In the new age of the transfer portal, coaches across the country are looking for unique ways to get a leg up in recruiting. For new Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby, one way the Bulldogs can outpace other schools is by recruiting the state’s junior colleges, which he believes are being negatively impacted by the transfer portal.
Jeff Lebby: Junior Colleges Being Negatively Impacted By College Football Transfer Portal
In his time at the podium at SEC Media Days, Lebby talked a bit about “the great junior colleges of Mississippi,” saying a bigger reliance on the college football transfer portal is leaving those schools underrecruited.
For Lebby, that means an opportunity to gain a recruiting advantage, especially in Mississippi.
Three of the top 10 schools in the final 2023 NJCAA rankings are located in the state of Mississippi, and Lebby thinks the Bulldogs can find quality players from a place other schools seem to be forgetting.
Mississippi State also holds verbal commitments from two of the top three 2025 junior college players in the country, per 247Sports’ junior college rankings.
For a team that has traditionally struggled to make consistent waves in recruiting circles, Mississippi State has finished near the bottom of the SEC almost every season. Anywhere Lebby can find a competitive advantage will surely be welcome for Bulldogs fans.
Lebby emphasized that most teams are prioritizing the transfer portal over other means of recruiting such as the high school and junior college ranks. While that might be with reason, since teams can take proven players over projections, there’s a lot of competition in the portal. And while the Bulldogs will start several transfers this season, Lebby wants to look to other sources of talent.
If he succeeds in his plan, the Bulldogs will have a built-in talent pipeline in one of the more difficult states to recruit.
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