Mississippi
Mississippi State Football Capitalizes on Open Week for Recruiting Push
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State football is on its open week and won’t play Saturday, but there are still victories to be had.
Coach Jeff Lebby and his staff will be hitting the recruiting trail later this week to visit some of the players already committed to play in Starkville next season and try to recruit some others.
“We’re going to be out on the road on Thursday and Friday, going to see a bunch of our guys, a bunch of commits, and then some other position needs,” Lebby said at a Tuesday press conference.
The Bulldogs have the No. 32-rated recruiting class in ESPN’s 2025 College Football Recruiting Class Rankings (one spot behind Ole Miss). Considering the state of the current program, the Bulldogs are doing very well on the recruiting trail.
“We feel like we’re really in a pretty good spot from a recruiting standpoint,” Lebby said. “We got, hopefully, some positive things that are going to happen here sooner than later.”
Some news could come out this week with many players approaching the deadline to redshirt this season or not. Wide receiver Creed Whittemore already decided to take a redshirt and won’t play again this season. Others could make a similar decision and Lebby addressed the situation on Tuesday.
“It’s very fluid as we continue to talk through it, and every situation is a little busy,” he said.
Here is the Bulldogs’ current recruiting class:
Transfers
Tony Mitchell, S, East Mississippi Community College
4-Stars
Tyler Lockhart, LB, Winona (Winona, Miss.)
Ferzell Shepard, WR, Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rogue, La.)
KaMario Taylor, Ath, Noxubee County (Macon, Miss.)
Tyshun Willis, Edge, Velma Jackson (Camden, Miss.)
Mario Nash Jr., IOL, Kemper County (De Kalb, Miss.)
3-Stars
Davian Jackson, WR, Westgate (New Iberia, La.)
Steve Miller, Ath, Greene County (Greensboro, Ga.)
AJ Rice, LB, Madison Academy (Madison, Ala.)
Kevonte Henry, DL, Cerritos College (Norwalk, Calif.)
Geron Johnson, RB, Barlett (Bartlett, Tenn.)
Derrion Horsley, CB, East Coweta (Sharpsburg, Ga.)
Sekou Smith Jr., S, Miami Central (Miami, Fla.)
Austin Howard, LB, Bartlett (Batlett, Tenn.)
LaKendrick James, LB, Copiah-Lincoln CC (Wesson, Miss.)
Kolin Wilson, RB, Gulf Shores (Gulf Shores, Ala.)
Christopher Johnson, DL, Robert E. Lee (Montgomery, Ala.)
Josiah Clemons, IOL, Madison Central (Madison, Miss.)
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Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers face pressure to counter looming federal cuts to health care after punting this session
Wicker: Mississippi powered Artemis II
Published 4:00 pm Monday, April 20, 2026
For nine days this month, space travel captivated the world. Families gathered around their screens as four astronauts strapped into the Integrity spacecraft docked at the Kennedy Space Center. As the launch countdown ended, four Mississippi-tested RS-45 engines ignited, and the ground shook. Seven seconds later, the Integrity had liftoff. For six intense minutes, the RS-45 engines rocketed the crew into high Earth orbit, sending them on their historic lunar flyby mission.
Mississippi should take a bow. The four RS-45 engines were tested at our very own Stennis Space Center, where Mississippians have been ensuring the quality of rocket engines since the Apollo program. For eight years, engineers, safety managers, and logistics specialists from the state have tested the engines that powered the Integrity and will power future Artemis launches. Their work paid off, and the launch was a marvel of engineering. NASA leadership made special mention of the rocket engine burn, calling it “flawless.”
One Mississippian in particular helped make the mission a success. Hernando native Matthew Ramsey handled a great deal of responsibility as the mission manager for Artemis II. The Mississippi State University graduate helped set the focus for the mission and equip the astronauts and staff for the job. Matthew also served as the deputy of the Mission Management Team, the group of NASA staff that comes together just days before a launch. The team assumes the risks of the mission ahead, and they make tough calls during flight if challenges arise.
As the Artemis II journey progressed, the world could not stop watching. Our social media feeds were full of photos and videos beamed down from the heavens. They captured humorous situations, such as the astronauts adjusting to life without gravity or testing their plumbing skills.
We also witnessed moments of majesty. On the fifth day, the Integrity began using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot our astronauts back home. That trajectory led the crew around the Moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone. As the explorers looked upon outer space, they captured stunning images. Among the most remarkable is Earthset, in which Commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth as it appeared to fall below the horizon of the moon.
When their spacecraft returned to Earth’s atmosphere, the crew was traveling nearly 35 times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutes later, a series of parachutes began opening. Eventually, the spacecraft’s speed fell to 20 miles per hour, and the crew splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.
Mississippi was once again there to assist. The astronauts were greeted by the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. military vessel built in the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship’s amphibious design was suited to welcome the space travelers home—equipped with a helicopter pad, medical facilities, and the communications system needed to locate and recover the astronauts safely. Crucially, the USS Murtha was built with a well deck, a sea-based garage that stored the Integrity on the journey to shore.
Artemis II was a resounding success, paving the way for planned future flights. When the Artemis program returns humans to the moon, Mississippi will be there every step of the way.
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