Braylon Burnside gave the nod to Mississippi State during the Under Armour All-America Game, giving Bulldogs head coach Jeff Lebby a versatile athlete in the 2024 recruiting class.
Burnside is a four-star wide receiver from Starkville, Mississippi. He picked his hometown on Wednesday over Ole Miss. In 15 games this past fall, he had 75 catches for 1,158 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.
ESPN ranks him as the tenth-best athlete in the nation and the No. 166 recruit overall.
He made his announcement during ESPN’s broadcast of the game, which was held at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. He was the lone player in this week’s game making his decision during the broadcast.
ESPN analyst and recruiting insider Tom Luginbille talked with USA TODAY High School Sports before the game about Burnside and his potential at the next level.
“Positional versatility – I think that is one thing I will say about so many of the skill players in this year’s game and we haven’t always had this every year but in this year’s game a particular,” Luginbill said.
“Almost all of our skill guys played on both sides of the ball and were the punt returners or kick returner on their high school team. And I think that’s where Burnside brings a ton of value is where you’re going to play him…I don’t know. He’s such a good athlete, that whoever takes him, (just) get him on campus and figure out where he fits best. I mean, that’s what gives you such value from a coaching staff is you have places you could put him and just figure out where he falls and where he fits.”
As for Mississippi State, Lebby, hired this offseason, is getting a player who has bought into the direction of the program. Earlier this week, Burnside was asked by USA TODAY High School Sports about why the Bulldogs made the cut.
“There’s been a whole lot of good changes with coach Lebby being the head coach, I feel like it’s a good look for them,” Burnside said.
