The Bulldogs landed the No. 35 recruiting class in the country in ’14, including three four-star players.

But how much did that class contribute to the 2014 team that won 10 regular-season games and finished the season ranked just outside the Top 10 after a long stay at No. 1?

Player Position Starts Games Played
Jamoral Graham WR 0 9
Darrion Hutcherson* TE 0 13
J.T. Gray LB 0 6
Dontavian Lee RB 0 1
Logan Cooke P 0 9
Nick Fitzgerald QB 0 1

*Junior college transfer

Overall, six of the 20 enrollees played at least one game. Those six players participated in a combined 39 games, starting none.

Those are lousy, worst-in-the-conference numbers in a vacuum. But consider that Mississippi State isn’t the best recruiting program in the SEC, and that the Bulldogs returned such a large number of experienced players last fall. There wasn’t much room for young talent, and Mississippi State redshirted a lot of the best players from the ’14 class as a result.

J.T. Gray played in just six games for the Bulldogs and saw limited time on defense, but still earned freshman All-SEC honors at linebacker, a tough position at which to see the field in the conference.

Darrion Hutcherson, a junior college transfer at tight end and the lone member of the class to play in double-digit games last season, is 6-foot-7 and 260 pounds and drew comparisons to Jimmy Graham due to his frame, but didn’t catch a pass all season.

Jamoral Graham caught five passes and got some run as a punt returner. Logan Cooke saw very limited action as a punter and attempted one field goal. Beyond that, the team got nothing from its ’14 class.

Aeris Williams and Gerri Green, both four-star athletes, redshirted, counting toward a total of six of the best seven players from the class that didn’t see a single game.

Williams, Mississippi’s Mr. Football in 2014, will have a chance to inherit Josh Robinson’s starting role in the backfield this spring, or at least earn a good number of carries. He’s got the potential to be a future star, and may start to earn that label as soon as this fall.

Green, 6-foot-4, went from 225 to 240 pounds and now looks much more like an SEC linebacker. He should earn a rotational spot in 2015.

“My first practice all I could think was, ‘Whoa.’ Everyone is really fast,” Green said, according to the Clarion-Ledger. “I knew I needed the time. Everything has slowed down. I’ve just gotten better all around — so much stronger, too.”

Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald ran an option offense in high school, and needs another spring to work on his mechanics and footwork as a passer, but at 6-foot-5, he’s got an opportunity to develop into Mississippi State’s future at the position with the right progress.

Overall, the team got next to nothing out of its 2014 class, but that didn’t matter, as coach Dan Mullen fielded the best team of his Mississippi State career. But the majority of that team has exhausted its eligibility or entered the NFL draft early. The ’14 class can no longer hide. It’s time to get some production out of these players.