Receiver Tyrell Shavers transfers from Alabama to Mississippi State

Shavers was a consensus four-star recruit out of high school

New Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach's air-raid offense just got a new weapon.

Tyrell Shavers, who was considered one of the country's top prospects out of high school three years ago, is transferring from Alabama to the Bulldogs he first indicated with a Twitter post on Monday night that featured himself in an MSU jersey. Mississippi State then confirmed the transfer in a tweet on Tuesday morning. Shavers originally announced his intentions to leave the Crimson Tide last week.

Shavers has already graduated at Alabama and thus is immediately eligible to play for Mississippi State. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining after redshirting his true freshman season at Alabama in 2017. If Shavers can live up to his reputation he developed during his prep career, he'll be an incredibly welcome addition to an MSU receiving group that hasn't had a 500-plus yard receiver since 2016. 

Shavers, listed by Alabama at 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds, was a once a consensus four-star prospect out of Lewisville High School in Texas. As part of the Class of 2017, he was the country's 12th-best receiver according to 247Sports. Rivals ranked Shavers as the nation's 24th-best wideout while Scout had him at 13th in the country at his position. Shavers chose Alabama over multiple offers from other schools, including Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Texas and Texas A&M.

However once in Tuscaloosa, Shavers found playing time with the Crimson Tide limited on a depth chart loaded with top receivers. After his redshirt year in 2017, Shavers played in all 15 games in 2018, but didn't record any statistics. This past season, Shavers played in all of Alabama's 13 games with one rush for 14 yards and one reception for 20 yards. He also recovered a blocked punt for a score.

Now though, Shavers is likely set for his biggest opportunity yet as part of Leach's pass-happy offense. It would seem Shavers stands to make an immediate impact at Mississippi State as other than Osirus Mitchell, no returning Bulldog wideout this coming season had more than 147 yards receiving last year.

"We are excited to add a tremendous talent like Tyrell to our receiving corps," Leach said in a school release. "We look forward to welcoming him to Starkville as we prepare for a big season ahead."