Even in the portal era, JUCO recruiting remains a priority for Mississippi State

Mississippi State football has seen some recent momentum on the recruiting trail, with much of that momentum coming in landing junior college commitments. JUCO recruiting has long been vital for Bulldog football, but in the transfer portal era, there hasn't been as much national attention put on turning to those ranks for players. Mississippi State, however, could still find an edge by honing-in on JUCO prospects.

Jeff Lebby continuing to make JUCO recruiting a priority for Mississippi State football

Mississippi State football has a long history of finding success utilizing JUCO transfers. JUCO football in the state is as good as anywhere in the country, with countless SEC and even NFL caliber players working their way up through the ranks. In recent years, players like RB Vick Ballard, CB Darius Slay, DE Montez Sweat, and S Johnathan Abram have come up from JUCOs to become superstars in Starkville.

But in recent years, JUCO recruiting has become less of a priority for many programs. With the advent of the transfer portal and freedom of movement for players at the FBS level, programs don't have to look to the JUCO ranks to find a "college-ready" player who can immediately help their team. They instead can simply go into the portal to improve their roster.

While Mississippi State football has certainly made use of the transfer portal (heavily so this season), it's clear the HC Jeff Lebby isn't going to disregard JUCO prospects in recruiting. In fact, he seems to be prioritizing them.

According to the On3 Industry rankings, the Bulldogs currently own commitments from the four highest rated JUCO prospects in the country following the commitment of top defensive lineman Zavion Hardy on Tuesday night. Those prospects will all have the chance to come in and start for MSU in 2025. With their struggles so far this season, it's clear the Bulldogs will need immediate impact players for next year. And rather than wait and see who they can land in the portal, Lebby and Co. are addressing those needs now by landing big-time JUCO commitments.

The Bulldogs could find an edge by focusing on the JUCO ranks

Back during SEC Media Days, Jeff Lebby acknowledged the high-level JUCO programs in the state of Mississippi and how that was an advantage for Mississippi State football. It's clear he's embracing that with his 2025 recruiting class, and going forward, I think this could be a smart approach for the Bulldogs.

While the transfer portal can be a tremendous asset to every program, there's still great talent at JUCOs across the country, especially within MSU's own backyard. These are prospects the Bulldogs should naturally have an inside-track to, perhaps even more so as more programs put their focus on portal recruiting. And you could also argue that those prospects might actually be more valuable to State than most transfers.

I think there's also something to be said that, particularly because we're in the portal era, the players that do have to go through JUCO ball might have a bit more drive and desire than your average FBS transfer. Not to unfairly generalize the mentality of most transfer players, but if you can freely jump from one school to the next, there's a chance you aren't going to have the same fire behind you as look to earn your way onto the field.

With JUCO prospects, on the other hand, I don't think you can question their drive. Any player who begins their college career at the JUCO ranks is going to do everything they can to move up. And for the guys who started at the FBS level and ended up at a JUCO because they couldn't land at another major school, I have no doubt in their drive to prove they belong back at the sport's highest level.

What this means for a program like Mississippi State is that the quality players you land from the JUCO ranks might just bring a bit more of a spark to your roster than many FBS transfers you could land. Perhaps they won't have the same national attention on them, but the could still be incredibly valuable. So if other programs are going to ignore JUCO prospects, the Bulldogs may end up with some hidden gems to help level the playing field on Saturdays.