STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State head football coach Dan Mullen received 13 National Letters of Intent from promising student-athletes who comprise the Bulldogs’ 2016 recruiting class on Wednesday.
MSU, which returns 52 letterwinners in 2016, already had an additional five players enroll in January that count back toward the 2015 class. Highlighting this year’s class is the state of Mississippi’s No. 1 overall recruit in five-star defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons out of Macon, Starkville’s own Kobe Jones, four-star pass rusher Marquiss Spencer and four-star offensive lineman Stewart Reese out of Fort Pierce, Florida.
Below is a look at the full class, their bios and quotes from Mullen’s press conference: 2016 Mississippi State Football Signing Class (13)
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (School)
Korey Charles ATH 5-11 173 Tallahassee, Fla. (North Florida Christian HS)
Jamal Couch ATH 6-5 222 Phenix City, Ala. (Central HS)
Cameron Dantzler DB 6-2 170 Hammond, La. (St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
Greg Eiland OL 6-7 320 Philadelphia, Miss. (Philadelphia HS)
John Michael-Hankerson WR 6-1 170 South Bend, Ind. (Washington HS)
Kobe Jones DL 6-4 262 Starkville, Miss. (Starkville HS)
Nero Nelson DB 5-11 170 Hollandale, Miss. (Simmons HS)
Dareuan Parker OL 6-5 326 Olive Branch, Miss. (DeSoto Central HS)
Stewart Reese OL 6-5 340 Fort Pierce, Fla. (Fort Pierce Central HS) Jeffery Simmons DL 6-4 275 Macon, Miss. (Noxubee County HS)
Marquiss Spencer DL 6-4 223 Greenwood, Miss. (Greenwood HS)
Jordan Thomas TE 6-6 275 Decatur, Miss. (East Central CC)
Erroll Thompson LB 6-2 245 Florence, Ala. (Florence HS)
2016 Mississippi State Football Early Enrollees (5) (Count toward 2015 Signing Class)
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (School)
Tre Brown DL 6-4 290 Ackerman, Miss. (Copiah-Lincoln CC)
Lashard Durr DB 5-11 190 Gulfport, Miss. (Copiah-Lincoln CC)
Dontea Jones TE 6-4 250 McCool, Miss. (Jireh (N.C.) Prep)
C.J. Morgan-Walker DB 6-0 192 Bossier City, La. (Parkway HS)
Christian Roberson TE 6-5 230 Powder Springs, Ga. (McEachern HS)
Breakdown by State (includes early enrollees)
Mississippi: 10
Alabama: 2
Florida: 2
Louisiana: 2
Georgia: 1
Indiana: 1
Head Coach Dan Mullen
On Korey Charles…
“Great athlete out of Florida. He’s a dynamic player with the ball in his hand. At camp, he worked the corner for us and did a great job there. We were looking to start him on the defensive side of the ball, but we usually find a great place for guys that were great players out of high school out there on the field.”
On Jamal Couch…
“Coming in as a wide receiver for us. With De’Runnya Wilson declaring for the NFL Draft, that only opened up one receiver spot for us on the roster. Those are big shoes to fill this year and he fits that with his size. He is a very similar player. He’s a guy on the offensive side of the ball with great skill.”
On Cameron Dantzler…
“We targeted him very, very early as a top corner for us. You look at his size and his length, he is similar to Johnthan Banks when Johnthan was in high school. At different camps we’ve had, we’ve watched him preform and see what he could do. So we are really excited about him.”
On Greg Eiland…
“One of the top offensive linemen in Mississippi. He has a great tackle body for us.”
On John Michael-Hankerson…
“Not sure yet if he is going to play receiver or corner for us. We identified him very early in camp. I am pretty sure he was the 100-meter champ in Mississippi and Indiana throughout his high school career. He’s an explosive player on both sides of the football.”
On Kobe Jones…
“A guy that we are thrilled to have. A hometown guy coming to play for his hometown. He’s from right here in Starkville, Miss. I know that he’s made everyone proud. He has what our program is all about, the character, effort. He always does things the right way at the right time. Every time we had him at camp, he’s always going to be one of the hardest working guys, if not the hardest working guy out there every single day in every single drill. We are looking work ethic and we are looking for high character and he fits that for us.”
