Cornerback Will James puts pen to paper with Mississippi State

Mississippi State made two late additions on National Signing Day to finish with the 22nd ranked recruiting class in the country. Lawrence County (Miss.) defensive tackle Jonathan Davis bolstered the trenches for the Bulldog class, but rounding out the secondary was Theodore (Ala.) cornerback Will James who was the first to put pen to paper.

James was a Southern Miss commit for the entirety of his senior season. Following a good showing at MS-AL All-Star game practices in December he began to garner some Power-5 interest and chose the Bulldogs over a final group consisting of Indiana and Colorado.

"I think when I decided not to sign that's when recruitment really started taking off," James said.

The 6'0", 180-pound cornerback was in Starkville for an official visit over the weekend. From the beautiful campus and facilities to the family-like environment, James felt at home at Mississippi State.

"The campus is beautiful, the facilities are beautiful. It all stood out," James said. "The coaches are cool and the players were cool. They treated my like family, so I had to go be with people that treated me like family."

Cornerbacks coach Darcel McBath was key in the Bulldogs' winning out on James' talents, and like the rest of the staff at Mississippi State, he treated James like family.

"He's cool. He's real. He treated my like family, for real," James said.

James joins a strong recruiting class in the cornerback room with Brice Pollock, Kelley Jones and Luke Evans, and Mississippi State Head Coach Zach Arnett is impressed with what he can bring to the table.

"He's an instinctual player. He does some things naturally that you don't have to coach which is always nice," Arnett said. "He's got good speed. You see it flash on his film. He's got ball skills and will make plays on the ball in the air."