After signing a top 25 recruiting class during the 2019  recruiting cycle, Mississippi State has positioned itself well to top those efforts in 2020 as Hail State now has 12 commitments before the calendar turns to May.

The newest Bulldog to jump in the boat is 6-foot-5, 285-pound Benjamin Key of East Los Angeles Community College. The Monterey Park, Calif., native publicly announced his pledge to Mississippi State Tuesday. His commitment was confirmed by Joe Moorhead, who sent out his trademark “Ring the Bell!” tweet to celebrate the news.

247Sports Composite does not yet have a ranking listed for Key, however, they do note he has scholarship offers from Arizona, Utah and Oregon State among others. Mississippi State currently has the nation’s No. 13 ranked recruiting class, and a top five class in the SEC, following Key’s addition.

Key announced his pledge to Mississippi State with the following message on Twitter:

“First off, I would like to thank God for blessing me with this opportunity to play American football at a Division 1 program. I especially want to thank my parents for all their sacrifices to allow me to be where I’m at today. I want to thank Coach Vita (Conquest Athletic Performance), Coach Pearson and Coach Dixon (Cathedral High) and Coach Godinez and Coach Dixon (ELAC) for their impact in my journey to earn a football scholarship. A big thanks to the Zamora family for taking me in and looking out for me here in the U.S. and to my teammates from Cathedral and ELAC for teaching me the game of football and for making it a solid experience. Finally, thank you to all the college coaches that recruited me and gave me an opportunity to be apart of their elite programs, I’ve very grateful; All I wanted was a chance to play football at the next level and to be in a program where I would be better developed both as a person and player.

“With that being said, I am officially committed to Mississippi State University!”