Everything head coach Jeff Lebby said in Wednesday's signing day press conference

Mississippi State had a successful signing day on Wednesday as the Bulldogs closed out the class on a high note. Overall, the Bulldogs finished Wednesday with 28 signees and the class is rated No. 32 nationally by Rivals.

On Wednesday afternoon, head coach Jeff Lebby met with the media to discuss the Class of 2026 among other topics:

Q: Last year you signed a lot of jucos but only three in this class. What was the goal for this year’s class?
Lebby: We still wanted some balance. For us, the high school piece of it was really important. I think we added some great depth to the class and I love what we’ve done at multiple positions. I talked about this earlier in the season. I felt like we had opportunities to finish the way we needed to. We were going to be incredibly impressive where we needed to add some big-time players and it has happened the way we wanted it to. Really excited about the class.

Q: What was it about Brodie McWhorter that made him your quarterback target in the class?
Lebby: For Brodie, I wanted him to be the guy that signed first because he’s been incredibly consistent. As we got him on campus and able to spent time with him after the brutal injury he had as a junior, we felt like this guy was going to be the guy who had the ability to lead our program at some point. Physically, he’s got all the tools. The kid loves football and it is incredibly important to him. He is incredibly competitive. He’s been through some stuff and it hasn’t been perfect. I love his toughness and how he responded and played this year. I loved that he was ready to lead from the front today and signed at 6:01 (a.m.).

Q: Signing Bralan Womack was a national story today. How did that process play out?
Lebby: Me and Bralan had an incredible relationship. There’s been great dialogue. I believe in that young man in a great, great way. He’s loved Mississippi State for a long time. He’s been over here a ton from the time he was a youngster coming over here for games, all the different camps he’s attended. I think it all came full circle for him. He’s got an incredible family. There’s great trust on both ends there. Just so excited that at the end of the day, it was important for him to be a Bulldog. A guy that loves Mississippi State and it was important for him to stay in the state and be a guy inside this signing class that we can lean on and depend on. So a huge piece of it. A ton of excitement around him with great reason and we were aggressive with him from Day 1. We wanted him to be a guy that could lead this class.

Q: How much excitement was there with the way KaMario Taylor finished the season with his first start?
Lebby: I think it’s pretty evident if you watch one play, there’s a lot to be excited about. He’s got a ton of work to do but he’s got all the tools and they are obviously there. He’s a guy that loves Mississippi State. This is home. He is fighting, scratching and clawing to build the best possible brand for himself and for us as a university and as a football program. There’s a lot to be excited about.

Q: Micah Nickerson was the only linebacker type you signed today. Will you fill the rest of that position out in the portal?
Lebby: A jack, defensive end position and (Nickerson) is a true rush guy and an elite one. The fight for that dude has been on for a long time. Love his ceiling and where he is going. But for us, we do feel strongly about this linebacker group that we have right now. We have a really good group and a lot of guys back and there are some pieces in that room that haven’t played a lot on defense but played on special teams for us this year and can be elite players. We will continue to evaluate that like we are evaluating every piece of it and be aggressive in all areas to make sure we are doing everything we can to create an advantage this fall.

Q: I know it may be hard to give an exact number. But how many additions are you expecting from the transfer portal?
Lebby: It’s going to be so fluid until we can’t get kids in the class any more. That’s just the nature of college football right now. What it is today won’t be what it is tomorrow. That’s just the reality of it. We want to find ways to make sure that we are as aggressive as we possibly can be. The retention, one, and then two, going to get the additions we need to be able to create an advantage next fall.

Q: What do you like about Bralan Womack?
Lebby: I love the skill set from this standpoint. He’s got this offensive skill set, but a defensive mentality. This is a guy that can play in the post, defensively. He can play in man coverage. When the ball is in the air, it’s his. You see all the plays he makes offensively, he’s got this incredible amount of ball skills and then he has body control. When the ball is in the air, being in position is one thing. Then when the ball is in the air, being in position and going and making the play is another thing. He has the ability to do that and we need that.

Q: What does signing Womack do in terms of recruiting momentum?
Lebby: I think it’s a huge thing, especially when it’s a guy inside our state. A guy that has great name recognition, and has been through it. When ’27s come on campus and they are around Bralan, they’re gonna know who he is. He’s going to be able to talk them through the entire process and knowing at the end of the day, relationships matter, understanding where we’re going is something he’s excited about. That will create a ton of momentum for guys to come.

