Mississippi flavor: MSU completes class with several in-state recruits

Mississippi State introduced the second part of its 2018 signing class on Wednesday as part of National Signing Day and it included a large portion of instate flavor.

The Bulldogs welcomed eight new signees, bringing the 2018 class total to 23 individuals. A total of 13 of those are from Mississippi, including six of the eight who signed on Wednesday.

“Throughout the month of January and the last six weeks, I think we’ve done a great job getting out to the high schools in the state of Mississippi, creating and developing relationships with the coaches and selling them on the vision of our program,” MSU head coach Joe Moorhead said. “We’ve let them know why the best players in the state of Mississippi need to stay at home and play for the state university and help us win an SEC championship and compete for a national championship.”

MSU’s total class includes eight of the state of Mississippi’s top 16 players, including four of the top five according to 247Sports.

The Bulldogs inked 15 players back on Dec. 20 as part of NCAA football’s first-ever early signing period. They were followed by the eight signed on Wednesday including linebackers Aaron Brule and Nathaniel Watson, defensive backs Esaias Furdge and Jaylon Reed, defensive linemen Fabien Lovett and Cameron Young, wide receiver Johnquarise Patterson and offensive lineman Kameron Jones.

Furdge, Reed, Lovett, Young, Patterson and Jones all hail from Mississippi.

Lovett was perhaps Wednesday’s biggest get for MSU. The three-star defensive lineman is ranked as the state of Mississippi’s sixth-best player by 247Sports.

“Fabian is a tremendous talent,” Moorhead said. “Our staff worked tremendously hard to have a guy of his caliber join our team. It’s a testament to his belief in what we’re all about moving forward.

“He can play (both defensive end and tackle). He’s a guy, with his talent, that will compete for playing time immediately. From day one, he’ll come in and compete.”

Lovett isn’t coming to Starkville alone. His high school teammate at Olive Branch, Reed, was one of two defensive backs signed Wednesday along with Furdge from Clarksdale. Both Reed and Furdge are three-star players.
“(Reed and Furdge) are two similar players in a certain regard,” Moorhead said. “They are taller guys that are long and can cover a lot of ground. They have great change of direction and great acceleration. You talk about a roster and needs and what we’ll be graduating moving forward, those are guys we’re really excited about from an athleticism standpoint.”

Along with Lovett, Young from Franklin County High is also joining State’s defensive line. He, too, is a three-star prospect.

On the offensive line, MSU didn’t just stay instate with its lone offensive lineman signee on Wednesday. The Bulldogs stayed in their hometown with Jones, a three-star offensive lineman from Starkville.

“I think (Starkville head coach Chris Jones) and his staff have done a tremendous job of developing Kameron,” Moorhead said. “He’s a guy that has been to camp here and has gotten a lot of positive feedback from the coaches on our staff. I think he’s a guy that in a year’s time has really developed. He has put on weight. He’s up to 295 pounds. He played in the Mississippi-Alabama (All-Star) Game and did a good job there. He’s someone we have a lot of familiarity with, so when the opportunity presented itself to get him in the fold, we were excited to get him over here.”

Patterson was MSU’s only other offensive signee on Wednesday. He’s a three-star receiver from Pearl ranked the fifth-best recruit in the state.

The Bulldogs also welcomed in a pair of out-of-state signees on Wednesday, both of them linebackers.

Brule is a four-star prospect according to Rivals. The Metairie, Louisiana, native’s athleticism attracted Moorhead.

“He’s a guy that is a big safety or can play linebacker,” Moorhead said of Brule. “You can move him all over the field and do a lot of things. He has a lot of versatility.

“We even went to watch him play basketball and he scored 20 points in the game we watched him play.”

Watson is also a versatile guy who played a great amount of offense over the course of his high school days in Maplesville, Alabama. He’s a three-star linebacker.

All of Wednesday’s signees join December’s group which was comprised of Jaden Crumedy, Brad Cumbest, Cameron Gardner, Stephen Guidry, Malik Heath, Devonta Jason, Jett Johnson, Kwatrivous Johnson, Sh’mar Kilby-Lane, Jalen Mayden, Marcus Murphy, Shawn Preston, Jr., Devon Robinson, Geor’quarius Spivey and La’Damian Webb.

Mississippi State’s entire 2018 signing class was ranked 27th in the country by 247Sports.

“We’re very excited to add eight new members to our football family to the 15 we signed in December,” Moorhead said. “I think it’s a credit to our coaching staff, our recruiting staff and everybody involved.
“All credit goes to those people for making this class a success.”