Another high school recruit decommits from Mississippi State

“After a long talk with coaches and family, I have decided to decommit. I want to thank Coach Lebby, Coach Barnes, Coach Hutzler, and the whole Mississippi State coaching staff for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to compete at the next level. My recruitment is now open. Where’s home?”

Earlier this week, D’lberville linebacker Caleb Triplett and Pascagoula safety Tomareo Johnson announced on Monday they had reopened their recruitments.

“To the fans and Bulldog community, thank you all for the love and support you've shown me through my recruiting. After talking with my family and praying about it, I've decided to decommit from Mississippi State University and reopen my recruitment,” Johnson said in his social media post.

“This was not an easy decision, and I have nothing but respect for the coaches, players and program at Mississippi State. I'm excited to see what the future holds and will continue to look for the best fit for me on and off the field. Thank you for understanding.”

The next day, linebacker Maurice Jones Jr. and offensive lineman Charles Humphrey Jr. announced their decommitments from Mississippi State.

“Although I have the upmost respect for the coaches, and opportunity provided to me at (Mississippi State), (coach Jeff Lebby), it’s unfortunate I decided to decommit but my recruitment is reopened GOD BE THE GLORY,” Humphrey said in his social media posting.

As previously reported, these decommitments are a result of anticipated changes to NCAA eligibility rules.

Many teams and schools are expecting to have players receive an extra year of eligibility as a result of a lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s current rule that only allows athletes to play for four seasons during a five-year timespan.

The lawsuit doesn’t challenge the five year limit to college athletes’ eligibility, but does challenge the inability to play all five years while in college.

Basically, the redshirt rule is about to be eliminated and teams like Mississippi State are preparing for that.

It’s way too soon to know which current Mississippi State players will receive an extra year of eligibility. We’ll have to wait for the fine print of the rule change to know for sure.

But it is worth noting that Mississippi State has had two linebackers, two safeties and an offensive lineman decommit.