2025 juco linebacker prospect LaKendrick James had his sights set on playing for Mississippi State during his prep days at Northside High School. On early Sunday morning the Copiah-Lincoln Community College standout turned that dream into a reality and announced his commitment to Mississippi State.
The 6-foot-3 and 245-pound James was among several official visitors on campus this weekend, State’s first weekend to host official visitors this summer. While it comes as no surprise, James was naturally excited to add his name to the commitment list.
“I always knew where home was,” James explained. “So it was just a matter of when I was going to announce it. I’ve always wanted to play at Mississippi State so it feels great to get that opportunity now.”
Like the majority of State’s 2025 targets, James had to start the relationship-building process with Lebby and his new staff. It didn’t take long for James to have a connection with defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Coleman Hutzler and another helpful factor was already knowing familiar faces on State’s recruiting staff.
“It’s been good conversations with Coach Hutzler,” noted James. “He said he is ready for me to get down there and I told him I am ready to come. He’s been showing me what kind of moves to work on and I’ve been doing that. I’ve always talked with Coach Rod Gibson, too, and I’ve been knowing him since my high school years. It’s great that he’s still there and we have a close relationship.”
At the next level, James is expected to maintain his linebacker duties on the edge of the defense. It’s also a scheme he sees similar things with due to his experience at Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
“I like Coach Hutzler’s defense, too,” added James, who is expected to be a December graduate. “It is similar to what we do at CoLin. I would have the same role at jack linebacker. I could do the same things in their defense and just come off the edge and make plays.”
Last fall James didn’t have any trouble making his presence felt in his debut season in the juco ranks. But he’s already focused on improving his weaknesses before his sophomore season arrives.
“Overall I thought it was a good season,” the 6-foot-3 James recalled. “I ended the season with 30 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. I was just coming off the edge well and I made some good plays. They played me at outside linebacker but it was more like a standup end.
“So this offseason I am working on getting stronger. It was new for me to play down on the line and had to face a lot of big guys. So I had to use my quickness but now I am 245 pounds now after being 215 in high school.”
With his decision, James becomes the eighth commitment for head coach Jeff Lebby and the Bulldogs’ Class of 2025. He is also the third linebacker commit in the class, joining On3 composite four-star Tyshun Willis of Velma Jackson High School and On3 three-star AJ Rice of Madison (Ala.) Academy.
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