2025 top-ranked IOL Micah DeBose visiting Mississippi State

The top-ranked interior offensive lineman in the 2025 cycle will be in Starkville this weekend.

Mobile (Ala.) Vigor four-star IOL Micah DeBose decommitted from Georgia on Dec. 22. Since then, Auburn has appeared to be the frontrunner for the 6-foot-4, 290-pounder, but Jeff Lebby and a new-look Mississippi State are hoping to be the next SEC school to make a move on the trench monster.

DeBose’s offer list features the who’s who of college football, ranging from all of the heavy-hitters in the south, to Ohio State and Michigan, to Oregon and USC. The charge for DeBose’s pledge is already awfully crowded.

He is the No. 38 overall prospect and No. 1 IOL in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 2 player in Alabama.

Auburn at the top for DeBose, other programs pushing

“Auburn is my top school,” Debose told On3’s Chad Simmons earlier this month. “There is a new energy at Auburn. The fans are great. The coaches have created something new. When I visited before Coach Freeze was there, it was just a different feel. I didn’t have any real interest. Now I have met the whole staff, I have good relationships with people there and my interest has changed a lot.”

Among others, Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State and USC were all also mentioned as schools DeBose was high on at the beginning of 2024. It’s all about feeling like a priority for the blue-chipper.

“I like this group of schools too,” Debose said. “They have recruited me hard, they make me feel like a priority and I have interest in them. These schools have history, they all have strong programs and that has them up there for me.”

DeBose has an On3 NIL Valuation of $83K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Miss State, Lebby searching for centerpiece pledge in 2025 cycle

As Lebby looks to usher in a new era in Starkville, he’s also having to try and compete on the recruiting trail in the SEC — an always daunting task. The Bulldogs are set to finish with a top-30 recruiting class in the 2024 cycle — per the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

So far in the 2025 cycle, MSU has three commits, headlined by Macon (Miss.) Noxubee County four-star quarterback Kamario Taylor, the No. 23 signal-caller in the class. The addition of a high-caliber prospect such as DeBose would go a long way for Lebby and Co.