2020 NFL Draft: Willie Gay Jr. scouting report

Background

If it wasn’t for the issues listed previously, Gay’s time at Mississippi State would have been a positive story in college football. Gay is a hometown kid, having grown up in Starkville, Mississippi, even attending Starkville High School, which is in the same town as Mississippi State.

Starkville is a blue-collar town, a small, tight-knit community that centers around the college. Having played in high school with such players as A.J. Brown and Kobe Jones, Starkville high school regularly produces high-end football talent.

Mississippi State, however, is not always the beneficiary of such high-end talent. With several SEC powerhouses like LSU and Alabama recruiting in the area, along with upscale rival Ole Miss just 93 miles north, many Starkville football players leave the area once they have graduated.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State recruitment can get rather antagonistic and has led to several controversies over the years. The most notable story being the NCAA investigation into Ole Miss boosters allegedly paying players during the coach Hugh Freeze era.

Gay choosing to stay and play in the town he grew up in was a big deal. Preferring to stay close to home, he had plenty of options, as colleges like LSU and Michigan recruited Gay heavily before he committed to the Bulldogs.

According to 247 Sports, Gay was a four-star recruit coming out of high school. He ended up being the second-best recruiting prospect out of Mississippi in 2017. His high school statistics and film reveal a well-rounded athlete, who could out-muscle his opponents on both sides of the field.

According to MaxPreps, Gay played four seasons on Starkville’s varsity team. He played a wide variety of roles on the team, playing as an outside linebacker, running back, receiver and even as a quarterback during one game.

As a running back, Gay finished his high school career with 582 rushing yards and nine touchdowns.

But where he really shined was on defense. In his four seasons at Starkville, he earned 150 solo tackles, 30 tackles for a loss, seven sacks and seven interceptions. According to the Mississippi State team website, Gay scored nine touchdowns in the final two weeks of his senior year.

He played 43 total games in high school and helped lead the team to a state title during his junior season. He was the first player at Starkville to rush for over 300 yards in a single game since 1994.

There was tremendous optimism for Gay going to Mississippi State. Here was this hometown kid, a phenomenal athlete, recruited by legendary coach Dan Mullen, playing in a 3-4 system that best used his skills as an outside linebacker. The future looked bright for Gay.

But coaching and defensive scheme changes at Mississippi State led Gay to have a mixed college career, jeopardizing his 2020 NFL Draft stock.