MOBILE, Ala. — The 2024 edition of the annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game week got underway on Tuesday night as blue-chip talent from both states took the field before arriving on college campuses nationwide.

Rivals will be live on-site with daily updates from practices throughout the week, which will with the annual contest, which will kick off at noon CT on Saturday, December 14 from Hancock Whitney Stadium on South Alabama’s campus.

Eye-catchers from Day 1 of All-Star practice were headlined by several Auburn signees, including Jared Smith and Malik Autry. Here’s more from Rivals National Recruiting Analysts John Garcia, Jr. and Sam Spiegelman:

Jared Smith enjoyed an absolutely dominant senior season for Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson High School flying off the edge. That theme continued for the blue-chipper during Day 1 of Alabama-Mississippi All-Star practice. The lengthy EDGE defender is explosive off the ball and his length and wingspan is a problem for opposing offenses. At 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, Smith is a dangerous pass-catcher with the reach to impact plays even if he can’t sack the quarterback. We saw on several occasions Smith provide pressure off the edge and completely derail the offense’s plans.

Anthony Rogers showed up wearing No. 22 and got us thinking of a former dual-threat back sporting the number in Dexter McCluster. It’s not just that the Ohio State signee is a legitimate threat out of the backfield with speed and shiftiness to his name, but it’s the fact that an offensive coordinator could line him up there permanently and get by. Rogers made the most second and third-level plays of any Team Alabama player during the first impression. As a ball carrier, he is smooth in and out of his cuts and maintains a low center of gravity through the wash. Rogers also looked to be in great shape following the season, too.

Malik Autry has the tools to be a difference-maker in the trenches with his unique blend of athleticism and power in a 6-foot-6, 320-pound frame. The four-star Auburn signee pops off the ball and is a handful to contain. Autry is able to generate a pass rush from the middle of the defensive line and has a knack for creating chaos behind the line of scrimmage. We saw Autry stuff the run and make several splash play during Day 1 of action.

Tyler Lockhart is a true speed-rusher capable of getting after the quarterback from the edge or second level of the defense. The Mississippi State signee out of Winona (Miss.) High School forced the issue flying around the edge. The four-star outside linebacker is a jolt with immense closing speed and a knack for disrupting offensive rhythm. During Day 1 of action, Lockhart played at a pace different from several of his peers.

Micah Debose showed up relatively trim in his frame and worked an active first night of drills among the state’s best. The Alabama signee has experience up and down the offensive line and he looked comfortable in both tackle and guard alignments to kick off his all-star circuit. Debose flashes good footwork and redirection skill at the point of contact and also worked with high energy on Tuesday.

KC Lacey was smooth and operated in cruise control during Day 1 of Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game practice. The four-star Texas signee capped his historic run at Saraland (Ala.) High with 10,985 career passing yards, including 3,044 yards passing with 40 touchdowns as a senior. Lacey has fantastic command of his offense, which was on display on Tuesday night. Lacey is poised sifting through reads, making good decisions, and consistently delivering accurate passes at various levels of the field.

Derick Smith made plays on both sides of the ball during his run at Selma (Ala.) Southside High. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder passed the eye test seeing reps at wide receiver for the Alabama All-Star team. Smith made a ton of vertical plays for his high school offense and looked comfortable catching passes downfield outside the numbers and also in the middle of the field on Tuesday. Smith was able to come away with a few contested catches and in a swollen frame, the four-star playmaker heading to Auburn is a threat to make things happen with the ball in space, too.

Mal Waldrep may have had the best look and performance among offensive linemen on Tuesday. Another in-state win for Alabama, the Phenix City (Ala.) Central star is strong with his leverage and comes out of his stance with purpose on both ends of the line. Waldrep worked mostly tackle reps on Tuesday but looks like he is plenty broad enough to handle interior duty at the next level if need be. The swing line prospect is more valuable than ever and that future feels more believable for the senior in looking at his prospects in Tuscaloosa.

Tyler Miller is one of the most intriguing prospects at a premium position in this 2025 cycle. The four-star offensive tackle from Laurel (Miss.) High School is built with an NFL frame — at 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds — with an athletic profile to match. Miller plays with outstanding leverage and has immense power and good technique to contain an array of different pass-rushers. Miller is physically dominant and can pave running lanes with ease. During Day 1 of practices, the LSU signee from the Sip was superb in pass protection.

Among all of the trench and skill position talent on hand, Evan Noel found a way to capture attention with his footwork. The specialist was simply booming kicks all evening long, with great force and arc from distance. We saw him work comfortably from 50-plus yards away from a leg strength and distance standpoint. Noel would get better as the workout wore on, too, nailing several from long distances, including a 55-yarder on one occasion.

