Bulldogs continue to add depth to defensive backfield

McGruder was lightly known as a recruit as he didn't have a single evalutation from any major recruiting publication out of high school.

Once he made his way to the FBS level out of JUCO, he was touted as top 100 prospect at No. 91 among his class, No. 9 at his position and No. 32 ranked athlete in Mississippi.

He is addition No. 34 of Mississippi State's transfer portal haul following a recent visit to the program ahead of the summer conditioning drills and other voluntary work.

The Bulldogs portal class ranks No. 10 among SEC teams but does sit at No. 17 nationally as transfer activity begins to wrap up over the next few weeks.

Bulldogs' coach Jeff Lebby and his staff completed a near overhaul of its roster this offseason as Mississippi State will bring in 61 new faces for 2025 between its portal and high school classes.

As for the makeup of Lebby's second team, 31 of his players are from the Magnolia State.

Mississippi State has a solid recruiting pipeline across the south with Texas (12), Alabama (12), Georgia (6), Florida (6) and Louisiana (4).

Last season, the Bulldogs struggled on defense last season, giving up 456 total yards per game along with a run defense that finished No. 130 nationally at 217 yards per game. 

Defense through the air was quite passive, giving up nearly 240 yards per game which ranked No. 15 in the SEC, No. 105 nationally.

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