Mississippi is a hot-bed for football talent, while a lot of it goes under the radar. Our recruiting expert Tucker Italiano tells you who you need to know.
Having lived in Mississippi my entire life, I know how tough it is for in-state kids to get the recognition they deserve in recruiting circles. There are a lot of talented Mississippi kids and every year, it seems a few breakout their senior years and earn big time division one offers.
Looking back, Chris Jones was a low two-star defensive end from Houston, MS. By the end of his senior year, he was one of the most highly recruited players in the nation. When all was said and done, he was a 5-star, number twenty overall player in the country.
For that reason, I have decided to come out with my own personal top five at each position in the state for 2017 to watch. Any one of these kids could develop and with a breakout senior year, earn an offer from not only Ole Miss, but other big time programs as well.
I combined defensive ends and defensive tackles to just defensive line because of lack of 2017 prospects. I also extended the athletes and linebackers because there are plenty to watch.
A few players like Taekion Reed (Ole Miss offer), James Jackson (MSU commit), and Will Wallace project at multiple positions and are great high school players at those positions so that is why they are listed more than once.
I have watched countless hours of film as well as seen almost all of these prospects in person multiple times to configure this list. I have also asked multiple people with knowledge of the recruits their thoughts on the players as well. The following is the result of my scouting:
Next: Quarterbacks