Bulldogs look to close door shut on competition, land playmaking safety

The 6-foot-2, 190 pound safety holds offers from Johnson holds offers from several FBS programs, including Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, and Louisiana.

“I feel like Mississippi State has something big cooking in the pot,” Johnson said. “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. 1,077 ranked prospect nationally, No. 90 among safeties and No. 36 athlete in Mississippi, per 247sports composite rankings.

Mississippi State's 2026 class is now up to No. 7 in the SEC and No. 23 nationally, according to 247sports.

From a secondary depth perspective in the Bulldogs' 2026 class, defensive back coach Matt Barnes has three commitments from safeties with a trio of 3-stars, including Kolby Barrett, Antavius Watts and newly pledged Jax Pope.

Following his official visit over the weekend, Johnson has Mississippi State near 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.”

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 allowed 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.)

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