On Nero Nelson…
“He’s a dynamic athlete. Receiver and defensive back in high school and quarterback. He’s done everything for his high school team. He’s a really explosive guy. He is really a competitor. He loves to compete. He was always first in line for every position that we placed him in during camp. He wants to keep going and going.”
On Dareuan Parker…
“He’s a massive guy. He is very athletic for a guy his size. I know in the Mississippi-Alabama game, everyone was saying he’s the top lineman in that game this year. He’s a big powerful guy who could play tackle or play guard.”
On Stewart Reese…
“Same deal as Parker. He’s a big, big man. Very athletic and great on his feet. Again, I think he can play multiple positions. He could play guard or tackle for us. We will just get him in here and see how he adjust. He’s a great young man with high character.”
On Jeffery Simmons…
“Great football player. Top player in the state of Mississippi. We are thrilled to have him. All of the discussions that we’ve had during recruiting about him, he’s been No. 1 on our list just because of the talent that he has out there on the field. I’ve known him for three years now and if you look at what he does in the classroom, you look at what he does in his community, if you look at the effort that he gives in everything that he does, he is a first class young man. I see him potentially being the next Fletcher Cox or Kaleb Eulls and when you start getting mentioned with those guys, you are really up there. He has that work ethic, really just that attitude that he’s a very special player.”
On Marquiss Spencer…
“We are really excited about. As a defensive lineman, you can put the athlete tag on him. He’s kind of an edge player. He’s very explosive and has great size and potential.”
On Jordan Thomas…
“I think people are going to be impressed when they see Jordan Thomas. He came to camp and started moving around and I was like I don’t know what he’s going to do, but we need him on our football team. In all of our evaluations, he’s more of a wide receiver than a tight end at 6-foot-6. That’s a pretty tough matchup on the outside for a lot of people. He works extremely well. He has great hands. I think just his size and athleticism creates major miss-matches for people out there on the field. He’s another guy that I see making an immediate impact for us.
On Erroll Thompson…“Linebacker out of Alabama. He’s been great from day one for us. We excited to get him on board. He is a violent hitter inside. He is an inside linebacker. He has size and pop. He can really run the football down.”
On the kind of athletes he’s looking for…
“When we go to evaluating players, we put them in a box. Some of them you have pretty good idea, but when you are looking at some of these guys to play that has played every position for their high school team, it’s sometimes hard to say, “Okay, you are definitely going to do this.” We have a vision in our mind of what our starting point is, but if you look through the years, there are a lot of guys that had a starting point that doesn’t turn out how I envisioned it, but it works extremely well for everyone.”
On recruiting instate/locally…
“I don’t think this year at State has been any different than the years that have passed. I think maybe guys got ranked a little higher. I think my first year here recruiting, we signed a lot of Mississippi kids. I think 12 of them ended up being NFL football players. A lot of those guys were not ranked as high as guys this year, but I don’t think there is any difference this year than it has been in any of the years that has passed. It’s just that guy’s in Mississippi are getting a lot more national attention right now.”
On former players…
“When I got here, eight signing classes ago, I had to sit down with Fletcher Cox, Josh Boyd, Johnthan Banks, and Gabe Jackson and say look, here’s a plan that we have in place, that could help you become successful and I think those guys believed in me. I’ll always be indebted to those guys for believing in me, but they came in and also believed in our program and our University. They came in and bought into what we were doing. Now you’re looking at the success that all of these guys are having. So I think when they go out there and they look at players that have been here and that have degrees, had great success in college, and from small towns here in Mississippi, they are drawn to that.”
On competing for recruits…
“It’s tough to compete with everyone in the SEC. You are talking about the best conference in all of college football. You have some great teams and some great programs. I think in recruiting there are so many talented players, not just here, but in Alabama, in Tennessee, in Louisiana and we are all kind of recruiting for those same kids and I guess in the end, you’re going to win some and you’re going to lose some. What’s most important to me is that you get the guys that are right for you. The guys that are going to fit your program and for us, that want to be developed, that want to be coached, that want to be much better players when they leave than they were when they came.”
