Brown enjoys MSU junior day

In the early stages of his recruitment, Long Beach junior Richie Brown has already collected a verbal offer from Mississippi State and is drawing heavy interest from Ole Miss and Southern Miss. This past weekend, the 6-foot-2 and 222-pound linebacker prospect got his chance to attend junior day at Mississippi State and made the trip with his parents.

"It went pretty great and I had a good time," said Brown, who had 151 tackles last year. "I got to know their coaches well, check out the camps and it was all great. Their coaches were telling me they would love for me to be involved in their program in the future and help them win SEC championships.

"It was also good meeting their weight room coach in Coach (Matt) Balis. You can tell he knows what he is talking about and it is great to see how he builds up his players. They are also very intense in [ractice and their is no slacking off for one minute in practice. Not only could you see they are building up players in the weight room but they are also building them up on the field."

And Brown got the chance to closely observe the MSU linebackers in action during Saturday's practice.

"I went for a football game there last year but Saturday was my first time to see practice," said Brown, who led the state as a sophomore with 162 tackles. "Their linebackers are very, very intense and Coach (Geoff) Collins is very intense with his linebackers. He makes sure they are always on the ball and that is something that really impressed me. Coach Collins wants his linebackers quick and on the ball and you have to have that in the SEC."

Brown has also been to junior day at Ole Miss and said he may take another trip to see a SEC Western Division program in a couple of months. And Brown also believes a couple of more in-state programs may be close to offering, too.

"I might go to Arkansas for their junior day but I am not sure yet," said Brown. "I think it is May 5th. But that may be my last one for awhile and it will be good to take a break.

"Mississippi State is my only offer right now but other schools are saying they will offer soon. I expect Ole Miss and Southern Miss to offer soon but I am not sure just yet."

Concerning his eventual college decision, Brown said he is in no hurry to make that call and it will likely be several months before he selects a school.

"I am still pretty neutral," said Brown. "I will probably wait until my senior year, take some trips and then narrow it down to the schools I like the best. I am still open but the ones jumping on me first are making a great impression that will go a long ways."