Courtney Cronin

The Clarion-Ledger

Jamal Couch didn't get his opportunity to shine on offense until more than halfway through his high school football career.

Many thought the 6-foot-4, 220-pound athlete, who is listed as a four-star prospect by Scout, was destined for greatness on the other side of the ball. The Alabama native was one of the top-ranked outside linebackers in the country and had committed to Florida State to play defense.

But offense is where his heart is, and Couch found his fit at Mississippi State and committed to the Bulldogs during his official visit to Starkville this weekend.

"He's a player that was ranked 49th at linebacker in the country and never took a snap for me at linebacker in three years," Central (Ala.) coach Jamey Dubose said. "A lot of people offered him as an outside linebacker just off of special teams and covering kicks. "

The former Florida State commit reopened his recruitment after decommitting in December. The Phenix City athlete made a decision that he wanted to find a program that would allow him to play as a wideout. Mississippi State immediately jumped up on a list of three to four schools he was considering.

"He developed a great relationship with Deshea Townsend who did an outstanding job recruiting him," Dubose said. "(Couch) will fit in great at Mississippi State in the system they run and he has an opportunity to flourish and get better. I think Jamal really has a lot of upside to him, and Mississippi State gets a great player in the sense that you can play him in many different facets.

"Mississippi State is excited to have him at the position. Coach Mullen said before that they haven't been able to sign a guy with Jamal's size at the position they wanted to."

Couch is the second player to commit to MSU since Thursday. Like three-star wideout Zach Farrar, the four-star athlete anticipates being an outside receiver for the Bulldogs.

"He wants to play outside and I'm sure he will," Dubose said. "If he develops into what he could be, he could move around the field. He's just a very versatile kid. He's a kid that if he didn't pan out on offense, he could roll over and be one of the top defenders in the country."

Couch is listed as the No. 9 player in Alabama, the 16th best athlete in the country and No. 359 player overall, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Contact Courtney Cronin at (601) 961-7091 or ccronin@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @CourtneyRCronin on Twitter.