MSU, which returns 52 letterwinners in 2016, already had an additional five players enroll in January that count back toward the 2015 class. Highlighting this year’s class is the state of Mississippi’s No. 1 overall recruit in five-star defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons out of Macon, Starkville’s own Kobe Jones, four-star pass rusher Marquiss Spencer and four-star offensive lineman Stewart Reese out of Fort Pierce, Florida.
Below is a look at the full class, their bios and quotes from Mullen’s press conference: 2016 Mississippi State Football Signing Class (13)
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (School)
Korey Charles ATH 5-11 173 Tallahassee, Fla. (North Florida Christian HS)
Jamal Couch ATH 6-5 222 Phenix City, Ala. (Central HS)
Cameron Dantzler DB 6-2 170 Hammond, La. (St. Thomas Aquinas HS)
Greg Eiland OL 6-7 320 Philadelphia, Miss. (Philadelphia HS)
John Michael-Hankerson WR 6-1 170 South Bend, Ind. (Washington HS)
Kobe Jones DL 6-4 262 Starkville, Miss. (Starkville HS)
Nero Nelson DB 5-11 170 Hollandale, Miss. (Simmons HS)
Dareuan Parker OL 6-5 326 Olive Branch, Miss. (DeSoto Central HS)
Stewart Reese OL 6-5 340 Fort Pierce, Fla. (Fort Pierce Central HS) Jeffery Simmons DL 6-4 275 Macon, Miss. (Noxubee County HS)
Marquiss Spencer DL 6-4 223 Greenwood, Miss. (Greenwood HS)
Jordan Thomas TE 6-6 275 Decatur, Miss. (East Central CC)
Erroll Thompson LB 6-2 245 Florence, Ala. (Florence HS)
2016 Mississippi State Football Early Enrollees (5) (Count toward 2015 Signing Class)
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (School)
Tre Brown DL 6-4 290 Ackerman, Miss. (Copiah-Lincoln CC)
Lashard Durr DB 5-11 190 Gulfport, Miss. (Copiah-Lincoln CC)
Dontea Jones TE 6-4 250 McCool, Miss. (Jireh (N.C.) Prep)
C.J. Morgan-Walker DB 6-0 192 Bossier City, La. (Parkway HS)
Christian Roberson TE 6-5 230 Powder Springs, Ga. (McEachern HS)
Breakdown by State (includes early enrollees)
Mississippi: 10
Alabama: 2
Florida: 2
Louisiana: 2
Georgia: 1
Indiana: 1
Head Coach Dan Mullen
On Korey Charles…
“Great athlete out of Florida. He’s a dynamic player with the ball in his hand. At camp, he worked the corner for us and did a great job there. We were looking to start him on the defensive side of the ball, but we usually find a great place for guys that were great players out of high school out there on the field.”
On Jamal Couch…
“Coming in as a wide receiver for us. With De’Runnya Wilson declaring for the NFL Draft, that only opened up one receiver spot for us on the roster. Those are big shoes to fill this year and he fits that with his size. He is a very similar player. He’s a guy on the offensive side of the ball with great skill.”
On Cameron Dantzler…
“We targeted him very, very early as a top corner for us. You look at his size and his length, he is similar to Johnthan Banks when Johnthan was in high school. At different camps we’ve had, we’ve watched him preform and see what he could do. So we are really excited about him.”
On Greg Eiland…
“One of the top offensive linemen in Mississippi. He has a great tackle body for us.”
On John Michael-Hankerson…
“Not sure yet if he is going to play receiver or corner for us. We identified him very early in camp. I am pretty sure he was the 100-meter champ in Mississippi and Indiana throughout his high school career. He’s an explosive player on both sides of the football.”
On Kobe Jones…
“A guy that we are thrilled to have. A hometown guy coming to play for his hometown. He’s from right here in Starkville, Miss. I know that he’s made everyone proud. He has what our program is all about, the character, effort. He always does things the right way at the right time. Every time we had him at camp, he’s always going to be one of the hardest working guys, if not the hardest working guy out there every single day in every single drill. We are looking work ethic and we are looking for high character and he fits that for us.”
