Baylor football lands Keaton Thomas for 2024 recruiting class over Mississippi State

STARKVILLE — Keaton Thomas signed with Baylor over Mississippi State football on Wednesday. The Northeast Mississippi Community College linebacker is a three-star prospect, according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings, out of Jacksonville, Florida.

Thomas committed to Baylor on Dec. 10 after an official visit. However, Mississippi State, behind first-year coach Jeff Lebby and his staff, made a late push.

Thomas took an official visit to MSU on Dec. 15.

Other offers for the junior college prospect included California, Arkansas State, Connecticut, Jackson State, South Alabama and Memphis, among others. As a prospect out of Trinity Christian Academy in the 2022 recruiting class, Thomas was an unranked player.

Lebby is in his first season at Mississippi State after two years as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator. He replaces Zach Arnett who was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach last year after the death of Mike Leach.

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Memphis was among the first schools to offer Thomas in late October. Matt Barnes, who was named Lebby's co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach on Dec. 8, previously served as the Tigers' defensive coordinator.

MSU is replacing plenty at linebacker with Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson exhausting eligibility. They were the top two tacklers in the SEC across the last two seasons.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: LB Keaton Thomas signs with Baylor football over Mississippi State