Bulldogs gain commitment from talented safety from Pascagoula

“I feel like Mississippi State has something big cooking in the pot,” Johnson told Mississippi State on SI last week. “I have a solid relationship with coaching staff. Coach [Matt] Barnes and I are locked in.”

Johnson was a standout for Pascagoula High School last season where he recorded 70 tackles, two tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, six interceptions and 12 pass breakups as a junior.

He is the No. 1,090 ranked prospect nationally, No. 91 among safeties and No. 36 athlete in Mississippi, per 247sports composite rankings.

Mississippi State's 2026 class jumped two spots to No. 30 nationally and No. 9 in the SEC in 247sports team recruiting rankings.

From a secondary depth perspective in the Bulldogs' 2026 class, Barnes has six total commitments from defensive backs including Kolby Barrett, Antavius Watts, Terrell Johnson, Jr., Camron Brown, Jax Pope and Johnson.

Following his official visit weeks ago, Johnson placed Mississippi State at the top in his recruitment. 

“They made me feel like I was a priority to them throughout the weekend and we stay in touch every chance we get,” Johnson said. [The Bulldogs] have some of the best facilities in the country and they are pretty high on my board.”

Johnson is the tenth high school prospect from within the Magnolia State to commit to the Bulldogs for 2026.

He is sort of a late bloomer as he focused primarily on basketball early on in high school before shifting to the gridiron.

Once committed to playing football, he developed himself into a SEC prospect, recording 13 pass breakups and seven interceptions as a junior last season.

Now, the task that coach Jeff Lebby's staff faces is trying to keep Johnson committed if he continues to develop at a rapid pace as a college prospect.

While he might have been a diamond in the rough before, his allegiance to the school that noticed him first will be tested if other Power Conference schools begin contacting him.

Mississippi State defensive coaches are in the process of rebuilding a unit that was one of the nation's worst in almost every statistical category last season.

The Bulldogs defense surrendered over 34 points, 456 yards and quarterbacks to complete over 70% of their passes per game.

How well the defense can stop the run will go a long way in reestablishing the Bulldogs as a hardnosed unit after it surrendered over 217 yards per game on the ground (No. 130 FBS) and 24 touchdowns (No. 97 FBS).

Pass coverage was equally as brutal as the secondary gave up over 240 yards per game which ranked No. 15 in the SEC, No. 105 nationally among FBS programs.

Second-year coach Jeff Lebby seemed confident after the spring game when speaking about his defense's improvement.

“Our guys' energy was good,” Lebby said. “I thought at times defensively we really flew around. I thought there was physicality. I thought both lines of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball did a good job.”

Bulldogs 2026 Commitment List

ATH Jaiden Taylor, 6-foot-0, 180 lbs., Noxubee County (Macon, Miss.)
QB Brodie McWhorter, 6-foot-1, 190 lbs., Cass HS (Kingston, Ga.)
RB Jaeden Hill, 6-foot-0, 220 lbs., Tupelo HS (Tupelo, Miss.)
WR Camden Capehart, 5-foot-8, 145 lbs., Winnsboro (Winnsboro, Texas)
DL Kaleb Morris, 6-foot-4, 250 lbs., Mary G. Montgomery (Semmes, Ala.)
OT Charles Humphrey, 6-foot-7, 270 lbs., Bearden (Memphis, Tenn.)
TE Adam Land, 6-foot-3, 210 lbs., A. Crawford Mosley (Panama City, Fla.)
CB Camron Brown, 6-foot-1, 170 lbs., Valdosta (Valdosta, Ga.)
S Antavius Watts, 6-foot-0, 185 lbs., Carver (Columbus, Ga.)
S Kolby Barrett, 6-foot-2, 190 lbs., Baylor School (Alcoa, Tenn.)
OT Dylan Steen, 6-foot-4, 275 lbs., St. Thomas Aquinas (Miami, Fla.)
LB Maurice Jones, 6-foot-3, 210 lbs., Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.)
OT Jayden Ross, 6-foot-6, 315 lbs., Ocean Springs (Ocean Springs, Miss.)
TE Luke Hutchinson, 6-foot-3.5, 235 lbs., MBA (Nashville, Tenn.)
S Jax Pope, 6-foot-1, 190 lbs., Buford (Buford, Ga.)
WR Zion Crumpton, 6-foot-1, 163 lbs., Carver (Montgomery, Ala.)
LB Caleb Triplett, 6-foot-2, 215 lbs., D'lberville (D'lberville, Miss.)
DL Davon Young, 6-foot-3, 282 lbs., Theodore (Mobile, Ala.)
CB Terrell Johnson, Holmes County Central (Lexington, Miss.)
WR Jayden Cration, 6-foot-3, 185 lbs., Canton (Canton, Miss.)
TE Zayion Cotton, 6-foot-5, 205 lbs., Grenada (Grenada, Miss.)
OL Dalton Toothman, 6-foot-5, 290 lbs., Vancleave (Vancleave, Miss.)
DE Micah Nickerson, 6-foot-5, 215 lbs., South Pike HS (Magnolia, Miss.)
K Hayden Chambers, 6-foot-1, 185 lbs., Fort Payne HS (Fort Payne, Ala.)
S Tomareo Johnson, 6-foot-2, 190 lbs., Pascagoula HS (Pascagoula, Miss.)

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