Monday’s Dawg Biscuits: Updates on 2025 prospects Tyler Lockhart, Carde Smith and 2026 offensive linemen

Step inside for the latest on several 2025 and 2026 prospects on Mississippi State’s radar in football along with team news:

First Biscuit – Starting the day with somewhat basketball and football news, over the weekend I saw former Mississippi State center Jimmy Bell and we talked awhile about what he has going on these days. As you recall, Bell finished up his college basketball career at State but then also participated in spring football with the Bulldogs. Bell said he is staying in Starkville for the year where he will continue training with hopes of signing with an NFL team next spring. With basketball, Bell said he’s been playing some pickup games with the basketball players this summer, as well. Bell said the team is going to have to find some rebounders and get that part of their game going. But he said their new backcourt is very legit and quite talented. He added that State’s backcourt depth will give SEC teams a lot of trouble this season and he also said KeShawn Murphy has improved a good bit this offseason, which others have said this offseason, as well.

Second Biscuit – Moving to football recruiting, the recruiting calendar for the summer officially closed this past weekend and now football prospects turn their attention to the upcoming season. Just to recap, Mississippi State hosted 30 official visitors this past summer so they have used about half of their allotted official visits for the Class of 2025. In talking to sources over the weekend, we will see decent-sized groups of official visitors throughout the fall during home weekends but probably not quite the size of the weekend visitors’ lists we saw in the month of June. Of course, we will also have transfers taking official visitors once the season ends and I’m not sure yet if most of those will be in December or early January.

Third Biscuit – Over the weekend I talked more with 2025 linebacker and On3 four-star prospect Tyler Lockhart of Winona High School. Last week saw Lockhart take unofficial visits to Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Auburn for their recruiting cookouts and Lockhart said he enjoyed himself at all three SEC programs. With State, Lockhart said head coach Jeff Lebby and defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler have the same message for him and that is to join the class and lead from the front. With his recent decommitment from Auburn, he said that was about finding out what is the best situation for him and that meant opening up his recruiting process again. He said State, Ole Miss and Auburn are still on him hard and he is unsure if he will take any more official visits this fall. Lockhart also noted that his decision could happen soon or later in the year, so that is something to definitely watch. He is coming off that Auburn visit where the Tigers got a lot of recruiting momentum and I imagine they are putting a lot of pressure on Lockhart to return to their class. With that next decision, he said it will come down to what’s best for him and his mother.

Fourth Biscuit – Moving to team news for a minute, of late I’ve talked to sources regarding the defensive line entering training camp, which begins later this week, and on Sunday I posted my best guesses on the defensive depth chart. Working at defensive end will be senior De’Monte Russell , junior Deonte Anderson and junior Ashun Shepphard and sources noted, as well, that the interior positions will be interchangeable, which is normally the case with previous defensive lines. At noseguard will be sophomore Trevion Williams , junior Eric Taylor , sophomore Kalvin Dinkins , sophomore Corey Clark and redshirt freshman Gabriel Moore . Then working at defensive tackle will be Kedrick Bingley-Jones , Sulaiman Kpaka, Kai McClendon and Terrance Hibbler . Some of those guys, like Dinkins and McClendon, can also move to noseguard if needed, as mentioned above. So clearly, State has the numbers up front but are lacking experience in some areas, which will likely be a theme at most defensive positions this year. There’s young talent but State needs that young talent to mature quickly this fall. Also of note with that group, 2024 signee Josaiah Knight, who originally signed with Illinois, was signed as a defensive lineman but he has worked at jack linebacker since arriving on campus.

Fifth Biscuit – Moving back to recruiting, over the weekend I talked with sources and a few of the 2026 offensive linemen targets that were in Starkville last Thursday for Bulldog Bash. Yes, it is still early with that class but it is hard to overlook the strides Mississippi State has made with those guys, especially from the Magnolia State. At Bulldog Bash, State welcomed 2026 instate offensive linemen Grant Kitchens , Aydan Newell , Donel Robinson and Emanuel Tucker along with Memphis native Charles Humphrey . Recently, I have put in Mississippi State predictions on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine for Newell and Humphrey, and it’s also safe to say that Mississippi State is the favorite for both Kitchens and Tucker, as well. Head coach Jeff Lebby and offensive line coach Cody Kennedy have put a lot of emphasis on that group and there’s a good chance State ends up getting the majority of those guys when all is said and done.

And for the gravy on top – And lastly over the weekend, I talked with 2025 offensive lineman and On3 four-star prospect Carde Smith of Williamson (Ala.) High School. As you saw, Smith was back in Starkville late last week for Bulldog Bash to round out his summer visits’ schedule. He also took official visits to Auburn and Southern Cal this summer and the former Auburn commit said he plans to officially visit Mississippi State, Colorado and possibly Nebraska this fall along with returning to Southern Cal for a game-day experience. He talked well of his time in Starkville and his relationships with offensive line coach Cody Kennedy and head coach Jeff Lebby. Smith still plans to take more time before making his final college decision but Mississippi State is definitely gaining momentum with Smith.

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