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Mississippi State Football Recruiting 2016 - January 15-17 Visitors List and Notes

Find out who will be in town and get ready for the first official visit weekend before National Signing Day.

By FWtCTrecruiting
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

With college football officially over for the 2015 season, recruiting season is officially underway.  We have just three weekends between us and National Signing Day for the class of 2016, so every weekend of visitors has to count for each team across the country.

For Mississippi State, this weekend is an especially big one, as a mix of both committed and uncommitted in-state prospects converge onto campus.  Typically, MSU has a big in-state weekend and a second weekend for out of state targets (which normally aligns with Ole Miss' big in-state weekend); however, State is expecting some big time targets from outside the state borders this weekend, as well.  Before we break things down any further, let's take a look at the list:

All prospect information and visitors list information via Bulldawgs247.  For updates throughout the weekend, make sure to follow Robbie Faulk and Paul Jones of 247, Courtney Cronin of the Clarion Ledger, and others.  Also, check out Bulldawgs247 for more in-depth analysis.

Mississippi State Commits Visiting

Recruit Name Position Hometown/School Rating (247sports composite)
Greg Eiland OT Philadelphia, MS 3-star
Nero Nelson ATH Hollandale, MS (Simmons) 3-star
Dareuan Parker OT Southaven, MS (DeSoto Central) 3-star
Marquiss Spencer DE Greenwood, MS 3-star
Jordan Thomas TE Sumrall, MS (ECCC) 3-star

Uncommitted Prospects/Prospects Committed Elsewhere Visiting

Recruit Name Position Hometown/School Rating (247sports composite)
Raekwon Davis
(Alabama Commit)		 DL Meridian, MS 4-star
Zach Farrar WR Southlake, TX 3-star
Kobe Jones DL Starkville, MS 4-star
Nigel Knott CB Madison, MS 4-star
Scott Lashley OL West Point, MS 4-star
Jeremiah Moon
(Florida Commit)		 LB Birmingham, AL 4-star
Jeffrey Simmons DL Macon, MS 4-star
Cecil Stallings
(S Car Commit)		 OL Atlanta, GA (Tucker) 3-star

Notes for the weekend

  • While it's certainly important to keep committed prospects on board through the final weeks, Mississippi State has an opportunity this weekend to make headway with some very important uncommitted prospects on its board.  State will host six 4-star players this weekend, with a legitimate shot to land all of them come signing day (I wouldn't expect a lot of news directly after the weekend).  As it stands, MSU is very short on what are considered "blue chip" (4 and 5 star) recruits for this class, so a weekend like this would certainly help them make up ground in that regard.
  • One of the names that fans may notice is missing, and what may likely be one of the biggest storylines of this year's recruiting season for MSU, is Starkville native and 4-star WR A.J. Brown.  Instead of joining other in-state prospects, including teammate Kobe Jones, in Starkville, Brown will head east on 82 to visit Alabama this weekend.  There's even been talk that he may not officially visit MSU at all.  So how should State fans take that?  While it's concerning on the surface, an argument could be made that Brown can (and has) visit MSU anytime he wants, with the school being just miles from his home.  It's been hard to get a sense of where Brown may be leaning at this point, so if for nothing else, his recruitment should be an entertaining one to watch down the stretch.
  • MSU was actually expecting another highly-ranked target in for an official this weekend; however, 4-star Michigan WR Desmond Fitzpatrick appears to not be coming now as he's battling an illness:
  • One more note on Fitzpatrick: He is a recent addition to MSU's board, garnering an offer after Terrell Buckley joined MSU's staff from Louisville.  Buckley had been recruiting the standout for the Cardinal before joining MSU, so there's hope that his transition can give the Bulldogs an in with the prospect just weeks before signing day.  From his 247sports profile, it appears that Fitzpatrick is wide open as far as favorites at this moment.  There has not been a date announced for a rescheduled visit to MSU at this time.
  • It's just my opinion, but I wouldn't expect any commitments immediately following the weekend.  A lot of the big names that will be in this weekend are either committed elsewhere or have already announced that they will take all of their visits.  I say that so that State fans hopefully aren't disappointed if the weekend doesn't produce four or five commitments.  Most of these guys will likely not make a decision until closer to signing day.
  • As most MSU fans know by now, State has added two new coaches to its staff, and those guys have hit the ground running in recruiting already.  New defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon (USC LB's coach) and new DB's coach Terrell Buckley (Louisville DB's) are already out visiting recruits, I believe, and will be in place this weekend when recruits come to town.  It will be interesting to see if the new coaches have an affect on prospects like Moon (Sirmon coached LB's at a well-known LB university) and Fitzpatrick (a Buckley target).
  • Other than that, this should be a fun weekend.  We'll do our best to keep you updated and informed if any news should happen.
  • Hail State!

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