Gulf Shores’ single-season rushing leader is now heading to the Southeastern Conference after running back Kolin Wilson flipped his commitment from Cincinnati to Mississippi State on Thursday.

The Bulldogs were the most recent team to offer the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Dolphin who helped Gulf Shores collect its first-ever state title. Army and Furman also offered Wilson to bring his total to 19 Division I opportunities.

After Wilson announced his offer from Mississippi State on May 30, he took official visits to both Cincinnati (June 6) and Mississippi State (June 14). Wilson announced his commitment flip to the Bulldogs six days after his trip to Starkville.

Local connection to Mississippi State

Gulf Shores is no stranger to Mississippi State as current Dolphin head football coach Mark Hudspeth spent two stints with the Bulldogs during his collegiate coaching career. He first served as wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator in 2009-10, then returned as associate head coach and tight ends coach in 2018.

During his first go-around, Hudspeth coached wide receiver Chad Bumphis who graduated as Mississippi State’s all-time leading receiving with 2,270 yards on 159 catches with 24 touchdowns.

Rankings, other commits

With a 247Sports Composite prospect score of 0.8567, Wilson was listed as the 88th running back in the country and the 39th overall recruit in Alabama. The On3 database has the 3-star running back with a scout grade of 87, the No. 73 running back in the nation and the 32nd-best prospect in the state.

Wilson joins 11 other hard commits for the Bulldogs according to 247Sports, including two others from Alabama. Linebacker AJ Rice from Madison Academy (3 stars, 0.8689 Composite score) announced his pledge last September and defensive lineman Christopher Johnson from Robert E. Lee in Montgomery (3 stars, 0.8639 Composite score) committed earlier this week after he was also on an official visit last weekend.

Coach’s lowdown

Jeff Lebby was tabbed as Mississippi State’s next head coach in November after being an offensive coordinator for six of the last seven seasons at previous stops with Southeastern (2017), UCF (2019), Ole Miss (2020-21) and Oklahoma (2022-23). Last year’s Sooner offense joined only LSU and Oregon as the lone programs to rank in the nation’s top six in total offense, scoring offense and passing offense.

Since 2019, Lebby has led all active offensive coordinators with 14 games of at least 50 points scored. Last year’s Oklahoma team also eclipsed 65 points three times, which led the FBS. During his previous stint in the SEC with Ole Miss, Lebby’s unit led the conference in total offense both seasons and set an SEC record for total offense in conference play at 562.4 yards per game.

Last year, next year

The Bulldogs went 5-7 overall last year including a 1-7 mark in SEC play. Zach Arnett took over head coaching duties after the passing of Mike Leach then was fired after a 51-10 loss to Texas A&M on Nov. 11, 2023, with a 5-6 overall record.

Mississippi State is set to kick off the 2024 season against Eastern Kentucky at home on Aug. 31 before SEC play opens at home against Florida on Sept. 21.

Full list of offers

While Wilson was already on many schools’ radars, his recruitment picked up steam after Gulf Shores’ state title in December where Cincinnati was the third team to offer him.

In-state schools including UAB, Troy and Alabama State joined service academies including Air Force and Navy among the suitors next to Ivy League schools in Penn, Cornell and Harvard. Other announced offers included Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe, Austin Peay, Toledo, Southeastern Missouri, Northwestern and Western Kentucky.

Dolphins swimming back to Class 6A

The Gulf Shores Dolphins’ 2024 season is scheduled to start at home against the Choctawhatchee Indians on Aug. 23 at 7 p.m.

After being reclassified back up to Class 6A due to enrollment, Wilson will help Gulf Shores battle against Region 1 opponents including Baldwin County, Spanish Fort, Mattie T. Blount, Murphy, Saraland and Theodore. The Dolphins’ first Class 6A Region 1 game is set for a home contest against the state-runner-up Saraland Spartans on Sept. 6 at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in the Gulf Shores Sportsplex.

Gulf Shores fans can hear from Hudspeth and key athletes preview the season at the third-annual Gulf Coast Media Day at the Orange Beach Event Center on July 25.