Arnett And Staff Add More Talent To Top-25 Class
February 01, 2023 | Football, Joel Coleman
Eight new players join MSU’s signing class.
(NOTE: You can watch head football coach Zach Arnett's full National Signing Day press conference by clicking the play button in the photo above.)
STARKVILLE – Over the last few weeks, Jonathan Davis has been one of the most sought-after recruits in the state of Mississippi. Many came calling for the services of the defensive lineman out of Lawrence County High and 247Sports' ninth-ranked player in the Magnolia State.
Then came Wednesday's National Signing Day. Decision time had arrived for Davis.
The end result? His choice was wrapped in Maroon and White.
Davis officially became one of eight new MSU players on Wednesday, joining fellow high-school signee Will James, as well as transfers Ryland Goede, Mike Wright, Ja'Kobi Albert, Chris Keys, Nick Barr-Mira and Freddie Roberson. The eight add to a Bulldog signing class ranked inside the Top 25 by three of the country's major recruiting services – 247Sports, Rivals and On3.
All were big-time gets for State, starting with Davis whose signing was yet another demonstration of the allure of playing on the defensive line for MSU, as well as how new head coach Zach Arnett and staff are doing all they can to lock down the best players in Mississippi.
With the addition of Davis, 12 of 247Sports' Top 25 players in Mississippi have put pen to paper to join MSU, giving the Bulldogs more Mississippi talent from the current class than any other school in the country.
"Incredibly excited to add [Davis] to the family," Arnett said. "People say, 'Man, you beat some big-time programs for Davis.' Well, we're a big-time program, too – specifically when you talk about that position. This is D-line U."
D-line U indeed – a claim that'll be on display for the world to see in just over a week's time when four Bulldogs – including defensive linemen Chris Jones and Fletcher Cox – will compete on the biggest stage in all of football on Super Bowl Sunday. Now Davis begins his own journey to try and be the next star from the State defensive front.
It didn't hurt the Bulldogs' cause on Signing Day that ahead of Davis' stock rising in recent days, MSU had been there long before most anyone else.
"[Assistant coach] Tony Hughes…he actually took me to Lawrence County High School [weeks ago]," Arnett explained. "Tony said, 'There's a guy flying under the radar, but he's an SEC football player who may end up being a future Sunday player. We saw him in person. We evaluated him beforehand, recruited him and that went a long way in signing him. A lot of other schools came late to the party, wanted to hop in and get a steal from the state of Mississippi. We were there first. I'm incredibly proud of him and his family for sticking with us."
While the pickup of Davis was great for State, it was far from the only good news of Wednesday. The seven others that signed have the potential to make plenty of waves in their Bulldog careers as well.
James is a three-star defensive back from Theodore High in Grand Bay, Alabama. He's coming to Starkville with rave reviews.
"He's an instinctual player," Arnett said of James. "He does some things naturally that you don't coach, which is always nice. He's got good speed. He's got ball skills to make plays with the ball in the air…Any coach we reached out to [about James], we could not find a guy that had a negative thing to say about him. Everybody we talked to said, 'Man, this guy is an SEC football player. This guy is a steal. You've got to get on this guy.'"
Then, there were the six transfers that all filled crucial needs for State. Wright brings Southeastern Conference starting experience to MSU's quarterback room after spending the last three years at Vanderbilt. Roberson adds depth and tremendous talent to the Dawgs' receiving corps following four fantastic seasons at Eastern Washington where he was an All-Big Sky selection each of the last three years. Barr-Mira has been UCLA's primary kicker dating back to 2020. He's now brought his skills from Hollywood southward to Stark Vegas.
Goede is remaining a Bulldog, but he's switching from the Georgia breed to the Mississippi State kind. The tight end's transfer signifies the new wrinkles that'll be put in place in the MSU offense courtesy of coordinator Kevin Barbay.
"To get [Goede] is huge," Arnett said. "We want to have the ability to play with a tight end on the field at times…There are some things you can do running the football and pass protection and passing game-wise that having the ability to put a tight end or two on the field creates issues for defenses and makes them decide what personnel groupings they're going to play in. To have the ability to put a tight end on the field was big for us."
While Goede brings a boost to the State offense, MSU's defense should be helped with the transfers of Albert from Kentucky and Keys from Indiana. They'll help put experience back in the secondary following the departures of names like Jalen Green, Jackie Matthews, Collin Duncan and Emmanuel Forbes.
"We lost quite a bit of veteran production in the secondary, particularly in the safety room," Arnett said. "Three guys played the bulk of the snaps last year. We've got Shawn Preston back, but anytime you lose that much experience [it's a big deal]. There's a lot to be said in college football games for just lining up and knowing the physicality and speed you're going to have to face every week. So, to go out and get some guys who have been in those battles [is big]."
Time will tell what type of impact all the new Bulldogs make, but this much is sure. They'll each have every opportunity to achieve both team and individual success at Mississippi State. It's been that way. The proof is in the pudding.
Arnett intends to keep it up in the years to come with his intent focus on making sure all the talent in Mississippi and close by remains aware that the steppingstone to their dreams can be found in Starkville.
"My latest calculation, there are 28 Bulldogs playing in the NFL and 19 of those 28 either played high school football in Mississippi or played in the junior college system," Arnett said. "I think it's fitting to touch on that here on National Signing Day because it is our intention that the best players in the state of Mississippi – both the high school and junior college systems – they don't need to look anywhere else than right here for the best place to develop them on and off the field. That's our number one goal – recruit the best players in this state and the surrounding states in our footprint and keeping them right here at Mississippi State. Because within that footprint there are football players as good as anywhere in the country to win a whole bunch of games with and compete and win in the SEC West."
Players Mentioned
