A chaotic whirlwind of events underscored day one of the early national signing day period in Mississippi.
On Wednesday, four-star prospect Tyler Lockhart, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound linebacker flipped his commitment from Mississippi State last minute and announced that he would be attending Ole Miss during his official signing ceremony. A coveted recruit, Lockhart ranks as Mississippi’s No. 5 player and the No. 16 linebacker nationally.
Lockhart, surrounded by family donning Bulldog gear, threw a “fins up” and declared his intentions to sign with Lane Kiffin’s Rebels, much to the chagrin of maroon and white faithful.
Priceless. https://t.co/w4TcHXkhTU pic.twitter.com/W56hqjkaIL
— Jared Redding (@JaredERedding) December 4, 2024
Ole Miss, of course, celebrated the recruiting win over its Egg Bowl rival, given Lockhart’s deep ties to Mississippi State and his months-long verbal commitment to suit up for Jeff Lebby’s Bulldogs. Lockhart’s brother, TJ Lockhart, and former Winona teammate, Fred Clark, are both rostered at Mississippi State.
The Rebels’ official football social media accounts relished the moment with posts about the flip, and Ole Miss fans wasted no time to rub the proverbial win in the faces of Bulldog faithful.
But things took a turn on Wednesday evening. While reports of a paperwork issue on Ole Miss’ end regarding Lockhart were mostly shrugged off as a minor inconvenience that would inevitably be resolved in Oxford, a cryptic post on X by Lebby seemingly indicated that the recruiting battle was not quite over.
@HailStateFB pic.twitter.com/Hf0S9ocOXS
— Jeff Lebby (@Coach_Leb) December 5, 2024
Lebby’s post was followed up by an announcement from Mississippi State’s official football account that Lockhart had signed to play for Mississippi State next season, causing chaos and confusion to ensue.
“The best in state come to STATE,” the official Mississippi State football account posted, taking a jab at the, “The best in the Sip come to the Sip stay in the Sip,” motto Ole Miss had espoused earlier in the day.
The best in state come to STATE!
4-star linebacker @_TylerL_12 is a DAWG!#HailState pic.twitter.com/ThbtHmopJn
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) December 5, 2024
Scuttlebutt began to arise on social media and messageboards as fans on both sides attempted to make sense of a rather intriguing series of events. With Lockhart being 17, he requires parental/guardian consent to submit the documents necessary to signify an official commitment to attending a specific university.
Whether or not the last-minute decision by Lockhart to attend Mississippi State after publicly committing to Ole Miss was determined by the young athlete’s own volition has not been confirmed at this time. But for now, Mississippi State is taking a victory lap.
