Arnett’s first signing day goes smoothly
This year's national signing day has been a wild one for the college football world, but for Mississippi State, it went as smoothly as they could have hoped for.
The Bulldogs entered the day with 22 verbal commitments and closed with 25 signees ready to wear the maroon and white, but just a week ago, there was some serious concern about how they'd finish their class.
The tragic and untimely death of Head Coach Mike Leach put Mississippi State in a difficult position, leaving them without a head coach just eight days before signing day. President Mark Keenum and Interim A.D. Bracky Brett quickly made the decision to promote defensive coordinator Zach Arnett to full-time head coach.
Arnett was tasked with keeping his current roster intact and ensuring the Bulldog program's future was bright with its incoming recruiting class.
Typically when a head coaching change occurs the decommits begin to follow, but not under Arnett's watch. Of the ten coaching changes in the Power-5 this offseason, Mississippi State did the best in keeping the class together. The Bulldogs lost just one commitment - OL Joe Crocker - while each of the other schools lost at least three.
Credit is due to Arnett and his staff for keeping things together. Clarksdale (Miss.) cornerback Kelley Jones had initially planned to visit Ole Miss this past weekend, but there was no "Flipmas" this year as Jones canceled his trip and inked with the Bulldogs this morning.
The class sticking together wouldn't be possible without the players themselves. QB commit Chris Parson took on the leadership role that all quarterbacks need to take by sending the following text to his fellow commitments.
"We are literally the last class that Coach Leach ever recruited. We are the last guys that he wanted to join his program. We should wear that with a badge of honor," Parson said over text, according to The Clarion Ledger.
It wasn't just keeping the class together that gave the Bulldogs a strong close. Arnett was able to put the finishing touches on the signing class with five new commitments since taking over and propelled Mississippi State to the #22 recruiting class in the nation.
Arnett flipped high three-star cornerback Luke Evans from Cincinnati on his first day on the job and bolstered up the trenches with four-star defensive tackle Caleb Bryant on Monday. When Crocker decommitted, the staff swiftly moved to Plan-B, offering three-star Juco lineman Leon Bell, and they added his signature signing day morning.
"I prefer most recruiting surprises to be of the 6-8, 310 variety who can run like that," Arnett said. "An opportunity arose for us to get him signed, you’re going to jump on that any time. An offensive lineman who can beat our defensive linemen and some of our linebackers in a race, we’re incredibly excited. His best football is ahead of him."
They continued to sure up the defensive line, adding Juco standout and former LSU Tiger Eric Taylor, but it was the big fish they reeled in that made for a great day.
The Bulldogs landed in-state four-star safety Isaac Smith in a recruitment that went down to the wire between Mississippi State and LSU. Smith had been a frequent visitor to Starkville this fall but officially visited Baton Rouge over the weekend, which made it a true signing day battle.
"He’s a tremendous football player. I think we have the perfect position on defense for him," Arnett said, "There were quite a few cowbells ringing in the football building when his paperwork came through."
Mississippi State certainly isn't done adding to the roster as they'll look to get some impact players through the transfer portal, but they made it official with a couple portal defensive backs as a pair of Magnolia State products in Miami CB Khamauri Rogers and LSU CB Ray'Darious Jones signed the papers to come home.
"If there is a dominant front guy on either side of the ball, a difference maker, you have to consider that," Arnett said. "The game is won and lost at the line of scrimmage. In the transfer portal, your roster could change as well. You’re constantly evaluating your needs. You never pass up a great player. If you’ve got a guy who makes you better, you find a way in your numbers to do that."
The Bulldog class has some out-of-state flavor getting some speed in Texas RB Seth Davis and Florida WR Creed Whittemore and some size in receivers Justin Brown from Tennessee and Nakai Poole from Georgia, but the heart of the class came from the Magnolia State. 16 of the 25 signees have ties to Mississippi in some form or fashion, and Arnett made it known how important it is to recruit the State.
"I’m not from Mississippi, but in my three short years, I take tremendous pride in the quality of football player that is developed in the high schools and junior colleges in this state," Arnett said. "Being a defensive guy, the defensive talent that has flourished from this state…if we are not recruiting this state before any other and signing them, then we’re making a mistake and they ought to find a new coaching staff. That is the number one priority every year."