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We haven't done much in the way of recruiting updates here at the site lately, however with NSD nearing for the 2015 class, we'll start providing more frequent updates as the class of 2015 continues to develop. Some of today's updates will be older as we catch up, but future posts will provide more up-to-date information on commits/decommits, offers, visits, and more.
Kentavious Thomas decommits
The Bulldogs' class got a little smaller last Tuesday when 4-star Georgia running back Kentavious Thomas decommitted from Mississippi State. Thomas told 247sports that "he doesn't know MSU and they don't know him", which makes it sounds like the coaches haven't talked to him in quite some time. Recruiting is always a wacky process that can go 1,000 different ways, so there's no telling what's going on here. Whether it was just a staff error or MSU "moving on" from Thomas, it looks like the Baldwin RB will be pursuing other options. He also holds an offer from Louisville and will visit the Cardinals soon.
As for State, they still have quite a bit of talent currently committed at the RB position with Pinson Valley RB Nick Gibson and Missouri prospect Alec Murphy in the class of 2015. The Bulldogs also have Aeris Williams coming off of redshirt in 2015, and will have Ashton Shumpert and hopefully Josh Robinson back as well.
Tommy Champion and Cam Myers headed to JUCO
About a week and a half ago, Copiah Lincoln Community College announced that MSU commit Tommy Champion would be a part of the incoming class at Wesson in January. Champion is an offensive tackle out of Calloway that has been committed to the Bulldogs since May of this year. He will certainly be missed as a part of the 2015 Bulldog class, however he will be eligible to be a part of the 2016 class with his early enrollment at Co-Lin.
Cam Myers, a WR out of Oak Grove, will also head to the JUCO ranks first as he announced on December 17th that he is headed to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Myers was a 4-star high school prospect as well who will now be eligible to join the Bulldogs' (or another school's) 2016 signing class.
With those two departures, MSU has two more spots to fill in a pretty large 2015 class who will they pursue for those final positions? We should have a more clearer picture to that answer once bowl season is complete and recruiting gets into full swing leading up to National Signing Day.
2015 Brandon WR Titus Ivory gets an offer?
On Friday, the Clarion-Ledger's Brandon Shields tweeted that Titus Ivory, a wide receiver prospect from Brandon High School, informed him that he had an offer from Mississippi State.
Brandon WR Titus Ivory just told me he has been offered by Mississippi State
— Brandon Shields (@BShields_CL) December 27, 2014
The offer is an interesting one this late in the process, as the 2015 recruiting cycle is nearing its end and Ivory had seemingly not been on State's radar this whole time. Could the offer have come as an answer to who State will target to fill Cam Myers spot in the 2015 class? Could be.
Ivory is an interesting prospect and one that would certainly fit the mold of a Dan Mullen recruit. He's only a 2-star currently in the 247 sports rating system, however he's got great size at 6'4" which provides a solid frame to build him into a De'Runnya Wilson-type receiver.
However, the news of Titus receiving an offer may be a premature one, as there are reports ($) from others that MSU has talked with Ivory about offering, but has not officially done so at this time. Either way, this will be a development to watch as the 2015 class wraps up in the next several months.
MSU commits at the Army All-American Game
It's All-American and All-Star game time for high school recruits, and one of the biggest games to be invited to each year is the Army All-American Game. Mississippi State is well-represented at the game this year with one signee (Malik Dear) and one commit (Jamal Peters) in San Antonio for this year's game.
While Dear is already signed and officially headed to MSU as an early enrollee, Peters will be a recruit to watch in the final two months leading to NSD. He has been committed to MSU since Big Dawg Camp in July, however he told 247sports that he is about 75% committed to MSU since Geoff Collins left to go to Florida. Peters has shown some interest in LSU as well, so they will be a team to watch for his services down the stretch, however he appears in all likelihood to be a solid commitment to State. This is recruiting, though, so that could change any day, any time.
The game is televised on Saturday at noon on NBC for any wanting to see the duo in action.
Leo Lewis changes his visits up
Leo Lewis, the highly-sought after linebacker recruit from Brookhaven, has been committed to Ole Miss since September of this year. Despite that commitment, Lewis will still take his usual round of visits this January before he makes his pledge official in February. While he was once slated to save his visits for the two Mississippi schools (Ole Miss and MSU) last, it appears that things have changed in that regard ($).
I won't share the details because they're behind a paywall, but the gist is that Lewis' visit schedule has changed up a bit. MSU is a finalist for his services along with Ole Miss and LSU.