On Nero Nelson…
“He’s a dynamic athlete. Receiver and defensive back in high school and quarterback. He’s done everything for his high school team. He’s a really explosive guy. He is really a competitor. He loves to compete. He was always first in line for every position that we placed him in during camp. He wants to keep going and going.”
On Dareuan Parker…
“He’s a massive guy. He is very athletic for a guy his size. I know in the Mississippi-Alabama game, everyone was saying he’s the top lineman in that game this year. He’s a big powerful guy who could play tackle or play guard.”
On Stewart Reese…
“Same deal as Parker. He’s a big, big man. Very athletic and great on his feet. Again, I think he can play multiple positions. He could play guard or tackle for us. We will just get him in here and see how he adjust. He’s a great young man with high character.”
On Jeffery Simmons…
“Great football player. Top player in the state of Mississippi. We are thrilled to have him. All of the discussions that we’ve had during recruiting about him, he’s been No. 1 on our list just because of the talent that he has out there on the field. I’ve known him for three years now and if you look at what he does in the classroom, you look at what he does in his community, if you look at the effort that he gives in everything that he does, he is a first class young man. I see him potentially being the next Fletcher Cox or Kaleb Eulls and when you start getting mentioned with those guys, you are really up there. He has that work ethic, really just that attitude that he’s a very special player.”
On Marquiss Spencer…
“We are really excited about. As a defensive lineman, you can put the athlete tag on him. He’s kind of an edge player. He’s very explosive and has great size and potential.”
On Jordan Thomas…
“I think people are going to be impressed when they see Jordan Thomas. He came to camp and started moving around and I was like I don’t know what he’s going to do, but we need him on our football team. In all of our evaluations, he’s more of a wide receiver than a tight end at 6-foot-6. That’s a pretty tough matchup on the outside for a lot of people. He works extremely well. He has great hands. I think just his size and athleticism creates major miss-matches for people out there on the field. He’s another guy that I see making an immediate impact for us.
On Erroll Thompson…“Linebacker out of Alabama. He’s been great from day one for us. We excited to get him on board. He is a violent hitter inside. He is an inside linebacker. He has size and pop. He can really run the football down.”
On the kind of athletes he’s looking for…
“When we go to evaluating players, we put them in a box. Some of them you have pretty good idea, but when you are looking at some of these guys to play that has played every position for their high school team, it’s sometimes hard to say, “Okay, you are definitely going to do this.” We have a vision in our mind of what our starting point is, but if you look through the years, there are a lot of guys that had a starting point that doesn’t turn out how I envisioned it, but it works extremely well for everyone.”
On recruiting instate/locally…
“I don’t think this year at State has been any different than the years that have passed. I think maybe guys got ranked a little higher. I think my first year here recruiting, we signed a lot of Mississippi kids. I think 12 of them ended up being NFL football players. A lot of those guys were not ranked as high as guys this year, but I don’t think there is any difference this year than it has been in any of the years that has passed. It’s just that guy’s in Mississippi are getting a lot more national attention right now.”
On former players…
“When I got here, eight signing classes ago, I had to sit down with Fletcher Cox, Josh Boyd, Johnthan Banks, and Gabe Jackson and say look, here’s a plan that we have in place, that could help you become successful and I think those guys believed in me. I’ll always be indebted to those guys for believing in me, but they came in and also believed in our program and our University. They came in and bought into what we were doing. Now you’re looking at the success that all of these guys are having. So I think when they go out there and they look at players that have been here and that have degrees, had great success in college, and from small towns here in Mississippi, they are drawn to that.”
On competing for recruits…
“It’s tough to compete with everyone in the SEC. You are talking about the best conference in all of college football. You have some great teams and some great programs. I think in recruiting there are so many talented players, not just here, but in Alabama, in Tennessee, in Louisiana and we are all kind of recruiting for those same kids and I guess in the end, you’re going to win some and you’re going to lose some. What’s most important to me is that you get the guys that are right for you. The guys that are going to fit your program and for us, that want to be developed, that want to be coached, that want to be much better players when they leave than they were when they came.”
