Thursday’s Dawg Biscuits: Updates on 2025 prospects Tyler Lockhart, Ferzell Shepard and Gevonte Ware

Step inside for the latest on several 2025 and 2026 prospects on Mississippi State’s radar in football and basketball:

First Biscuit – Starting the day with basketball recruiting, on Wednesday I exchanged messages with 2025 power forward and On3 four-star prospect Gevonte Ware of 1 of 1 (N.C.) Academy. He’s another guy on Mississippi State’s radar that’s had a productive summer and he recently added new offers from Alabama, Rutgers and DePaul. Ware said things continue to go well with Mississippi State’s staff and that he talks to the coaches on a weekly basis. Ware said he has a pair of official visits set up for the month of August and that includes visits to Wake Forest on August 1-2 and Duquesne on August 4-5. So far he has not set up a Mississippi State official visit but noted he does plan to take more official visits. As said with other power forwards in this class, State’s top priority at that position is On3 four-star prospect Jamarion Davis-Fleming and I’m not sure if they want to take two high school power forwards in the class.

Second Biscuit – Moving to football recruiting, on Wednesday I talked with sources about 2026 offensive linemen that are expected to be at Thursday’s cookout at Mississippi State. It appears to be a solid group and the 2026 offensive linemen expects to be in town include Donel Robinson of Holmes County Central High School, Grant Kitchens of Nanih Waiya High School, Emmanuel Tucker of New Albany High School, Aydan Newell of Brandon High School and Charles Humphrey of Memphis Academy Science Engineering. All of those guys have Mississippi State offers and all of them camped at Mississippi State this summer except for Newell, who wasn’t able to get to many camps this summer. But Newell is one of my favorite guys in that class and two summers ago, he was one of the strongest linemen I saw at camp regardless of classification. I can’t say with confidence that one of those guys could pull a surprise commitment on Thursday but I wouldn’t rule it out either.

Third Biscuit – Moving to the Class of 2025, on Wednesday I talked some with 2025 linebacker and On3 four-star prospect Tyler Lockhart of Winona High School, who decommitted from Auburn in late June. Lockhart said he will be at Mississippi State on Thursday and will also visit Ole Miss and Auburn this weekend for their recruiting events. Lockhart said Mississippi State’s staff has remained on him hard just like they did before he committed to Auburn and like they did while he was briefly committed to Auburn. Lockhart has not set a decision timeframe for his commitment but as noted earlier this week, with Lockhart visiting other schools this weekend then the odds of him committing this week are likely low (and he could take awhile before making another commitment). Overall, Mississippi State has five linebackers committed in the Class of 2025 and Lockhart is the top linebacker target left on the Bulldogs’ board.

Fourth Biscuit – Staying with football recruiting, on Wednesday I exchanged some messages with 2025 Mississippi State commitment and On3 three-star receiver Ferzell Shepard of Scotlandville (La.) Magnet. As of Tuesday, Shepard was not sure if he will be able to make it to State’s cookout on Thursday since he just had a minor injury that is keeping him out of practice for a week or so. Shepard said things are still going great with the Bulldog coaches and that he will be in Starkville this season for several games at Davis Wade Stadium. Shepard and fellow Louisiana native Davian Jackson are State’s two receiver commitments in the class so far with the Bulldogs still having instate products Caleb Cunningham and Anson Lewis on their board. So far, I have not confirmed with Lewis on whether or not he will be at Mississippi State on Thursday.

Fifth Biscuit – Back to the Class of 2026, on Wednesday I talked with 2026 safety and On3 four-star prospect Bralan Womack of Hartfield Academy, who is currently rated as the state’s top prospect in that class (which I agree with at this point). Womack took in several unofficial visits this spring and summer, including multiple trips to Mississippi State, and said it was a cool experience visiting schools like Notre Dame and Ohio State. This weekend he will check out Texas and Texas A&M for the first time to wrap up his summer visits. This fall Womack said he will attend games at State and Ole Miss along with Notre Dame and Ohio State among others. With State, Womack noted that the staff has treated him like a 2025 prospect and have recruited him with that type of urgency. He is drawing looks as a nickel, corner and safety at the next level but said most are recruiting him as a safety. Womack added that he plans to drop his Top 10 the last week of August and I fully expect Mississippi State to make that cut.

And for the gravy on top – And lastly today and as you are aware, Mississippi State will hold its final recruiting event of the summer on Thursday afternoon/evening with the cookout at head coach Jeff Lebby’s house, which is called Bulldog Bash this year. Mississippi State is expected to host most of its 2025 commitments and top remaining targets in the Class of 2025 on Thursday along with several top targets in the Class of 2026 (likely a few 2027 prospects, as well). The cookout is expected to begin around 2 p.m. and end around 6 or 7 p.m. I’m not sure if we see any new 2025 guys added to the class on Thursday but the odds could be better with 2026 recruits in that aspect.

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