Insider notes on Ole Miss and Mississippi State: Draft grades for top prospects ft. Harrison Wallace III, Seydou Traore, and more

The Rebels are a talented team that never meets expectations. They suffered several disappointing losses last year that knocked them out of contention for the SEC title and college football playoffs. Conversely interstate rival Mississippi State has been rebounding for several years and has a sparsely talented roster.

Mississippi

Mississippi saw much of its roster stripped away due to graduation and early departure into the NFL. Five Rebels ended up as top-100 picks, including a pair in the first round. They aren’t going to be so lucky next year.

Penn State transfer Harrison Wallace III is one of my favorite under-the-radar receiver prospects moving towards the 2025 season. Considering how many people, including myself, expect the Nittany Lions to challenge for the national title this season, I’m shocked they let him get away. Wallace has a nice build and terrific quickness, and he plays fast. He’s also an exceptional pass catcher with potential as a No. 3 receiver on Sundays.

Scouts love another receiver who transferred to the Rebels, former Oklahoma State wideout De'Zhaun Stribling. Some grade Stribling as a potential second-rounder, yet I am not that high on him. Stribling is a nice-sized pass catcher with soft hands who consistently wins out for the contested throw and makes the difficult grab. What he lacks is quickness and speed, which makes it difficult for him to separate from defenders. I don’t see him as much more than a contested-grab wideout at this point.

Entering the 2024 season, I was very high on running back Logan Diggs, whose season ended with injury after just one carry. Diggs is an explosive back who pounds it on the inside and can catch the ball out of the backfield. He has Day 2 potential if he gets back to prior form.

Left tackle Diego Pounds is someone I’ve watched since he was a sophomore at North Carolina, when he was protecting the blind side of Drake Maye. He’s a massive lineman who blocks with terrific fundamentals and strength. He’s not overly athletic or nimble and looks more like a right tackle prospect.

Tight end Dae'Quan Wright has the speed and athleticism to be a playmaker at the position, yet he must really elevate his game and produce on a weekly basis. He comes with terrific upside.

Mississippi Prospects
Grade	Rnd	Pos	Full Name	Yr	#
3.64	3rd	WR	Harrison Wallace III	5Sr	2
3.54	4th	RB	Logan Diggs	5Sr	22
3.51	4th	WR	De'Zhaun Stribling	5Sr	1
3.48	5th	DT	Zxavian Harris	4Sr	51
3.39	6th	T	Diego Pounds	4Sr	61
3.38	6th	TE	Dae'Quan Wright	4Sr	8
3.11	FA	ILB	Andrew Jones	4Sr	12
3.02	FA	S	Sage Ryan	5Sr	3
3.02	FA	T	Jayden Williams	5Sr	50
3.02	FA	G	Patrick Kutas	4Sr	75
2.95	FA	S	Key Lawrence	5Sr	12

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Mississippi State

Mississippi State has fallen on tough times since the untimely passing of Mike Leach. They haven’t had a winning season in two years and did not have a single player drafted last April. The roster looks slightly better for the upcoming season, though they’ll be hard pressed to win more than six games or have a player selected in anything but the late rounds.

Seydou Traore is an athletic move tight end prospect who shows the ability to beat defenders downfield then make the catch in stride. He’s mobile as well as fluid and gives effort blocking. His production has been marginal, and while Traore has an upside, he must start to produce on the football field.

A lot of scouts like Blake Shapen, the former Baylor quarterback who transferred to Mississippi State before last season then lasted just four games and 108 passes before being lost to injury. Shapen is a lot of what we see coming out of college at the quarterback position these days; he’s an undersized signal caller with an average arm, but he’s a smart game manager who efficiently leads his offense. I don’t see a lot of upside in Shapen’s game.

Mississippi State Prospects
Grade	Rnd	Pos	Full Name	Yr	#
3.38	6th	TE	Seydou Traore	5Sr	8
3.35	6th	WR	Jordan Mosley	5Sr	4
3.31	6th	QB	Blake Shapen	6Sr	2
3.24	FA	RB	Davon Booth	5Sr	6
3.22	FA	DE	Will Whitson	6Sr	43
3.15	FA	T	Albert Reese IV	5Sr	76
2.95	FA	DE	Malick Sylla	4Sr	8