Made this same post a year ago about the 2019 class. If I leave one off its bc I dont know enough about them to give a summary but for those interested in my worthless opinion, here goes
Joquavius Marks- Never seen him play a snap but his highlights and from all the talk, how he is off the field means we got a hell of a player that has a chance to come in and not only play but make a huge impact. He may cause Dillon Johnson to play some slot bc Marks is the real deal. The other kids in this class will tell you he is for real for real. He is explosive and has great hands. He may be one of the few on the roster that can take it to the house on a given play. I love Kylin (sometimes) but he aint taking it 88 and out the gate. Marks can.
Jordan Davis- When Bama wants you as a DL you are probably pretty good. Not much else to say here. He will come in and play early for us in 2020. He has extremely long arms, prolly could have played basketball if he wanted too. Reminds me a bit of Chauncey Rivers. I would take another Chauncey
Malik Heath- I will be 100 percent honest, I have my doubts about him. Seen him since he was a JR in HS. He is a character and that is putting it nicely. I know several JUCO coaches that said they didnt want him out of HS bc of his immaturity. But his HC at Co Lin says he is a great kid. This same HC used to coach for us so TIFWIW. But...if he can put it together he is explosive with the ball in his hands. His ability after the catch is pretty rare. 6'3 210ish and can run is not something we have had a lot at WR. He will need to be great for us to have a big time year next year.
Tyrus Wheat- Striker. He will rock your ass. He was the best player on defense for Co Lin all season long IMO. He runs better than LL and ET. Him and ET on the inside are going to punish people. He will have some work to do as far as technique and his reads will be different bc I doubt he has ever played in the stack but he is strong enough to be the walk down Sam backer, mean enough to play the Mike and athletic enough to play in space. I think he will start from the jump. Really high on him.
Janari Dean- Has a chance to end up as the best player in the class. He could play RB but the carries at SP took a load on him as he had some injuries. But he was one of, probably the best back in the state when he is healthy. He will be hell as the ''aztec'' S for us. He is just a football player. He looks to create contact not avoid it. Great kid and has great intangibles. You dont have to be around him long to realize he is the real deal. He just carries himself differently. Him and Rogers are very close and they are a lot alike. They both love the game and love MSU.
Will Rogers- Leach was the first one to offer him in HS. That tells you all you need to know. I have made my opinion on him well known on this board. He is made for this system and this coach. You cant really dream it up any better for him. Him and Minshew are very close. He is Minshew with a stronger arm. Thats about the only difference in them. The rest of it, they are a lot alike. Gym and film junkie. He has been leading the throwing sessions since he enrolled early. When he steps on the field you cant help but think you have a shot to win the whole thing. He will need to put on weight but mentally and accuracy wise, he is the best we have on campus at the QB spot. He can make every throw you need and get you in the right play when you need it. Been running a version of the air raid since 7th grade. Him and Dean may end up being the best players in the class IMO.
Tulu Griffin- Fast. Thats his best attribute. He is raw and it showed at MS/AL but he can roll. Video of him on twitter had him keeping pace with a car going 22 mph. He will end up being a good slot for us but he needs to learn how to run routes and the offense. He has played some DB but he is a WR. It may take him a year or so but he will be a weapon once he figures it out. He has a teammate at Philly that is pretty good too that we are high on so hopefully he helps us with him.
Dillon Johnson- Dominated in HS. I normally am skeptical on private school guys but when you know you know and he is a good player. He could play RB or slot for us. We need to get him the ball bc he is great with it in his hands. He is another one that needs more time in the weight room but he will get there. If he plays slot he could see a lot of time this year bc I think he is a better athlete than a lot of what we have there at the moment.
Jevon Banks- He was a huge reason Olive Branch won as many games as they did and a big reason why the shut down Jimmy Holiday and MC. He is one of the most physical guys I have seen play in a long time. He is a freak. Long arms but he is solid. Aint no fat on him. He had a great MS/AL week and game. He could probably put on weight and play DT. Thats how nasty this kid is. He has a chip on his shoulder and he plays with it. He is also athletic enough to play stand up DE (walk down LB in the stack) or a 0 Mike. He could RS but I think he will contribute before 2020 is over.
Jaden Walley- Another kid who is great with the ball in his hands. Has never really played WR and when he did it was run a fade,slant, or a hitch. He ran the Wing T as a QB at Diberville and made a lot of plays. He can actually throw the ball pretty well but his future is at WR. He will need to learn how to play it but he has a high ceiling. Long and can run pretty well. I think he could play CB if the need be. He did it in HS in the clutch time, didnt like contact a whole lot but not everybody does. Wasnt crazy about blocking but it didnt matter bc he had the ball more times than not. I like Jaden a lot but His brother is probably better than he is. But that is just my opinion. His brother aint as tall but he is faster and he just looks different with the ball in his hands and he will bust you in the mouth.
Armondous Cooley- Cooley and Banks may be the most underrated defensive players in the state. Cooley is a tailor made DT. He will be a good NG or a 4i in the stack. He also had a great week and game at MS/AL. Him and Banks have been out to prove they are just as good if not better than Jackson and they played like it. They whipped Alabamas ass up front during the game. Cooley is a sneaky athlete he made several tackles playing flat down the line on stretch that were very impressive. Our staff were higher on him than they were Jackson FWIW. He was listed at 300 so he probably needs to put on 20 pounds or so but he will get there. He is capable of two gapping and being a menace inside.
Calvin McMillan- This kid reminds me of the OL we used to get under Mullen. Raw out of Houston HS but with a huge frame and long arms. (Chris Jones) I am really high on him. He is listed at 6'5 but I think he is closer to 6'6-6'7 than he is 6'5. He will probably start at RT then he could move to LT as he progresses. This will be a whole new ball game for him as he has never seen the splits or vertical sets that we are going to do under Leach. He will have to learn but the frame is there to play in the NFL before its over with. He handled his recruitment as well as any I've ever seen. Handled his business and no drama.
Rufus Harvey- In my opinion he is the best WR in the state. He is definitely the most polished and ready to play college football. He is twitchy. He was the best WR MS had in the all star game but he went home to take the ACT. He is much more ready to play than Adams or Tulu is right now. He can flat out get open. And we need that desperately. Him and Leach are perfect match for each other. I think he plays in 2020 and plays well. He can return kicks and punts and has done both for 4 years in HS. He made plays against the best 6A teams in the state. MC, Brandon, Pearl, Petal, South Panola, they will all tell you this kid is legit. He will need to hit the weights too but he will. I think he was a huge steal and we were lucky to hold onto him. He is Jameon Lewis with better hands. He will also block. He is on the smaller side but he makes up for it between the ears. Gamer. Typical Mike Leach WR. Rufus, Johnson, Tulu, Marks, Rogers and Walley are a pretty damn good group to be rolling with into the future at the skill positions.
Emmanuel Forbes- Prototypical NFL CB frame. You can see it already. Long and can make a guy look covered when he isnt. He had a good week and game at MS/AL and they didnt try him very much during the game. He could play as a freshman and he will push Jones and the other young CBs. He reminds me a lot of Tyler Williams except Forbes was more highly recruited bc he killed it at the camp circuits. He isnt that fast but when you are that long it doesnt matter. I like him a lot and he may have been the overall best player in the state this year. He will probably play on Sundays when all is said and done. Him and Selmon are a good combo. I never saw Selmon much but I did think he made the UA All American game so there is that. Selmon is thicker than Forbes is. Probably more of a S than a CB.
