Mississippi State Had Football Recruits Decommitting On The Spot As The Bulldogs Fell Behind 10-0 To UMass

Matt Fitzgerald·
CULTURESPORTS
·
Mississippi State decommit
X/@MSpatriot1971

When you’re playing in the SEC and have a 1-7 record coming into the day, you’re doing all you can to seem like an appealing destination to prospective future players. Mississippi State had to figure playing host to the 2-6 Massachusetts Minutemen would be the ideal showcase for their superior talent. Alas, things went sideways as UMass jumped out to a 10-0 lead, prompting one of the funnier reactions to a game I’ve seen this year.

Seated with a group of other presumed recruits taking in the atmosphere at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, one of the teens had his phone out and crafted a statement about decommitting from the program.

The recruit in question has been identified as three-star defensive back Iverson McCoy, who addressed the video and claimed that it was just a joke:

My exposure to Miss State football is admittedly limited, but suffice it to say that, independent of this recruit’s real-time decommitment, Bulldogs fans were down bad while watching UMass gain the early edge.

Did somebody AirDrop these X/Twitter posts onto the Miss State sidelines? That’s about the only explanation I can come up with for how they answered with 35 straight points to absolutely roll the Minutemen. I mean these dudes were getting gashed on the ground.

Sadly, it might be too little, too late for at least one of the would-be Bulldogs to stick around and someday play for the team.

I respect that head coach Jeff Lebby is in his first season, in his first gig of this kind, and is tearing Mississippi State down to the studs in order to construct a sustainable winner. It’s just hard to envision a timeline in the multiverse, never mind our own, where Lebby can compete with the exorbitant NIL spending of other SEC rivals. As if competing with conference incumbents like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, even Texas A&M and others wasn’t going to be enough of a challenge, SEC newcomers like Texas and Oklahoma are only adding to the elite competition.

When folks are openly questioning your job status during your first season, you might be having a rough go of it.

Lebby might have to really hit the lottery in the transfer portal to expedite this rebuild. Unless you’re a superb coach hopping from one great job to another — like Kalen DeBoer going from Washington to succeeding Nick Saban at Bama — or you’re Deion Sanders,  that approach will too be a big ask.

At this point, it’s looking like years, not months for Lebby to even begin dreaming of moderate SEC success. You know what doesn’t help matters? When you bring a group of recruits to a supposed cupcake opponent, only to have your team come out looking flat, unprepared, and overlooking an inferior opponent. Chances are, UMass is paying for Saturday’s beating in Starkville. They’re not supposed to come into your house, TAKE YOUR MEAL. Sorry that just unleashed my inner Michael Irvin for a hot second.

But you get what I mean. Terrible look. Coach Lebby, this is where you whip out all the trick plays and show the hell out from the opening kick! If you can’t set the tone against UMass, how will you ever set the tone against, say, Georgia without a borderline miraculous haul of talent? Rhetorical question, that.

Might want to shield your eyes for this next sentence, those of you who ride or die with the Bulldogs of Mississippi State. Per 247Sports, your program ranks 14th out of 16 SEC teams in prep-level recruiting for their class of 2025, and were DFL in the transfer portal from last year. Ruh roh!

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