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2015 4-star Texas QB Chason Virgil commits to Mississippi State

The Mesquite, Texas dual threat quarterback chose the Bulldogs over an impressive list of other offers.

By FWtCTrecruiting
Student Sports

With the baseball team wrapping up the regular season with an important series against Alabama, the football team took the spotlight if only for a moment this afternoon with a big commitment out of the lonestar state.  2015 dual threat quarterback Chason Virgil of Mesquite, Texas has committed to Mississippi State, according to his personal Twitter account:

The 6'1", 170 lb QB also holds offers from schools such as Arizona State, Clemson, Florida, Texas, and Auburn, among others.  That's quite an impressive list for MSU to have been competing against and come out on top.  His weight is a bit light for the grind that Mullen's offense puts on a QB, but that's nothing that a year in the weight room at State couldn't fix.

UPDATE: I asked one of SBNation's resident recruiting experts, Wescott Eberts, about Virgil.  Wescott knows his recruiting, and he knows recruiting in the state of Texas even better.  Here's what he had to say on Chason:

A starter since his freshman season at West Mesquite -- no easy task in the state of Texas at a big school -- Virgil is further along in his development as a result because he has taken so many more game reps than most prospects still yet to play their senior seasons.

In his first year in high school, he was effective throwing deep passes to UCLA Bruin wide receiver Eldridge Massington, so he has some ability to stretch the field. His production decreased during his junior season, but he was able to clean up some of the interception problems that he experienced as a sophomore.

There are a couple concerns with Virgil, mostly focused on physics traits. Listed at 6'2 and 170 pounds, he's on the short side for a pocket passer and may need to add some weight to a relatively thin frame in order to remain durable in college. He also doesn't have the best arm strength or most consistent accuracy.

Still, despite the fact that he's ranked as a pro-style quarterback in some places, he's a good athlete and can make plays with his feet in the running game and moving to complete passes. He can also make some difficult passes with touch or precise placement to avoid defenders and his release is quick and generally clean.

Some of the physical limitations may keep Virgil from having an immense upside in college, but his experience, running ability, and strong make up should result in a pretty high floor for the West Mesquite product.

Rated as a mid three-star prospect, Virgil is a good fit in a Mississippi State offense that will take advantage of his athleticism and there's a reasonable chance that he could become a solid starter in a couple of years.

Scout's Steve Robertson tweeted shortly after Chason's commitment that the Texas QB told him his relationship with new QB's coach Brian Johnson was a big factor in his decision.  Johnson's addition to the coaching staff has already paid off just months after he came to Starkville.

Virgil is rated as a 3-star prospect by 24/7 Sports, a 4-star by Rivals, and a 3-star by Scout.  His commitment gives the Bulldogs 12 for the 2015 class, as he joins an already impressive list of mostly skill position and defensive backfield players.

Sure, it's very early in the 2015 recruiting cycle, but Virgil's commitment is a really big one for this class and for the future of Bulldog football.  From a quick glimpse at his HUDL highlight tape, it looks like Chason will fit the Dan Mullen spread run-option offense well.  In 2013 he passed for 1,440 yards and 11 TDs with 3 TDs on the ground.  In 2012 he passed for 2,289 yards and 21 TDs with another 400 yards and 3 TDs on the ground.  Here's a very short clip I found of Virgil from a Dallas Elite 11 camp last year:

Hail State

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