A scholarship offer from the Mississippi State University football team was the right fit in every way for Gerri Green.
The three-star linebacker prospect from Greenville-Weston (Miss.) High School became the 15th verbal commitment of MSU’s 2014 recruiting class Wednesday. 247Sports.com was the first to report the news of Green’s commitment. The website has the 215-pound linebacker as the ninth-best player in the state of Mississippi.
“Mississippi State is the place I want to spend the next four years of my life,” Green told 247Sports.com. “I fit there as a student and as a player. I want to major in their engineering program, so that is a good fit for me academically. As a person, I fit in with their group of guys and coaches, and it is also the best fit for me as a player.”
Last year, Green had 89 tackles, four passes breakups, two forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. He also attracted recruiting interest as a defensive end. Green said the MSU coaches expect him to be an outside linebacker.
“I talked with coach (Dan) Mullen last night and told him,” Green said. “He was happy for me and congratulated me and welcomed me to the Bulldog family. He said he was anxious for me to tell everyone today, and said he couldn’t wait for it to be in the news today.”
Green, who was recruited by MSU’s defensive assistants Tony Hughes and David Turner and coordinator Geoff Collins, chose MSU over offers from Auburn University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Arkansas, the University of Mississippi, and Vanderbilt University.
“Coach Collins, coach Turner, and coach Hughes also played a big role with me,” Green said. “I got to know what kind of people they are, too, and they helped me fall in love with Mississippi State. I got to visit them in person and saw it first hand that they were not just telling me things. I got to see it for myself and got to see what kind of coaches and people they are.”
Green’s commitment moves MSU’s 2014 recruiting class to 32nd in the country and 13th in the Southeastern Conference, according to 247Sports.com. Green is the second linebacker in MSU’s Class of 2014. He joins Georgia prospect Deshon Cooper.
Ole Miss has first two-a-day practice
OXFORD — The University of Mississippi football team held its first two-practice day of the preseason Wednesday.
The morning workout was a physical one, and Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze conceded he didn’t feel great about it, though there was good competition amongst the team.
“The offense won their share and the defense won their share,” Freeze said. “But it just didn’t seem like the zeal and the passion was there that we need. I understand that. It’s that point in camp, but great teams find a way to have great practices.”
The team took part in 11-on-11 drills multiple times throughout the morning. Freeze said the Rebels hope to duplicate that competitiveness as much as they can.
“I want to see how they compete,” Freeze said. “In the first competition, the defense had a little adversity for the first time. That’s reality. That’s what you’re going to have in games and how you handle that — staying composed — is important. We’re trying to create those environments as much as we can.”
When asked about the play of sophomore defensive back Trae Elston, Freeze gave the 2012 SEC All-Freshman high marks. Elston played in a 12 games as a freshman last season, recording 32 solo tackles and 61 total tackles.
“(He’s been) solid,” Freeze said. “Trae’s really athletic, really solid. We expect him to have a great year. He got his nose bloodied a little bit last year as a true freshman. He got a lot of experience and hopefully he has a great year.”
Ole Miss was scheduled to practice at 10 a.m. today. One workout per day will continue to be open to the public through Saturday. Daily updates of practice times and locations will be available on Twitter at @OleMissFB.
Cell phone and camera usage is prohibited at practice, and fans should stay behind the red line and not walk or stand between the fields. Visitors to campus on weekdays are reminded to make parking arrangements by going to www.olemiss.edu/parking.
Fans should mark their calendars for the annual Meet The Rebels Day presented by Community Trust Bank, Aug. 17 at the IPF. Go to OleMissSports.com for details of the day’s events.
Alabama holds first two-a-day Practice of camp
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama held its first two-a-day practice of training camp, a two-hour session in full pads, at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields. The team’s second practice was scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The morning workout was the sixth practice of camp for Alabama, the preseason No. 1 team and winner of three of the past four national championships.
Alabama will hold one workout today and its second two-a-day practice Friday. The first scrimmage is slated for Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
n In related news, freshman defensive lineman Dakota Bell didn’t practice with the team. Alabama coach Nick Saban said Bell wasn’t at practice due to a non-football related medical issue.
“Evaluation by our team physicians determined the need for an appendectomy, and he underwent successful surgery this afternoon,” Saban said. “We’ll continue to monitor his progress and we expect him to make a full recovery.”
For more information on Alabama Football, follow the Tide on Twitter @AlabamaFTBL and like the team on Facebook at AlabamaFTBL. The Tide’s Instagram account is Alabamafbl.
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