Q: You signed Jaiden Taylor today. What’s it been like to work with the Taylor family with him and KaMario?
Lebby: JT is fun, a fun kid to be around. He’s got great energy, got great juice. He’s played his butt off all year long. So excited for him and his opportunity this weekend. For these two guys to be able to play together, this close to home, the family being so involved in their lives every single day is special and it’s fun. I think people will be talking about these two guys for a long time. So excited about JT.

Q: You offered a lot of guys early and some of those guys had great senior years. What does that say about the evaluation process?
Lebby: I think the early evaluation is a huge part of our success today. I believe that. Being on some of these guys early, that didn’t have a lot early that we trusted our eyes and we trusted the in-person evaluation. I think that is a huge factor on us having the day we’ve had. A ton of credit to the personnel department, our recruiting department. It takes a lot of people to go pull this off. Where we are, the people we battle, and understanding we’re fighting like heck to be the aggressor, not being reactionary in anything and still staying incredibly true to ourselves. Proud of the entire building for making it happen today.

Q: With all of the coaching changes in the SEC, how much did you see that impact this class?
Lebby: There’s still a couple of guys out there. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next 48 hours with a couple of guys because of exactly what you are talking about. As we continue to move through that, there’s a couple still out there. There were some things that created some real opportunities here in the last week to 10 days on some guys that probably weren’t going to be available. That’s been good for us.

Q: What are people missing on with the evaluation of Jaeden Hill and also your thoughts on Cooper Crosby?
Lebby: They are the two best backs inside our state. I believe that. They’re SEC backs. They’re SEC players. I don’t know what people were leery about on JJ. All he’s done is produce for a really good football team, for a place that coaches them hard, that’s got a great program. They know how to win. JJ is a winner and a guy that will do anything to help his team to win. Like playing quarterback the first five or six games because they needed him to. Another guy that I’m so proud of for being as strong as he’s been with us the entire time. There have been a lot of people that continued to stay in his ear, but he stayed strong.

Cooper is a guy who’s had this incredible senior year, a magical senior year. You put the tape on, he can do it all. We had him camp this summer, we loved him. I love who the kid is. He’s going to have this great impact on the field. Cooper will have a great impact inside our locker room. He’s about the right things. Fired up that we got to sign those two.

Q: Jaiden Taylor played well this year on offense and defense. What role do you see him playing at State?
Lebby: I think JT is going to be a safety for us. Talked a little bit about it with Bralan. The fact that he has the ball skills that he has. When the ball is in the air, he is going to become the aggressor. He’s going to find ways to go get his hands on the ball and make the plays. That is where I see him fitting.

Q: Last year you talked about adding more members to the staff. Do you anticipate doing that again this offseason?
Lebby: We’re in the middle of evaluating every bit of it. I was talking about being aggressive from a recruiting standpoint, it’s all areas inside the program as we continue to move this thing forward, and build it the way we want to go sustain. We’re evaluating every piece of it. Expect there to be some things to change as we get into the next 7 to 10 days.

Q: Do you anticipate tweeting out any Undertaker gifs tonight?
Lebby: No, I do not anticipate doing that. That was quite the day last year, I’ll say that. We’ve got a couple left out there. I’ll be real excited if we can pull them through.

Q: With this being your second recruiting class, how much more comfortable are you with the recruiting efforts?
Lebby: I think we’re so much farther ahead than we obviously were Day 1 when I got here in comparison to that as we stand here right now. We’ve got the right people in the right seats inside our building. There’s great depth in our personnel department, great depth in our recruiting department. We need everybody pulling this rope the same direction. We’ve got that right now. I’m excited about where we’re moving this thing and how we’ll be able to recruit and sustain here for a long time as we put these classes together.

Q: How much action do you expect to have in the February signing period?
Lebby: It’s undetermined. I wouldn’t expect a ton of action on that day. Everything from now is going to about being aggressive with retention, and then adding the pieces that we need in the portal. We’re definitely going to have our eyes open. There is a real chance for some of these guys to slip to that February date. If it makes sense, I think with the way the roster and schedule set up, there is a chance you have a couple of spots on that February date where you don’t have the spring portal to be able to go sign guys where that could come into play. But as it sits here today, I don’t expect it but it will be fluid.