The transfer portal officially opened on Monday and hundreds of players have already entered looking for a new home and a fresh start. Here’s what Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney is hearing so far in this Portal Rumor Mill.

The former Florida defensive end who’s now a four-star in the portal rankings is hearing from “a lot of schools” but the only visit planned so far is to Texas A&M.

The Aggies are definitely a team to watch and this could be a quick flip unless Collins wants to wait and see some other programs before a decision.

Cooper does not have any visits finalized yet but the three-star defensive back from Florida State is hearing most from Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State and Memphis so far.

None of those programs were in Cooper’s top six before he chose the Seminoles coming out of high school.

Two official visits have been set up for the former Arkansas defensive end who finished with 23 tackles and one sack this season. Davillier is planning to see UCLA and Mississippi State before making any final decisions.

After one season at Nebraska, the former four-star is looking for a new home but the word is that the Huskers are not giving up on keeping him and continue to stay in communication about staying in Lincoln.

So far, the other main competitor has been Florida State but others are expected to jump in as no visits have been set yet.

Despite not putting up big numbers at USC, Eldridge is seeing major interest from Duke, Washington, Washington State, San Diego State, Boise State, Cal and Eastern Washington so far.

The former Bellingham (Wash.) Lynden Christian three-star tight end will visit Washington on Dec. 13 as the only visit planned so far. New interest from Georgia Tech and Ole Miss is also coming in now.

The four-star offensive lineman put up impressive PFF numbers at Harvard this season and it’s now given him offers from Virginia, Memphis, James Madison and a host of other programs with a ton of new interest coming in as well.

Programs from all Power Four conferences have reached out so Gentle’s list could change dramatically in the coming days. Gentle was at Memphis on Monday and then has trips to Virginia, Tulane and James Madison soon.

Nebraska will get the first visit from Graham on Thursday and the former Florida State linebacker will be at Kansas on Saturday as those two programs have emerged early on in Graham’s portal recruitment.

Many others are expected to get involved in the coming days.

After it didn’t work out at Texas Tech after one season, the five-star receiver was at Texas A&M on Monday and if all goes well the Aggies could be loading up majorly at wide receiver through the portal. Hudson is definitely one to watch as the Aggies were involved late in his high school recruitment.

Kelly caught 53 passes for 869 yards and four touchdowns this season and so the four-star receiver has received significant interest since entering the portal.

Michigan State and Louisville are Kelly’s visits that are set in stone and then Cal, Washington, Kansas, Memphis and North Carolina are reaching out most.

Key led Kentucky with 47 receptions for 715 yards and two touchdowns. Louisville, Nebraska, Georgia and South Carolina are the most involved in his recruitment now. The four-star is planning a visit to Louisville early next week as there continue to be rumors that Vince Marrow could join that staff so the Cardinals will be one to watch.

After backing up Ethan Garbers at UCLA this season, Martin is on the move and has a host of programs reaching out already for the former Inglewood, Calif., quarterback. Stanford, in particular, has reached out but eight or nine others will get involved with the talented QB as well.

The three-star linebacker from Dartmouth was a stat stuffer this season with 30 tackles, five sacks, five pass breakups, and Mullen is getting significant interest now.

Memphis, Georgia Tech, Nevada, UAB and a host of MAC programs are reaching out to Mullen as he’s finalizing visits at this point.

The four-star offensive lineman who was impressive at Cal Poly this season has five visits coming up before Christmas with four of them in the ACC.

Norton will be at Wake Forest on Dec. 14 and then every two days after that he will see Virginia, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and Kansas State to close things out on Dec. 22.

A four-star defensive end in the 2023 class, Osborne did not make much of an impact at Alabama this season but after jumping in the portal he’s seeing some significant interest already.

USC, LSU, Penn State and SMU are reaching out but Osborne has not finalized any visits yet.

The former four-star running back in the 2023 class signed with Iowa State but then bounced to New Mexico this season, and he rushed for 1,063 yards and nine touchdowns this season.

Sanders was at Michigan State on Monday and he’ll be at Arizona on Wednesday and Thursday. More trips could be coming as Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Stanford and Memphis have offered in recent days.

Texas Tech, Pitt, Florida State, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia Tech and Alabama will all receive visits over the coming weeks as Simmons is one of the most wanted offensive linemen in the portal coming out of Western Carolina.

Oklahoma offered Simmons on Monday and then Vanderbilt and Nebraska are also talking a lot, along with Michigan and Auburn.

With former coach Gus Malzahn leaving to be the offensive coordinator at Florida State, a whole bunch of UCF players have hit the portal including Threats, who has Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan State, UCLA and Syracuse reaching out most.

The only visit the three-star defensive back has planned so far is with the Bruins this week.