Mississippi State's 2026 defense taking shape, but still work to be done

The Bulldogs are bringing back some of their best defensive players for 2026 and have commitments from transfers to fill empty spots.

Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Isaac Smith (2) reacts prior to the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Mississippi State's defense for 2026 is slowly starting to take shape.

The Bulldogs have received three commitments from defensive players in the transfer portal, all of whom can be expcted to have an immediate impact.

But the defense is also returning a bevy of current players such as Derion Gullette, Zakari Tillman, Will Whitson, Jalen Smith, and Trevion Williams announcing their returns.

The biggest name to announce their return was Kelley Jones earlier this week, but another Bulldog has announced their return. And it's just as important as Jones' return.

Safety Isaac Smith, with more than 200 career tackles, announced his return to Mississippi State for the 2026 season on social media. On Tuesday, several return announcements were made and Smith was one of the last.

Smith made his announcement with one simple question, "Why not 1 more!"

Mississippi State is doing a good job of retaining its best players, something not every school can pull off (side-eye glance at LSU). But the Bulldogs aren't done nor should they.

There's still at least one safety spot open and we've only seen two linemen commit to Mississippi State and we know more than two are needed there.

Wednesday is a new day. Let's see what surprises it brings us. Below you'll find the updated transfer portal tracker with some former Bulldogs making their commitments listed, too.

Mississippi State Transfer Portal

Incoming Bulldogs

• WR Marquis Johnson (Missouri)
• DE Jayson Jenkins (Florida State)
• QB AJ Swann (Appalachian State)
• CB Kaylib Singleton (Syracuse)
• CB Quentin Taylor (Iowa State)
• OL Mario Nash (Florida State)

Official Visits Scheduled

• CB Tyran Chappell (Houston Christian)
• OL DJ Chester (LSU)
• DL Jayson Jenkins (Florida State)
• EDGE Tunmise Adeleye ( UNLV)
• DL Tarvorise Brown (Florida)
• OT Veguer Jean Jumeau (Tennessee State)
• DT Ahmad Breaux (LSU)
• DL Khalil Poteat (Temple)
• S Justin Denson Jr. (Michigan State)
• CB Quentin Taylor (Iowa State)
• WR Marquis Johnson (Missouri)
• OL Mario Nash (Florida State)
• OL Lucas Simmons (Florida State)
• QB AJ Swann (Appalachian State)
• WR Earnest Campbell (Sacramento State)
• TE Jeff Carpenter (Nevada)
• OL Grant Seagren (Oklahoma State)
• CB Daniel Harris (Georgia)
• OT Anwar O'Neal (Delaware)
• DL Brandon Davis-Swain (Colorado)
• EDGE Jalen Thompson (Michigan State)
• OL Miles McVay (North Carolina)

Outgoing Bulldogs

• WR Jordan Mosley
• S Stonka Burnside (Memphis)
• WR Cam Thompson (Northern Illinois)
• WR Anson Lewis
• DL Terrance Hibbler
• OL Jaekwon Bouldin
• WR Jaron Glover
• DL Corey Clark
• OL Alex Lopez
• K Marlon Hauck
• OL Brennan Smith
• S Tony Mitchell
• WR Markus Allen
• DE Joseph Head
• TE Max Reese
• OL Jimothy Lewis Jr.
• WR Ferzell Shepard
• TE Emeka Iloh
• S Lo'Kavion Jackson
• TE Cam Ball
• QB Luke Kromenhoek (South Florida)
• RB Johnnie Daniels
• S Tyler Woodard
• CB Dwight Lewis III
• DL Ashun Shepphard
• WR Davian Jackson
• P Nathan Tiyce
• DT Kai McClendon
• CB Elijah Cannon
• S Cyrus Reyes
• OL Luke Work
• RB Seth Davis
• OL Koby Keenum
• LB Montrell Chapman