I am a Mississippi State alumnus and a big Mississippi State fan, so naturally I am following with intent what Dan Mullen is doing as a recruiter with signing day less than a week away now.

The early results are very positive. Granted, I think player development in the long run is a very underrated aspect of recruiting, but if you look at the so called recruiting experts, Dan Mullen and Mississippi State are doing very well. I have to say that Sylvester Croom put most of this class together, but Dan has done a great job of keeping Coach Croom's class together while adding to it.

The headliner of the class is a player who may be the best quarterback prospect to ever sign with Mississippi State. Tyler Russell from Meridian HS in Meridian, MS, is considered a 4 star player by both rivals and scout. He lead Meridian HS to the 5A state championship in Mississippi and a win in the finals over South Panola, ending South Panola's 89 game winning streak. Tyler is around 6'5", 210 lbs or so with a good arm. I watched him play in the state championship, and he has a lot of poise in the pocket. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to Dan Mullen's spread offense and vice versa.

Coach Mullen got a commitment from a player in my neck of the woods that will form a great duo with Tyler Russell in the passing game. Chad Bumphis is an athlete from Tupelo, MS, and he's a guy that could very well be a poor man's Percy Harvin in Coach Mullen's offense at MSU. Chad is a great athlete who has 4.4 speed. He has played wide receiver, running back, punt returner, kick returner, quarterback, and punter in high school. Tupelo's quarterback Chris Garrett is an LSU signee, but Chad Bumphis is generally considered to be the better prospect. He's listed as a 4 star athlete by both rivals and scout, and in Rivals post season top 25 prospects in Mississippi, he is listed as the 3rd best prospect in the state.

Other players that Mississippi State will be signing on Wednesday include the #2 prospect in Mississippi Fletcher Cox, a 6'4", 225 lbs defensive end from Yazoo City; Monroe, LA, running back Montrell Conner; Philadelphia, MS, defensive tackle Josh Boyd (Army AA); Meridian, MS, wide receiver Chris Smith; Greenville, MS, running back LaDarius Perkins; and Louisville, MS, running back/wide receiver/defensive back Dennis Thames (Marcus Thames's nephew).

This is Mississippi State's final recruiting weekend, and from what I've heard, there is a very good chance we are going to close things out with commitments from Carencro, LA, wide receiver Ricky Johnson, Bessemer, AL, athelte Brandon Heavens (an Auburn commitment that didn't take his official visit to Auburn last week but will be visiting MSU this weekend), and Duncan, SC, wide receiver Ricco Sanders.

To add, MSU's JUCO signees had them rated as the top JUCO class in the nation with ICC DE Pernell McPhee heading the list.

If Dan Mullen is anywhere near the coach that he is a recruiter, then MSU has done a great job here.