New hope: Mullen resurrects recruiting momentum on NSD

STARKVILLE – An occasional conversation broke the silence within Mississippi State’s football building Wednesday morning.

Four hours of letters of intent filing through the fax machine didn’t create much of a raucous within the Seal Complex.

Then Jeffery Simmons announced his decision.

At 11:37 a.m. the woman at the front desk screamed out “Wooooo!” The thick walls weren't enough to muffle the deeper roars from inside the coach’s office. Simmons, a five-star defensive end from Macon, chose Mississippi State.

“It was a lot of excitement,” coach Dan Mullen said. “Like I said, he was a guy that we had up at No. 1 for us all along.”

Mullen sprayed silly string in the air. His staff clapped in celebration. His wife, Megan, wiped tears from her eyes. Mullen eventually embraced David Turner, who took over the lead recruiting role on Simmons once Tony Hughes went to Jackson State.

Emotion got the best of the defensive line coach as tears formed in his eyes, too.

The celebration encompassed more than Simmons’ addition. It let out an exhale after Mississippi State lost three assistant coaches, three targets to Alabama and the top player in Starkville to Ole Miss since the beginning of the new year.

“It’s tough to compete with everybody,” Mullen said. “You’re talking about the best conference in all of college football. You’ve got some great teams, some great programs.”

Mississippi State entered Wednesday with a single four-star recruit among a class of 16 commitments.

All 16 signed, but the two additions catapulted MSU to No. 31 in the 247Sports team rankings. The Bulldogs reeled in Simmons and Kobe Jones a four-star defensive lineman from Starkville. The Bulldogs reeled in Simmons, a five-star talent, as well as Kobe Jones, a four-star defensive lineman player from Starkville.

“It was a good day for us today,” Mullen said. “We have a smaller recruiting class, only 13 signed today, but we didn’t have many seniors on last year’s team.”

Of the 18 signees, Tre Brown (DT), Lashard Durr (CB), C.J. Morgan-Walker (CB), Dontea Jones (TE) and Christian Robinson already enrolled in January.

The Bulldogs added four defensive backs, four defensive linemen, three offensive linemen, three tight ends, two athletes, a wide receiver and a linebacker.

Korey Charles (ATH), John Michael-Hankerson (WR) and Nero Nelson (DB) could all see position changes by the time they take the field. Hankerson won the state title in the 100 meters in Mississippi and Indiana. Nelson played high school running back, wide receiver and cornerback.

“I’ve been wrong with that stuff before,” Mullen said. “We usually find a good home for guys that were great high school football players on the field.

“I thought Gabe Myles would make a heck of a corner and he’s a pretty darned good wide receiver. And John Banks would be a pretty good wide receiver, he’s not a half-bad corner.”

Mullen saw signs of Banks in how Cam Danztler plays cornerback. He likened Simmons’ talent to Fletcher Cox and Jamal Couch’s size to former wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson.

“I’m excited about all these guys that are coming in,” Mullen said. “I think we’ve got a great group of young men, and I think it was a very, very successful day for us today.”

The statement became a lot easier to back up with the additions of Simmons and Jones. The two headliners buff out most blemishes in this year’s class.

Two weeks ago, many expected MSU to end signing day with West Point’s Scott Lashley and Jones. The four-star offensive lineman signed with Alabama instead.

In the end MSU upgraded to a five-star defensive end that was high also on the lists of Alabama and Ole Miss.

“We recruit them all just as hard, you know. I think in young men what gets overlooked, there’s a lot of pressures put on these young men from all different directions,” Mullen said. “Everybody has an angle trying to work, what they’re doing and they have to deal with these pressures.”

The big names also generate more excitement around lesser known prospects. Six-foot-seven offensive tackle Greg Eiland, a three-star prospect could fill Lashley’s spot. Erroll Thompson is a three-star prospect in the mold of Beniquez Brown.

As a developmental program, Mississippi State’s victories on signing day usually are experienced years down the road.

“I love developing young men,” Mullen said. “And when you see young men make a great decision, which I feel is going to be the best for his future, you’re really excited about it.”

Contact Michael Bonner at mbonner@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @MikeBBonner on Twitter.