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Mississippi State

100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 16 Days - No. 16, LB Derion Gullette

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk08/14/25RobbieFaulkOn3
derion gullette
Photo by Mississippi State Athletics

Year two of the Jeff Lebby era has arrived and the Mississippi State coach is back to work.

After a disappointing first season, the coach and his staff are doing what they can to get things back on track in Starkville. The players on the field will be the difference for State this season if they are to make a return and we’re going to discuss every single one of them over the course of the next few months.

As we do every year, we’re counting down 100 days until State’s first game at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on August 30. Over this period of time, we’ll breakdown every scholarship player on the roster, look back at great moments in MSU history and even talk about legends that have come before the current Bulldogs.

Today, we look at an SEC transfer looking to breathe new life into his career at State.   

16 Days: No. 16, So. Linebacker Derion Gullette

Sometimes a fresh start is all a player needs to unlock all of his potential and Gullette is hoping to find that with the Bulldogs in 2025.

After spending the last two seasons at Texas, Gullette decided to transfer to State after getting pressure from both Ole Miss and North Carolina during the offseason. Gullette comes to Starkville as a former four-star prospect and he was one of the top linebackers in the country coming out of Teague High School in Texas.

In the 2023 class, the defensive stalwart was as high as No. 82 overall by On3 and the network had him as the No. 7 LB in the country while landing at No. 17 across the entire talent-rich state of Texas. Gullette stands 6’3, 240 pounds and had an incredible career at Teague prior to losing his senior season with an injury.

As a super athlete, Gullette played quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker and even punted the football for Teague in his three seasons as a starter. As a sophomore, he played QB for his high school team. He moved to wide receiver and linebacker as a junior and had racked up 125 tackles with 5.0 tackles for loss, four pass deflections, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions and two forced fumbles. As a receiver, Gullette caught an eye-popping 64 passes for 1,458 yards and 14 touchdowns as the team’s go-to receiver and he also averaged 44.8 yards per punt on special teams.

The incredible athleticism brought colleges from around the country to Gullette’s high school. State was one of the teams that offered, but Mike Leach’s staff had to contend with the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU, Oregon, Miami, USC, Notre Dame, Florida, Auburn, Florida State and a whole host of others. In the end, he wanted to stay home and play for the Longhorns.

Coming back from injury wasn’t as easy as Gullette expected, however, as he spent the first season watching from the sidelines as a redshirt. Last season, Gullette got to play mostly on special teams and he made two tackles in five games before hitting the transfer portal.

This year will be a chance for Gullette to get on the field a little more and push for reps at the linebacker position. There is a lot of competition at those three spots this season and the depth has grown tremendously in the front seven. We’ll see exactly where he falls when the season begins on August 30.  

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