked his upside, frame and ability. He has really taken that next step this season. Hayes is stronger at the point of attack, he works his hands more, he is just as quick as he was a year ago and he has started to rise up my list.

Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee have offered. There should be more names on that list. Hayes is a strong interior defensive lineman with good lateral quickness and he will lead the way next year at Horn Lake.

I had to look twice Friday night when the Horn Lake vs. Oak Grove game got started. Oak Grove received the opening kick-off and Georgia commit, quarterback John Plumlee was back there as a return man. He actually got the kickoff and ran it back about 25 yards to start the game.

What Plumlee is — is an athlete. A true athlete. He had offers to play wide receiver and defensive back before committing to Georgia to play quarterback. Not only did he line up at quarterback and kickoff return man this game, but he handled the punting duties and he played some safety too.

Plumlee finished with 348 yards passing, 45 yards rushing, four touchdowns, two tackles and a 30 yard average in six punts.

And if you didn’t know it, Plumlee is also a baseball star. There has been some chatter about him possibly being drafted next June by a MLB team, but based on the talk over the weekend, it does not sound like that will affect his future in Athens.

I have seen Plumlee play twice this year and he has been very impressive. He is not an athlete, he is a quarterback. He just happens to be able to run the ball and make plays with his legs. He is a great get for Georgia, because Plumlee can help the Bulldogs in many ways.

I saw three of the best senior defensive linemen in the country over the weekend. All three are in the Rivals250 and all three are committed to SEC schools.

Here is how I would rank them on their performances in Hattiesburg:

1. Byron Young | West Jones | Alabama commitment

Young was fighting chop blocks all night, and much of the game, West Point ran away from him. Young was strong at the point of attack, he was chasing the ball, and when he had his chances, he made plays. He affected the game all night because West Point knew where No. 47 was all game. Young is a very strong defensive lineman who could project as a five-tech or three-tech on the next level. He finished with five tackles.

2. Charles Moore | Louisville | Mississippi State commitment

I really wanted to get a good look at Moore. Like Young, he was fighting chop blocks all game, but he stayed focused and very much involved. He was only credited with two tackles, but he looked to be in on more than that. Against the Poplarville offense, more than one defender typically made the tackle. Moore was stunting, he was playing low and I saw that toughness in him. He was fighting through double-teams and getting penetration and closing down the line. He was back from an ACL injury the year before and his future looks bright.

3. Nathan Pickering | Seminary | Mississippi State commitment

It was not that Pickering was bad by any means, just that the other two stood out a little more. Pickering is the biggest of the three and he looks to be destined to slide inside to the defensive tackle position. There is some talk that he could even be best at offensive tackle on the offensive side of the ball. He played a little tight end this season, and he has some athleticism, so we will see if that ever materializes. As a defensive lineman, Pickering has a tendency to play high. He will need to improve his pad level and his overall strength moving on to play in the SEC. He definitely has flashed this season, and he did so again over the weekend in his final game at Seminary, but will need to be more consistent to be effective on the next level.