The Mississippi State coaching staff wanted to get Louisville, Ga., four-star athlete <font color="#0A4EA3">Barry Bostic</font> on campus this past weekend so they could spend some one-on-one time with him.
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</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle"><font size="1">Barry Bostic is coming to Mississippi State for a three day visit.</font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table>But the 5-foot-10, 156-pound speedster had other intentions. He purposely turned down the invitation in order to get the full MSU experience at Super Bulldog Weekend.
"I'm excited," Bostic said. "This is my first trip to Starkville. I'm ready to see what the offense looks like. I want to be able to walk around campus and get a feel for Coach (Dan) <font color="#0A4EA3">Mullen</font>, I already know Coach (John) <font color="#0A4EA3">Hevesy</font> pretty good. I just want to see if I have that bond with him.
"I'm going to come up there on Friday and call Coach Mullen and Coach Hev and spend time together so they can show me around. I know that there is going to be a lot that is going on Saturday and I'm going to be there for Sunday too so we can all go to the baseball game together. I know that there is going to be a lot of activities going on at campus. I'm looking forward to it."
While many schools are recruiting Bostic as a corner, the Bulldogs want to bring him in as a slot receiver or slot back in order to get him out in space to make plays with his electrifying athleticism. Mullen's spread offense is one of the major reasons State is one of the top programs on his list.
"It's just the spread offense," Bostic said. "I love their offense and I would love to be a part of it. I love having the ball in my hands. They want me to play offense and I feel so confident with the ball in my hands. With the way they are talking, I am going to be the guy that can come in and help the team out. I'm just looking forward to getting to know everybody and to working to get Mississippi State to the top."
Bostic plays quarterback for Jefferson County where he has racked up 5,339 yards and 50 touchdowns over the past two seasons. He accumulated 1,333 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air last season while gaining 1,372 yards and 13 more scores on the ground averaging 5.9 yards per carry. He even caught a touchdown pass as a junior.
During his sophomore campaign, Bostic threw for 1,320 yards and 18 touchdowns while chewing up 1,284 yards and eight more scores on the ground.
The Bulldog coaching staff are hoping he can produce the same type of numbers as a slot receiver in their spread offense if he decides to come there.
"They have told me they are real excited about me and love the things that I can do," Bostic said. "Every time I talk to Coach Mullen he asks me can I put the ball in the end zone. Every time we just joke around and I tell him 'yeah, I'm ready if he needs me'. I will do whatever they need me to. I'll be the <font color="#0A4EA3">Percy Harvin</font> or <font color="#0A4EA3">Chris Rainey</font> for what they are trying to build at Mississippi State."
Bostic currently has eight offers from around the country. He has scholarship offers from MSU, Maryland, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Central Florida, and UConn. Most of those offers started coming in quickly after he got his second offer from the Bulldogs.
"I wasn't expecting all of these offers because things started off so slow," Bostic said. "I got one offer (from Georgia Tech) then Mississippi State came in with the second offer. After Mississippi State offered me on signing day, the coaches started looking at film and I started getting calls once a week then twice a week."
Bostic has a list of five leaders for his signature on signing day.
"I have a top five but in no particular order though; Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Maryland," Bostic said.
Bostic stated that he does not have a timetable on his decision but will pull the trigger whenever he is sure of where he wants to go to school.
"I'm just going to wait around and see what happens," Bostic said. "I want to feel 100-percent that this is where I want to go. When I get that feeling I am going to make my decision then. I am hoping it will one day this summer before the season starts because I want to focus on the season. If not, I am just going to wait it out."
Bostic has already attended junior days at Florida, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech this spring as well as the U.S. Army National Combine.
Bostic currently has a 2.9 GPA and is rated the No. 227 prospect in the country on the Rivals250.
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"I'm excited," Bostic said. "This is my first trip to Starkville. I'm ready to see what the offense looks like. I want to be able to walk around campus and get a feel for Coach (Dan) <font color="#0A4EA3">Mullen</font>, I already know Coach (John) <font color="#0A4EA3">Hevesy</font> pretty good. I just want to see if I have that bond with him.
"I'm going to come up there on Friday and call Coach Mullen and Coach Hev and spend time together so they can show me around. I know that there is going to be a lot that is going on Saturday and I'm going to be there for Sunday too so we can all go to the baseball game together. I know that there is going to be a lot of activities going on at campus. I'm looking forward to it."
While many schools are recruiting Bostic as a corner, the Bulldogs want to bring him in as a slot receiver or slot back in order to get him out in space to make plays with his electrifying athleticism. Mullen's spread offense is one of the major reasons State is one of the top programs on his list.
"It's just the spread offense," Bostic said. "I love their offense and I would love to be a part of it. I love having the ball in my hands. They want me to play offense and I feel so confident with the ball in my hands. With the way they are talking, I am going to be the guy that can come in and help the team out. I'm just looking forward to getting to know everybody and to working to get Mississippi State to the top."
Bostic plays quarterback for Jefferson County where he has racked up 5,339 yards and 50 touchdowns over the past two seasons. He accumulated 1,333 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air last season while gaining 1,372 yards and 13 more scores on the ground averaging 5.9 yards per carry. He even caught a touchdown pass as a junior.
During his sophomore campaign, Bostic threw for 1,320 yards and 18 touchdowns while chewing up 1,284 yards and eight more scores on the ground.
The Bulldog coaching staff are hoping he can produce the same type of numbers as a slot receiver in their spread offense if he decides to come there.
"They have told me they are real excited about me and love the things that I can do," Bostic said. "Every time I talk to Coach Mullen he asks me can I put the ball in the end zone. Every time we just joke around and I tell him 'yeah, I'm ready if he needs me'. I will do whatever they need me to. I'll be the <font color="#0A4EA3">Percy Harvin</font> or <font color="#0A4EA3">Chris Rainey</font> for what they are trying to build at Mississippi State."
Bostic currently has eight offers from around the country. He has scholarship offers from MSU, Maryland, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Central Florida, and UConn. Most of those offers started coming in quickly after he got his second offer from the Bulldogs.
"I wasn't expecting all of these offers because things started off so slow," Bostic said. "I got one offer (from Georgia Tech) then Mississippi State came in with the second offer. After Mississippi State offered me on signing day, the coaches started looking at film and I started getting calls once a week then twice a week."
Bostic has a list of five leaders for his signature on signing day.
"I have a top five but in no particular order though; Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Maryland," Bostic said.
Bostic stated that he does not have a timetable on his decision but will pull the trigger whenever he is sure of where he wants to go to school.
"I'm just going to wait around and see what happens," Bostic said. "I want to feel 100-percent that this is where I want to go. When I get that feeling I am going to make my decision then. I am hoping it will one day this summer before the season starts because I want to focus on the season. If not, I am just going to wait it out."
Bostic has already attended junior days at Florida, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech this spring as well as the U.S. Army National Combine.
Bostic currently has a 2.9 GPA and is rated the No. 227 prospect in the country on the Rivals250.
