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Juco offensive lineman Kison Shepard joins Mississippi State's Class of 2026

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones5 hours agoPaulJonesOn3
Syndication: The Commercial Appeal
Germantown’s Kison Shepard poses for a portrait at Collierville High School in Collierville, Tenn., on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

After Sunday’s announcement, juco offensive lineman prospect Kison Shepard has literally come full circle in his gridiron career. The former 2024 Mississippi State commitment publicly committed to the Bulldogs’ Class of 2026 on Sunday and became the 24th commitment in the class.

The Tennessee native spent the past two seasons on the juco scene, playing last year at Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College before spending this past season at East Mississippi Community College.

Shepard earned all-state honors for the Lions this season as well as earning preseason All-American honors. He becomes the third juco commitment for the Bulldogs in this recruiting cycle, joining receiver Matthew Mayfield and defensive back Dre Riley.

“I’ve always like Mississippi State,” mentioned Shepard. “Every time I am there I feel comfortable with their program and their atmosphere. I’ve gotten to know the new staff a good bit lately and I like what they’re doing there.”

Shepard has been fielding several new Division 1 offers over the past month or so based off his sophomore season at East Mississippi. He has already taken a pair of official visits and plans to be in Starkville next weekend for his Bulldog official visit.

“It’s been a lot of offers lately,” Shepard remarked. “I got Mississippi State, San Diego State, Temple and Southern Miss and several others.So far I’ve officially visited Temple and San Diego State, and then I am setting up an official visit to Mississippi State.”

Shepard just collected his Mississippi State offer earlier this week and received that offer following a conversation with offensive line coach Phil Loadholt.

“It was good to get that offer and i was hoping for it,” Shepard recalled. “Mississippi State has been talking to me for awhile now and they have stayed in contact. I’ve been there for a couple of games this year with the Texas game and the Arizona State game. It was good to be back in that atmosphere.”

As he mentioned, Shepard taken in a couple of game-day visits to Davis Wade Stadium this year. He also got his first experience working with Loadholt his past summer at one of Mississippi State’s camp sessions.

“Coach Loldholt likes the season I just had,” noted Shepard. “He’s been watching me all year and earlier this summer, I went to a camp there. So I worked with them and he was telling me that he’s been in my shoes before since he was a juco guy. So he knows the grind in juco and what I’ve been going through.”

As noted, Shepard moved closer to home this past fall and finished up his juco tenure in Scooba. He reflected on that move and said it was beneficial in more ways than one.

“It was great going to East Mississippi,” explained the 6-foot-6 and 330-pound Shepard. “It helped my recruitment a lot and it was good being back in Mississippi. I was just at left tackle and a little at tight end in some formations. I feel like my game has improved a lot. I have gotten stronger and move faster. My pass pro is my strongest part right now, too.”

With his decision, Shepard becomes the sixth offensive linemen commitment in the class. He joins high school products Dalton Toothman, Jayden Ross, Dylan Steen, Camron Thompson and Leon Noil, who flipped from Nebraska earlier this week.

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