Mississippi State flips Rivals top-100 prospect Micah Nickerson from Missouri

A little more than two months after originally flipping his commitment from Mississippi State to Missouri, four-star EDGE Micah Nickerson is back in the fold with the Bulldogs.

The Magnolia (Miss.) South Pike standout moved his pledge back to the home-state school on Wednesday during National Signing Day, following weeks of speculation about where he would end up. The 6-foot-5, 215-pounder had been pledged to the Bulldogs from June to September, but made a surprising flip midway through his senior season.

Missouri was a program he has familiarity with after spending his first year of high school at nearby Hickman (Mo.). Over the final few weeks of the season though, Mississippi State turned up the heat in his recruitment and pushed to get him back on campus.

They were able to do for the final weekend of the regular season and ultimately got one of their top targets back.

Nickerson has been a major rankings riser this fall

Across three seasons at the varsity level, Nickerson totaled 130 tackles, 48 tackles for loss and 24 sacks for South Pike. He also starred on offense as a senior, hauling in 11 passes for 257 yards and five touchdowns.

The Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services, tabs Nickerson is the No. 444 overall prospect and No. 45 edge rusher in the 2026 class.

Rivals, however, is much higher on him than the other two services. In the most recent Rivals300 rankings update, he checked in as the country’s No. 93 overall recruit and No. 13 EDGE. He skyrocketed up the rankings this fall due to his on-field play, but also the untapped physical gifts that the Bulldogs will hope to unlock.

“Nickerson is someone who we have always had on the radar due to his production and raw athletic ability,” Rivals National Scout Cody Bellaire said. “So far as a senior, he continues to be productive getting after the quarterback and is still flying off the snap. But he looks like he’s added some mass throughout his frame and still has the sensational burst that scares the bejeezus out of offensive tackles. He still has some rawness in his hand usage and pass rush, but his physical and athletic gifts continue to jump off the screen.”