4-star ATH Jamoral Graham commits to MSU

Jamoral Graham committed to Dan Mullen and MSU on Tuesday morning, marking the second commitment of the 2014 class for the Bulldogs.

Graham is a big pledge for the Bulldogs as he is the first in-state pledge of the 2014 class, and is a guy that will give them not only a very talented player, but a great start in-state. Graham coming aboard could help them reel in some of their other top targets from inside the state.

Graham is a 5-11 170 pound athlete from Decatur, Mississippi. He plays a little bit of everything for Newton County High School. In college, he is projected to be either a slot receiver or safety/cornerback. He is ranked as a 4-star athlete by 247sports.com. They also call him the 18th best athlete in the class, and the 7th best player in the Magnolia state for this cycle. Scout.com ranks him as a 4-star receiver. Scout says he is the 39th best receiver in the country and the 5th best player in Mississippi. Rivals.com also has Graham as a 4-star and the 23rd best athlete in the country. Rivals has yet to rank the state of Mississippi.

Graham picked MSU over early offers from Southern Miss, LSU and Ole Miss. He was also receiving interest from Alabama and Florida State.

My take on Graham

I like Jamoral Graham a lot, as I had him as the fourth best player in my early look at 2014 in Mississippi back in February (a list that needs to be edited, by the way). I see Graham as a cornerback on the next level. While he would be great on either side of the ball and I like his hands in the slot, I think you have to put your best athletes on defense, and Graham is a guy that is going to be one of the best athletes on any team he is on. I think Graham has the hips and the ball skills to end up at corner.

While Graham did not have a ton of offers that he listed (though the offers he had were impressive), he was always thought to be a strong lean to MSU and has even spoken about committing to the Bulldogs long before he spilled the beans on twitter Monday night. Teams felt like Graham would end up in the fold at MSU no matter what and this scared some teams away.

What comes next?

I think Graham is the big name in-state that MSU had to have early. This will give Dan Mullen some momentum going forward with other big in-state targets like Gerri Green, Jesse Jackson, Markell Pack and Breeland Speaks. While I think these are all big time Mississippi kids that MSU is in the game on, I think the Bulldogs will next receive a commitment from nearby West Point star, Aeris Williams. Williams has long favored the Bulldogs and would give Dan Mullen a nice start inside the Magnolia State. But look for MSU to pick up steam as the summer months roll around as they usually do under Dan Mullen. While some fans are worried about the number of commitments right now, just look at the quality they have. Also know that they will add a good many at camps this summer. MSU is on a good pace to fill what should be a smaller class this year with very quality players, many of who will come from Mississippi.