Observations From Mississippi State's Camps On Friday
Over the week, Mississippi State football hosted multiple prospects from Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida for a seven-on-seven tournament, along with offensive and defensive lineman drills.
The lineman worked in the Palmerio center, and Bulldog coaches Will Friend, Mike Schmidt, and David Turner worked hands-on with the players. Several current Bulldogs worked with the young guys Jaden Crumedy, Demonte Russell, Stephen Losoya, etc.
In one-on-one drills, 2024 offensive lineman Antonio Ross of Hartfield Academy caught my eye. Ross is listed as 6'5, 335 pounds, and has offers from Jackson State, Alcorn State, Mississippi Valley State, and Wright State.
Ross appears to be closer to 6'3 than 6'5, based on closer observation. He has plenty of power. He rarely lost his reps and has nice footwork and hand placement.
I do not think he is SEC-ready as of now, but he is a name to remember. Also, I saw 4-star offensive lineman Jimonthy Lewis of IMG Academy, formerly from MRA. IMG was not one of the schools in attendance, so he did not participate in drills, but he was on campus.
Another defensive lineman who did well was Tyler Carter from Vicksburg. Carter's size was imposing.
He is listed as 6’6 251 pounds, and that is about right. With his long arms and quickness, MSU will be looking at him to be a pass rusher.
Watching Carter and Antonio Ross go against each other was perhaps the matchup of the whole camp.
The seven-on-seven games had a few impressive prospects. Stonka Burnside from Starkville was there and was very impressive.
Burnside plays much bigger than his size at 6-foot-and-a-half and 185 pounds. He plays very physically, something that he will only look to expand upon at the next level.
He is a very skilled route runner and doesn’t just rely on being faster and more explosive than everyone. The most impressive play of the day was the first play touchdown against Ripley, where Burnside made a tough catch over the middle and outran everyone to the endzone.
Burnside is currently uncommitted, and it seems to be a battle between Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Another Starkville product that was impressive today was Illinois commit Trey Petty. Petty is 6’1, 187 pounds, and throws a very accurate ball.
Petty and his teammate Stonka make for an unstoppable duo. Starkville could score at will when Stonka was the primary target.
Kahnen Daniels from West Point had a good showing today. The 5’11 190, pounds running back played slot receiver today.
Daniels was playing out of position and did not get a lot of reps, but when he got the ball in his hands, he was a cut ahead. Daniels showed solid hands and a quick burst.
Daniels is currently committed to Florida. MSU is still pushing for the four-star prospect to stay close to home.
It will be interesting to watch how each of these prospects develop moving forward.
