STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State has picked up nine commits since last week and could land more. The Bulldogs hosted several official visitors last week but mainly focused on out-of-state prospects.

Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby has said that he will focus on recruiting the best players in Mississippi. This weekend, he could have several of the top players. Can MSU continue its recruiting momentum?

4-star defensive lineman Kevin Oatis Jr. will be on campus this weekend. The Hattiesburg, Miss. native is a top priority for the MSU coaching staff, and he is a must-get after the Bulldogs failed to get some of the top defensive linemen in the Magnolia state last year.

State landed Terrance Hibbler but missed on several other top guys. The 6-2 285-pounder has an explosive first step and plays with good pad level.

Oatis visited Arkansas earlier this month and was set to visit USC last week but decided to cancel that visit. State will try to land Oatis this weekend, and if he makes the call, he will be the second 4-star defensive lineman in the 2025 class (Tyshun Willis.)

Coaches will tell you the most essential part of building a recruiting class is getting a quarterback in the boat early. Last season, Lebby added Michael Van Buren late in the process, but he has his guy early this year.

Taylor committed to the Bulldogs under Zach Arnett and has never wavered. This is high praise for a prospect who has not played his senior season of high school football, but the 4-star from Macon, Miss., is arguably the most physically gifted quarterback State has had in a recruiting class.

He is listed at 6-4 205 pounds and recently showed off his skills at the prestigious Elite 11 quarterback camp. Taylor is a special player and could be a 5-star by signing day.

Either way, the Noxubee County product will likely be the highest-rated quarterback recruit in MSU history, and that is an excellent statement for Lebby in his first class.

Another 4-star will be on campus this weekend, and it is at a position that Lebby heavily emphasizes. The De Kalb, Miss. native has been busy this month, making official visits to LSU and Ole Miss.

Nash is listed at 6-4 280 pounds, and he camped at MSU last year before he became so heavily recruited. He was impressive with his footwork and good strength despite this frame.

However, Nash seems to have put on more weight, which has paid off, as he now looks like an SEC offensive lineman. MSU will likely push for a commitment like most other in-state recruits, but Mississippi State offensive line coach Cody Kennedy has proven to be an excellent recruiter during his short time in Starkville.

State has arguably its best recruiter on one of their top prospects.

It was a bit of a surprise when Lockhart committed to Auburn on May 6th due to the strong relationships MSU had built at Winona High School. The Bulldogs even signed his older brother, TJ Lockhart, an offensive lineman, in their 2024 class.

However, it still was not enough to land the younger brother. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze spent five seasons as the head coach at Ole Miss, and he understands the rich talent that comes out of the Magnolia State.

The recruitment for Lockhart is far from over, and MSU coaches will stay on the 6-3 200-pound linebackers all the way to signing day. He made 100 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks last season.

This is a massive prospect for State, and flipping him from a fellow SEC school would be a loud statement.

Like Lockhart, MSU has strong ties with Holmes County Central High School, where Thomas is from. However, the four-star cornerback has not committed elsewhere and will be on campus this weekend.

The Bulldogs have already added many defensive back prospects after picking up four commitments last weekend. However, all of them were from out of state.  

The 6-0.5 180-pound cornerback could be the next and perhaps the last secondary commitment.  

‘They just don’t get a break and LiveScope comes into play now. It’s just a lot of pressure on them right now and has been for the last few years. Something had to be done about the limits.’

The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks voted to reduce the daily limit at four popular crappie lakes and at the heart of the matter is technology.

Enid, Grenada and Sardis lakes, along with the Arkabutla Lake, which is currently closed to boating for dam repairs, are among the top lakes in the nation for crappie, but anglers and biologists alike say that would have changed if the current 15 crappie per angler per day limit remained due the use of live sonar, commonly called LiveScope.

“We did a 3-year study on Sardis, Enid and Grenada looking at if they were catching fish with a single pole or trolling,” said Keith Meals, regional fisheries biologist for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “We also looked at if they were using live sonar.

“In that 3-year period we saw our fishermen using live sonar increase from 20% to 70% and it’s probably higher than that, now.”

MS deer hunting: Here’s what’s new for the 2024-25 season

LiveScope called a “game-changer”

Live sonar is unlike traditional fish finders. It offers live images that are detailed enough to determine the size of a fish and anglers can see their lures in the water, too. That allows anglers to place their lures or bait right in front of a fish.

Meals said the study revealed that anglers using the new technology were catching two to three times more fish than those that did not and have created a situation that is no longer sustainable for the fisheries.

“Used to be you went out there and hoped for the best,” said Jennifer Ratcliff of Canton, who uses live sonar for crappie fishing. “Now, you feel like you can catch a few any day.”

And that’s what Ratcliff and her husband, John, do. The two live near Ross Barnett Reservoir, so the two can conveniently go fishing and with the aid of live sonar, catch a few for a meal whenever they want.

