Building on this season’s second-place finish in the SEC West and New Year’s Six bowl bid, Mississippi State is reloading this recruiting season, a 26-member class at this point ranking in the nation’s top 20.
Here’s a review of Mississippi State’s strengths heading into bowl week after the holiday and a few predictions on where the Bulldogs could end up in February. We use 247Sports’ team rankings and individual composite player lists to determine grades:
Current standing
- National recruiting rank: 16th
- SEC recruiting rank: 8th
- Number of commits or signees: 26
Signed, sealed, delivered
- Malik Dear, ATH, Jackson, Miss. (Four-star)
- Donald Gray, WR, Wesson, Miss. (Four-star)
- Martinas Rankin, OT, Perkinston, Miss. (Four-star)
- Deddrick Thomas, ATH, Memphis, Tenn. (Three-star)
- Johnathan Calvin, DE, Wesson, Miss. (Three-star)
Notable hard commits
- Nick Gibson, RB, Pinson, Ala. (Four-star)
Remaining primary targets
- Daron Payne, DT, Birmingham, Ala. (Four-star)
- Tommy Champion, OL, Jackson, Miss. (Four-star)
Signing Day surprise
- The Bulldogs are hoping to lure four-star defensive tackle Daron Payne to Starkville, but the 325-pound Birmingham native appears headed to Alabama or Auburn. Securing his commitment would catapult the Bulldogs into the No. 11 or 12 range nationally for the 2015 cycle.
