The hits and misses of signing day for Mississippi State
Recruiting is a funny thing. On Wednesday, Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach signed one of the highest-rated quarterbacks he's ever inked in the form of Sports Illustrated All-American candidate Sawyer Robertson. The consensus four-star signal caller out of Texas that has been verbally committed to the Bulldogs since March would be celebrated most days. A quick check online though shows, for many that follow MSU, there is instead panic.
Robertson is one of many that officially became Bulldogs on Wednesday. He's a top-tier talent that plays perhaps the most important position in all of sports. "Yeah but look at who State didn't get," is what you can probably hear shouted from somewhere in Starkville's Cotton District if you listen closely enough.
And to some degree, that's fair. The Bulldogs certainly had some rough moments on Wednesday. Here's a quick rundown of the hits and misses.
The hits
State got better on the offensive line. The Bulldogs welcomed in five linemen that should benefit MSU in a big way moving forward. Four of them (Nick Jones, Carson Williams, Gabe Cavazos and Albert Reese) were expected. The other was Canon Boone, who flipped to the Bulldogs from a verbal commitment to Virginia Tech. That was a flip State and its supporters could get behind. There were other flips of course that weren't so exciting for the maroon and white. More on that in a minute.
State got better at receiver. Teddy Knox is a consensus four-star stud. The Sports Illustrated All-American candidate is a possible immediate-impact guy for the Bulldogs. Antonio Harmon is another consensus four-star guy. He was a big recruiting win for MSU after not being verbally committed entering the day. Instate star Jacobi Moore was another solid pickup for State. Former South Carolina commit Rodarius Thomas signed with MSU as well. The Dogs did miss on one big fish (again more on that in a minute), but it's not like they were left with a handful of garbage.
State got defensive products with high upsides. Linebacker John Lewis was a huge verbal commit only about a week ago and the 247Sports four-star standout could one day be a Bulldog star. Also at linebacker, junior college product DeShawn Page, as well as Nic Mitchell and Timar Rogers have promise. And don't forget the Bulldogs also picked up some strong help up front, led by Central Florida transfer Randy Charlton. The biggest signing for the Bulldogs though came prior to signing day when MSU defensive coordinator Zach Arnett agreed to a contract extension with State. He's already proven he can turn just about anthing into a solid defense, no matter the challenges.
The misses
M.J. Daniels. So much for that recruitment being shut down as he said, huh? Make no mistake about it, this one hurt for the Bulldogs, arguably more than the other two names that'll be mentioned here in a moment. He's an instate star, an SI All-American candidate and the rival Ole Miss Rebels flipped him to Oxford. Beyond that, he's a talented player at a position of need (defensive back) for MSU. Now some might make the case that given how he handled his recruitment that he's full of drama and might be an up-and-down player wherever he landed. Who knows. Maybe he is. Maybe he isn't. A lot of kids are back in forth during recruiting. But not having him in maroon and white is a certain blow for Mississippi State. There's no spinning that.
Malik Nabers. Yep. This one was a blow for the Bulldogs too and again, there's no spinning it. The four-star talent was another piece that could've stepped right in and contributed immediately in the Mike Leach Air Raid offense. But what can you do? Nabers is a Louisiana boy and when the instate LSU Tigers come calling and send you some papers to sign, that's tough to turn down. Nabers couldn't. This one went down to the wire, but in the end. Nabers decided to stay close to home and play for the current defending national champions. It hurts for the Bulldogs, but on another hand, it's understandable how Nabers couldn't resist the Tigers.
Navonteque Strong. Like Nabers, Strong is headed to LSU. And yes, technically Strong de-committed from MSU on Tuesday so this was more of a Tuesday loss than a Wednesday flip. But still, Strong seemed like the heir apparent to the middle linebacker throne after Erroll Thompson at Mississippi State. The nation's top junior college linebacker could've stepped right in as a starter for the Bulldogs and been the centerpiece of Arnett's defensive scheme. Alas, he's gone. Getting Lewis and some others softens the blow, but Strong was a middle linebacker. Now, that's a hole for State moving forward.
The bottom line
Mississippi State's 2021 recruiting class on Wednesday is overshadowed by who it lost instead of who it got. Robertson, Knox, Lewis and some others have the type of potential to make them long-term stars in the Southeastern Conference. Harmon is a four-star pickup that would've set off a huge party most days.
Instead, and deservedly so to a large extent, a lot of eyes are on the Bulldogs not landing former commitments Daniels, Nabers and Strong. It's awfully tempting to think about what could have been with this class if State had landed what it did, then added in those other three as well. That's probably a Top 25 class for Leach and company if that'd happened.
Alas, it didn't happen. And in the end, the jury will be out for a few years to see what State really got and what it really missed. Recruiting stars mean nothing apart from production on the football field.
And now, with the signatures in, it's game on.
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