STARKVILLE — North Pike High School defensive end A.J. Jefferson pledged his services to Mississippi State University late Saturday night.
This news was first reported by the 247Sports.com site that covers the MSU program on Sunday.
Jefferson, a three-star prospect made his decision late Saturday night during his official visit on campus and announced his verbal commitment in the early morning hours on of Sunday morning on Twitter. Jefferson, a 250-pound defensive lineman, becomes MSU’s 26th commitment in the 2012 class.
“Mississippi State just feels like home to me,” Jefferson told BulldawgJunction.com Sunday. “It was the best place for me. I have known for a while that Mississippi State was where I wanted to be. It felt great to be able to tell Coach Mullen that I am a Bulldog.”
The Bulldogs outlasted Ole Miss and Southern Miss, along with Memphis, Louisiana-Lafayette and Louisiana Tech for the services of Jefferson.
“He has an amazingly quick first step and it’s weird to say this about a Dandy Dozen kid but he’s a project,” 247Sports.com MSU recruiting reporter Paul Jones said. “He’s got all the tools and is a guy that will really benefit from the coaching of (MSU defensive coordinator) Chris Wilson.”
Wilson, who also coaches the defensive line at MSU, was Jefferson’s primary recruiting contact with the Starkville program.
“I love Coach Chris Wilson,” Jefferson said. “I feel like can learn a lot about football and a lot about being a man from him.”
Jefferson, who had 110 total tackles and 12 sacks this season for North Pike High School in Summit, is expected to be used as a primary pass rusher on the outside in Wilson’s base defensive scheme. Jefferson will be included into a defensive line 2012 class that includes junior college All-American Denico Autry, five- star defensive tackle Quay Evans and four-star defensive lineman Nick James.
“(Wilson) said that they are going to let me stand up and play rush end a lot,” Jefferson said. “He said he said that he wanted me as much as he did any other player and wanted me to commit for a long time now.”
Carr returns to MSU program
Mississippi State sophomore receiver Michael Carr rejoined the football program Monday after leaving the team more than two months ago for what school officials called “personal reasons.”
MSU spokesman Joe Galbraith confirmed to several media outlets Monday afternoon Carr was back with the team Carr had been on what MSU coach Dan Mullen was referring to as “personal leave” and missed MSU’s final five games, including MSU’s 23-17 win over Wake Forest in the Music City Bowl. Mullen said the sophomore was in a car accident on the eve of MSU’s 55-17 win against Tennessee-Martin but information on the apparent accident has never been verified by The Dispatch.
Carr caught seven passes for 90 yards in eight games during the 2011 season. The former West Point High School standout was a four-star prospect two years ago after leading the Green Wave to a 14-1 record and Class 5A state championship in 2009.
Several attempts to verify Carr’s status over the last few months with West Point High School head football coach Chris Chambliss were unsuccessful with the Green Wave’s athletic director telling The Dispatch he was unable to connect with his former player.
MSU officials confirmed to The Dispatch that Carr was enrolled in classes at MSU for the spring semester that began Jan. 9 with his status unknown for spring practices scheduled to begin March 22.
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