College football free agency officially underway

It’s going to be a long day for Mississippi State coaches and personnel.

As the Bulldogs make their final preparations for Friday night’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl game against Wake Forest, the NCAA transfer portal officially opened at 12:01 a.m. this morning.

Bulldogs’ coach Jeff Lebby already said he expects to hit the ground running Saturday and that the program’s recruiting personnel stayed in Starkville.

“I'm expecting to get off the bus here on the 3rd and walk straight into my office and be ready for (official visits),” Lebby said Sunday before leaving for Charlotte. “The expectation is we're going to have five or six guys here on campus on the 3rd when the buses roll back in. So, we'll hit the ground running and get ready to roll.

“Our recruiting and our personnel department are actually going to be here (in Starkville). So they won't be there for the game. They'll be here in-house and getting visits set and being ready to roll. That's going to be a huge piece of it. I think those first 5-7 days in the portal with allowing guys to be able to be on campus for visits will be a huge momentum builder for us if we can land the right guys.”

Be sure to check back throughout the day as more news breaks.

10 a.m. Update

Lebby wasn’t joking about having official visits in Starkville as soon as Saturday. Two visits have already reportedly been scheduled.

On3’s Chris Hummer is reporting that former Houston Christian cornerback Tyran Chappell will be visiting Mississippi State on January 5. He’ll make his visit two days after visiting Michigan State.

Hummer is also reporting former LSU offensive lineman DJ Chester has scheduled a visit to Mississippi State. He’s also reportedly visiting Georgia Tech, Baylor and South Carolina.