State coaches continuing to build bonds with Holmes County WR Gavin Howard

Saturday was a chance for Mississippi State football to host over 50 visitors on campus as Jeff Lebby had some of his top prospects for the next three classes in Starkville.

Many of those prospects are from the state of Mississippi and that included Holmes County High School’s Gavin Howard. 5’10 athlete has had an offer from the Bulldogs for several months but was able to get back on campus to see more of the school over the weekend.

“We visited the facilities, and I liked everything that I saw. They have a nice weightroom and recovery room,” Howard said. “The training staff and strength and conditioning coach are real nice and that’s a plus for me because we would be spending a lot of time with those guys. We also got a chance to see the basketball game and it was an awesome atmosphere, but it was just a tough day for them.”

State coaches have stayed consistent with Howard

Since Lebby arrived on campus, State has maintained a good relationship with Howard. Listed as an Athlete, Howard is being recruited as a wide receiver by the Bulldogs. He has built a strong bond with WR Analyst Benton Duby as well as WR coach Chad Bumphis. Those bonds grew stronger when he was able to make it to State and spend the day with Lebby and his staff.

“I love the coaching staff. I’ve been building a relationship with them since coach Lebby first got there and I really like coach Bumphis and his assistant coach Duby a lot. We’ve been knowing each other a while, but we bonded a little more on Saturday,” Howard said.

“I’ve also got a good relationship with coach Lebby and I like what he brings to the table on offense. He said that he could use me everywhere on the field and get the ball in my hands, so I like that.”

Howard is another player in a long line that have been able to go play SEC football after starring for the Jaguars. State had three players alone from the school on last year’s roster and have created a pipeline at the school over the years.

On top of the influence from those players, Howard has also heard from one of his high school coaches about the school. He’s gotten plenty of feedback about what the Bulldogs have to offer for his future.

“Those guys made a really good decision going to State,” Howard said of the former Holmes County players. They developed them into great players and great people so that’s been nice to see over the years. My offensive coordinator coach (Malik) Dear also went there and played for Dan Mullen and he said he really enjoyed his time there.”

Dear will have plenty to work with in Howard this year as the senior will bring with him three other years of extensive experience. He has 102 career catches for 1,890 yards and 18 touchdowns with another 1,600-plus yards on special teams.

Howard had a big season last year as he hauled in 70 catches for 841 yards and seven touchdowns and his Holmes County team finished 8-4 and on the verge of a North State championship trip after a tough 31-28 loss to eventual champions West Points. This year’s team have gone back to work.

“I feel like we’re going to have a disciplined and hard-working team this year,” Howard said. “We’re working right now in the weightroom and have a few things to work on and some holes to fill, but we’re ready to get rolling.”

As far as recruiting, the three star has offers from State, Auburn and Georgia Tech and hopes to have more trips lined up this year. State is a team that is already making a major impression to him, but the Bulldogs aren’t eh only team picking up the pace.

“I just picked up an offer from UNLV and Oregon State,” Howard said. “Mississippi State is hitting me up the most and Auburn hits me up a lot as well since offering me. It’s starting to pick up a good bit.

Howard plans to officially visit Starkville on June 20 and also plans to take other official visits, though none are scheduled yet. He also hopes to go to Oregon State for an unofficial visit at some point this spring or summer.