The Magnolia State rivalry is a year round affair that exceeds far beyond the white lines.

Mississippi State recently landed a commitment from an Oxford defensive back and now Ole Miss is attempting to swipe Starkville linebacker Willie Gay from the Bulldogs. According to Gay’s Twitter, both schools made his Top 5, along with LSU, South Carolina and Michigan.

https://twitter.com/WillieYRN/status/733353874128572416

Rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 110 recruit in the nation by 247Sports, 6-foot-1, 215-pound Gay narrowed his list down after receiving scholarship offers from Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Miami among others.

Ole Miss clearly won the recruiting war between MSU last season but this season the Bulldogs are off to a much better start. Will Gay be the prospect that flips the script, will he be the latest prospect to commit to Hail State or will he go elsewhere to play college football?

As a high school junior, Gay recorded 84 tackles, six sacks, four interceptions, nine pass breakups and a pick six. If you check out his high school tape, you’ll see Gay has a tremendous amount of athleticism and the explosion necessary to exceed at the next level, although he will need to bulk up a bit to play linebacker in the SEC.