National Signing Day 2016: SEC football winners and losers
Loser: Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State has made tremendous strides as a program under head coach Dan Mullen, playing in a school-record six straight bowl games and winning 19 games over the past two seasons. Much of that success has come as a result of uncovering and signing underrated prospects, such as record-setting quarterback Dak Prescott and NFL linebacker Benardrick McKinney, and developing them into major contributors.
It appeared that Mullen had turned a corner in recruiting, as well, having landed a 2015 recruiting class ranked No. 18 in the nation. However, the early hours of National Signing Day 2016 were a nightmare in Starkville.
It started on the eve of Signing Day when longtime Mississippi State lean Scott Lashley, a four-star offensive lineman, committed to Alabama instead. Things got worse Wednesday morning when four-star wide receiver A.J. Brown, a Starkville native, committed to Ole Miss and made some strong comments about his experience with the State coaching staff:
Strong words from AJ Brown: "I was going to stay, but I felt like they didn't do a good job of recruiting. I didn't feel wanted."
— Michael Bonner (@michaelbbonner) February 3, 2016
More from Brown: "I felt like other schools wanted me more. I live in Starkville. I would expect MSU would be hard. Every day here."
— Michael Bonner (@michaelbbonner) February 3, 2016
Brown’s words hurt, especially since he probably could have made a bigger impact in his hometown as a true freshman than he will in Oxford. Mississippi State lost De-Runnya Wilson early to the NFL and needs a No. 2 option to step up alongside top receiver Fred Ross. While Ole Miss lost Laquon Treadwell (whom Brown has been compared to), the Rebels still have a deep group of receivers and Brown will face far stiffer competition to climb up the depth chart there.
The Bulldogs also missed out on Lloyd Cushenberry, who signed with LSU following a late offer.
However, Mullen and the Bulldogs did receive great news in the middle of the day when four-star defensive tackle Kobe Jones and five-star defensive end Jeffery Simmons – the No. 1 ranked player in the state – signed. Had Simmons ended up elsewhere, this might have gone down as one of the darkest days of Mullen’s tenure, but he signing saved the day.
When the dust settled, Simmons’ addition pushed the Bulldogs to No. 31 in the nation, which is solid, though the class ranked No. 11 in the SEC.
Next: Auburn