Thursday’s Dawg Biscuits: Updates on 2025 prospects Kyle Johnson, Kolin Wilson and Mario Nash

Step inside for the latest on several 2025 and 2026 prospects on Mississippi State’s radar in football along with team news:

First Biscuit – Starting the day with football and team news, earlier this week I did some checking on Mississippi State’s offensive line heading into training camp. We still haven’t received the exact starting date for training camp but it normally begins around the start of August. Per sources, we should see a couple of ongoing battles for that starting group but things did appear to get somewhat settled late in spring ball. That first group (from left to right) remains Makylan Pounders, Albert Reese, Ethan Miner, Marlon Martinez and Leon Bell. Then the top backups include Jacoby Jackson and Grant Jackson at guard, Canon Boone at center/guard, Jakson LaHue at tackle/guard and Jimothy Lewis at tackle (could play left or right but likely a right tackle). With Lewis, I continue to hear good things about the Bulldog true freshman and per one source, he isn’t expected to redshirt this season.

Second Biscuit – Moving to football recruiting and catching up with 2025 Mississippi State commit and On3 composite four-star offensive lineman Mario Nash, he is expected to be back on campus later this month for the annual cookout event at head coach Jeff Lebby’s house. Reflecting on his June commitment to State, Nash said he entered that Bulldog official visit with plans to commit to State and said being close to home was a key factor for his decision. He added that it was a tough choice and that his other finalists included Clemson, Florida State and LSU. Another helpful factor, added Nash, was building a quick connection with Lebby and the new staff, and he said it was an easy transition from the previous staff at State, who offered him initially last summer. Nash noted that he can play anywhere on the offensive line but feels more comfortable at offensive tackle (I could see him at guard or center at the next level). Nash also mentioned that he is already busy recruiting others and that includes 2025 prospects Tyler Miller, Tyler Lockhart and Caleb Cunningham along with 2026 running back and teammate Damarius Yates. Nash also noted that he is graduating early and will be enrolling at State in January of 2025.

Third Biscuit – On Wednesday, I talked with 2025 cornerback prospect Kyle Johnson of Bunkie (La.) High School, who is set to make his college decision between Mississippi State and Houston on Saturday. Johnson said he doesn’t have a specific time set for Saturday yet but will do that once the weekend gets closer. Johnson originally set his decision date for the 4th of July but said he wasn’t ready to announce it that day so he opted to push it back several days. He said his decision will be based on development at a school and education. He wants to major in petroleum engineering and both State and Houston have good schools for that major. With State, Johnson said he likes what head coach Jeff Lebby is doing in Starkville and believes he is ready to be a head coach in the SEC. He added that cornerbacks coach Corey Bell has also produced a lot of good cornerbacks. With Houston, Johnson said head coach Willie Fritz is turning around the program and he expects a big change in success under Fritz’s watch. As noted earlier, he has not tipped his hand yet and nothing will surprise me on Saturday.

Fourth Biscuit – Also on Wednesday, I talked to a couple of sources regarding the remainder of Mississippi State’s defensive line board for the Class of 2025. The Bulldogs already have one defensive lineman commit in the class with Alabama native Christopher Johnson, who committed last month. Per sources, the Bulldogs want to sign 2-3 guys from the high school/juco ranks and then also add more experience from the transfer portal. On the current roster, Mississippi State will lose De’Monte Russell and Sulaiman Kpaka on the defensive line so barring any other guys leaving after the season, State should return the bulk of its two-deep on the defensive line for 2025. The main two remaining Dline targets include On3 composite four-star prospect Kevin Oatis of Hattiesburg High School, who is planning to make his decision in late July or early August, and On3 four-star prospect Zavion Hardy of East Mississippi Community College, who isn’t expected to make his decision until late November.

Fifth Biscuit – Moving to the Class of 2026, on Wednesday I exchanged messages with 2026 defensive end and On3 four-star prospect JaReylan McCoy of Tupelo High School. He’s already built up an impressive list of Power 5 offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, LSU, Penn State, Oklahoma and Oregon among many others. This summer he camped at the Memphis mega camp and also at Mississippi State’s Top Dawg Camp along with a couple of national camps. McCoy also noted that he may be taking a return visit to Mississippi State for the cookout event on July 25th. He spoke well of his relationships with the Mississippi State staff and said it’s been like that for several months now. While I didn’t ask him about that aspect, it doesn’t hurt State’s chances already having McCoy’s teammates Jaeden Hill and Iverson McCoy (his cousin) committed to Mississippi State.

And for the gravy on top – And lastly on Wednesday, I talked some with 2025 Mississippi State commitment and On3 three-star running back Kolin Wilson of Gulf Shores (Ala.) High School. Wilson is expected to be back in Starkville later this month for the annual cookout event and he said he’s eager to get around more of the commitments in the class that he has not met yet. The former Cincinnati commitment said he has also put in the work this summer in the class room to ensure he will graduate high school in December, allowing him to enroll in January of 2025. Much like the 2024 class, State is going to have several high school commitments enroll in January and that is always a positive when those guys get a head start.

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