“It is a game-changer,” Ratcliff said. “There’s no doubt about it. If you know how to use it and they’re biting, you can kill them.”

Mississippi venomous snakes: How to identify them and what to do, and not do, if bitten

Situation unsustainable at Grenada, Enid, Sardis and Arkabutla lakes

However, that technology is having a negative impact on the North Mississippi lakes. So, the commission opted to reduce the limit on the lakes from 15 crappie to 10 crappie over 12 inches in length per angler per day and no more than 25 crappie per boat per day.

“We’re trying to maintain a quality fishery in terms of size,” Meals said.

John Harrison of JH Guide Service who guides fishing trips on Enid, Grenada and Sardis lakes said he supports the change.

“Something had to be done,” Harrison said. “The boat ramps are full all year long.

“They just don’t get a break and LiveScope comes into play now. It’s just a lot of pressure on them right now and has been for the last few years. Something had to be done about the limits.”

The new limit on crappie goes into effect July 24.

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

A couple in Laurel, Mississippi, got the shock of a lifetime when they found out they are expecting quintuplets.

Quintuplets occur in roughly one in 60 million births, according to Dr. Rachael Morris, an associate professor of maternal fetal medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Ashley and Tyler Meyers already have two toddlers; soon they will have seven under age 3.

In January, Ashley Meyers was picking up cough syrup when she realized her period was a day late. The mom of daughters Paisleigh, 3, and Westlynn, 2, decided to throw a pregnancy test into her cart just to be safe, because some medications are harmful when taken during pregnancy.

“Not only was the test positive, the line was darker than I’ve ever seen in my life,” Ashley tells TODAY.com.

Ashley, 26, a phlebotomist, and her husband Tyler, 28, a mechanic, had just moved into a new home and were not trying for another child.

Her first look at the babies was a non-diagnostic ultrasound, also known as a “keepsake ultrasound,” at a non-medical facility.

Preliminary blood work had indicted they might have twins, so neither were shocked when two sacs appeared on the screen.

“My first thought was ‘OK. We can handle this,’” Ashley says, noting that Paisleigh and Westlynn are just 16 months apart.

Two weeks later, Ashley’s OB-GYN introduced a major plot twist. The Meyers weren’t having twins — they were having quintuplets, two boys and three girls. Suddenly, “We can handle this” turned to sheer panic.

“I was in complete shock,” Meyers says. “I don’t think my husband and I talked to people for two weeks. We just went silent. Five is a lot of babies.”

“I was like, ‘How are we going to do this?’” Tyler, 28, tells TODAY.com. “But you just need to leave it up to God. He is not going to put you in a situation that you can’t handle.”

Quintuplets occur in roughly one in 60 million births, according to Dr. Rachael Morris, an associate professor of maternal fetal medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Ashley is now 25 weeks along in her pregnancy and on bed rest at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson until she gives birth. Haylee and Shawn Ladner welcomed quintuplets at the same hospital in 2023. Tyler says the Ladners have been giving them “good pointers on what to expect.”

“My doctors are hoping we’ll make it to 34 weeks, because the longer they’re in, the better,” Meyers shares. “I’ve been coloring and watching some TV and catching up on all the stuff I haven’t been able to do because I worked full-time before this.”

Tyler, who is home holding down the fort, says he has a “whole new respect” for his wife.

“Taking care of little kids after a long day at work is harder than I thought it would be!” he says.

The Meyers family, who have a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses and baby essentials, have been inundated with support.

“I love our community,” Ashley says. “Complete strangers have blessed us with kindness. People have to come to help clean and wash dishes and get the rooms ready. When big stuff happens, we rally around each other. When everyone’s got your back it doesn’t feel so scary.”

Ashley also has the support of moms in the higher-order multiples community. Here is some of the advice they shared with TODAY:

• “To Ashley and any mom expecting multiples, my number one advice is to make the best of the experience — especially the NICU journey, which is inevitable and often challenging when you have higher-order multiples. Schedule photoshoots, read them books, allow visitors, hold them as much as possible and make it a point to be as present and involved with their care as possible” Raquel Tolver (mom of 1-year-old quadruplets.)

• “Believe in yourself. There will be days it feels too hard or you doubt if you can do this, but you were made for this” Ashley Crandell (mom of 2-year-old quadruplets.)

• “Soak every second in —the highs and the lows — because while it is so unique and very crazy, it is your journey and it goes by so fast” Hanna Castle (mom of 2-year-old quadruplets)

• “Best advice I can give is, “Don’t lose yourself, so that you can be the best for your babies. The second thing is find a system and organization that works for you and your babies and don’t be ashamed to take all the help you can get.” Heather Langley (mom of 3-year-old quintuplets.)

This article was originally published on TODAY.com