'08 FB Class Review: DB

Corey Broomfield
Ht: 5'10 Wt: 157
Scout	** #165 CB
Rivals	**
ESPN	75 #58 CB

Broomfield's other offers were from Georgia Southern, Iowa State, and Cincinnati. He had 70 tackles and 2 interceptions his junior year. As a senior he had 5 interceptions, returned for 160 yards and 2 TDs.

First of all, Broomfield will have to put on some weight, at least a good 15 pounds. From the ESPN evaluation:

Very quick and fluid athlete. . . Ball skills are good. At his best planting and driving on underneath routes; closes the cushion and jumps routes exceptionally well. . .Speed and overall range as a run supporter are good. . . is a strong, sound open-field tackler. . . main concern when projecting for the next level is his man-to-man skills when matched up on top receivers and his overall recovery speed; he appears quicker than fast. . .

I don't think he'll factor in too much outside of special teams this year. We'll see what he does down the road.

Arceto Clark
Ht: 5'10 Wt: 165
Scout	*** #31 CB, #10 in Mississippi
Rivals	**
ESPN	77 #37 CB

Clark had an offer from Ole Miss and Clemson. 30 tackles and 3 interceptions as a junior.

Clark, in all likelihood, will end up at CB, but it's possible he could play WR. As a junior he had 56 catches for 1,090 yards and 10 touchdowns. The ESPN evaluation reads very similar to Broomfield's: more quick than fast, plays the ball well when its in the air, best at jumping underneath routes, etc.

I could see Clark playing this year, especially if there is an injury or two.

Louis Watson
Ht: 5'10 Wt: 168
Scout	** #132 CB
Rivals	**
ESPN	73 #72 CB

I can actually give you a video for a change. I strongly suggest you turn off the sound.




Watson had offers from Marshall, UAB, Houston, Purdue, Louisville, and Colorado. 43 tackles, 6 interceptions, and a kick returned for a touchdown as a junior. 65 tackles and 6 interceptions as a senior.

Like Broomfield and Clark, Watson is more of a Cover-2 cornerback than a man-to-man guy. He can obviously make the big play and will probably be given a shot at the kick/punt return duties, if not this year then next. Like Clark, I can see Watson contributing this year, and not just on special teams.

Charles Mitchell
Ht: 5' 11 Wt: 190
Scout	**** #298 overall, #22 S, #7 in Mississippi
Rivals	**** #162 overall, #10 S, #5 in Mississippi
ESPN	81 #93 overall, #10 Athlete

Mitchell held offers from Southern Miss, Memphis, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Michigan, and Alabama. Mitchell played corner in high school (as well as runningback) where he had 108 tackles and 3 interceptions his junior year. As a senior he had 78 tackles, 4 sacks, and 2 interceptions.

As you can easily tell, Mitchell is probably the best player in this class. He'll be a safety at Mississippi State, but he still has all the skills you'd expect to find in a corner. From the ESPN evaluation:

This guy is a helluva football player and is capable of playing any skill position on the field at the next level. Mitchell is a handful at running back, wide receiver and cornerback. He plays the game in every area with a linebacker mentality. . . Defensively, Mitchell plays corner with a safety mentality. He has very good size, is fluid, shows a smooth pedal and the plant skills to close quickly. He has exceptional ball skills-- a natural playmaker on the ball. . . Top end speed and athleticism is evident and his best days of football are definitely ahead of him. Outstanding prospect that will continue to garner much deserved attention throughout his senior year.

Mitchell looks to be Pegues' successor, and if he lives up to his abilities he will be just as good. With three safeties graduating this year, Mitchell will need to be ready to play as a sophomore. He'll see playing time this year to get him ready.

Overall Grade: B+/A-
I took the easy way out and straddled the fence. MSU got the replacement for Pegues they needed in Charles Mitchell. They could have used another safety in this class unless they plan on moving Wade Bonner back there at some point. In which case I don't know why they moved him to RB in the first place, but that is another story. The three corners aren't eye popping, but they all had decent offers and will have time to develop and slowly get experience.






Since I need to wrap this up, I'm throwing the final member of the 2008 class, a punter, in here:

Baker Swedenburg
Ht: 5'11 Wt: 175
Scout	**
Rivals	** #24 K
ESPN	78 #9 K

Swedenburg will grayshirt and join the team in January.