STARKVILLE — Preston Smith is a Washington Redskin.
Benardrick McKinney is a member of the Houston Texans.
Josh Robinson is settling in with the Indianapolis Colts.Malcolm Johnson recently signed a contract with the Cleveland Browns.
The coach who found them, Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, is looking forward to the next crop of undiscovered gems that can become standouts in Starkville.
Mullen, fresh off seeing five players get drafted, including the aforementioned four players who were three-star recruits or less, appeared Tuesday on the Southeastern Conference’s post-spring teleconference ready to discuss the recent NFL draftees and his propensity for developing lightly recruited players into future professionals.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re a four-star, five-star or in our program as a two or three-star,” Mullen said. “Those guys are still going to get the opportunities to go on to the NFL. That’s such a huge deal for us for young people around Mississippi to get to see that.”
Smith, a two-star defensive end prospect from Stone Mountain, Georgia, transformed himself into the No. 38 pick of the draft, while McKinney was a two-star project of a linebacker with no Division I offers when Mullen signed him out of Rosa Fort High School in Tunica. Four years later, the Houston Texans made McKinney a second-round pick.
Transforming lightly regarded prospects into big-time contributors has become a pattern for Mullen, who helped MSU climb to No. 1 in the national polls for the first time in school history. MSU reached the top of college football for five weeks on the strength of a 2011 recruiting class that ranked as low as No. 45 in the country.
Robinson, a three-star tailback from Franklinton, Louisiana, and Johnson, a two-star wide receiver from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who Mullen moved to tight end, also were part of that mix. Johnson became a four-year starter at MSU.
Linebacker Matt Wells also was drafted in the sixth round by the New England Patriots. In addition to the five players drafted, MSU saw seven more sign free agent contracts, including safeties Justin Cox (Kansas City Chiefs), Jay Hughes (St. Louis Rams), offensive lineman Dillon Day (Denver Broncos), offensive lineman Ben Beckwith (San Diego Chargers), offensive lineman Blaine Clausell (Baltimore Ravens), defensive tackle Kaleb Eulls (New Orleans Saints), and defensive lineman P.J. Jones (Miami Dolphins).
Asked Tuesday how he continues to discover players like Smith and McKinney, Mullen credited his coaches and the process they use.
“At summer camps, we do a great job recruiting and talking to their high school coach,” Mullen said. “We really dive in and look not just their athletic ability but also what type of mind-set they have and their character. I think a lot of people get caught up in just recruiting stars or all of the hype. We really dive into young men’s backgrounds and want to recruit guys with really high character that are going to have a great work ethic and come represent the program really well.
“When you get those guys that has a lot of potential with a lot of character and a great work ethic, there’s a great chance he’s going to reach his potential.”
Mullen used a roster stocked with overlooked players, a list that includes rising senior quarterback Dak Prescott, to lead MSU to a 10-2 regular season, the first such campaign in school history. Mullen said the benefits of MSU’s recruiting success have become evident on the recruiting trail.
“It helps an awful lot when you are going out there recruiting and young guys around the state of Mississippi are looking at schools and can say, ‘I can go to Mississippi State and not only will have the opportunity to get my degree, play for a team that has been No. 1 in the country, play for championships and the ability to get developed to where I can go to the NFL,’ ” Mullen said.
Senior moment
MSU lost three starters — Day (center), Beckwith (guard), and Clausell (tackle) — on its offensive line from last season, but rising senior right tackle Justin Senior likely will be looked upon to anchor an inexperienced group.
“He’s a kid that’s a lot like a lot of other kids in our program that wasn’t really recruited a whole lot out of high school,” Mullen said. “He really wasn’t recruited at all out of high school, so he went to prep school. I don’t really think he was highly recruited out of prep school. But we saw a guy we thought had great potential and were really excited to get in our family. He’s really developed. He changed his body. He got big and lost some weight to lean up and gotten his size to where he’s a very athletic tackle.”
The 6-foot-5, 295-pounder from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, attended Hargrave Military in Chatham, Virginia, before choosing MSU. He started all 13 games last season.
Entering his final year, Senior’s role is expected to include more leadership responsibilities.
“He’s not really outspoken,” Mullen said. “He’s more of a take-care-of-his-own-business guy. I think he’s a more lead-by-example type of person out there on the edge.”
Ready to work
While his players are away from campus for their brief summer break, Mullen can’t wait to welcome his team back to Starkville.
“This is the sad time of the year when they’re all at home getting a little break,” Mullen said. “I can’t wait to get them back on campus this summer and working out and getting us ready to go moving forward towards the season.”
MSU players will report back to campus in early June.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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