2025 Mississippi State commitment and On3 three-star linebacker LaKendrick James has experienced success halfway through his sophomore season at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. And most of that success can be traced to his goals this past offseason.

In his team’s 3-2 start, James leads the team with 23 tackles, six tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Naturally, the Magnolia State product has experienced a few ups and downs this year. But for the most part, he’s displayed his improvements on the edge of the defense at sam linebacker. James is rated as the nation’s No. 10 overall juco prospect and the No. 2 juco linebacker prospect via On3 rankings.

“It’s started out pretty good,” James recalled. “The first game I had a good game but I had a rough game in the second game, and it was raining a lot. But it’s been better the past couple of games. They still have me just playing edge.”

Entering the season, playing on the edge was still somewhat a new concept for James, who mostly played in the secondary during his prep career at Northside High School. But since then he’s added 30 pounds to his frame and wants to keep adding strength to his game for the next level.

“I played edge last year, too, so I am getting comfortable there,” added the 6-foot-3 and 240-pound James. “I have to keep getting stronger on the edge. We are not dropping as much this year but I will have to drop into coverage more when we play more passing teams.”

James officially visited Mississippi State back in June and committed to the Bulldogs during that visit. Also holding an Ole Miss offer, James has been to Davis Wade Stadium this season to check out his future teammates on the defensive side of the ball.

“I went to their game against Toledo,” remarked James. “Everything is still great. They had tight game with Arizona State and they played around with them too much in the first half. But they were down a lot of defensive linemen. But they came back in the second half and made a game of it.”

James is on schedule to graduate in December and of course, the Bulldogs will be needing as many impact guys as possible next season on the defensive side. Of late, James has been talking to defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler about that future and his desire to hit the ground running.

“I’ve been talking a good bit with Coach Hutzler,” noted James. “He is ready for me to get down there. He likes my motor and he believes I can help their defense right away. I know that is my goal when I get there and I want to start helping in January.”

Since making his Bulldog decision, James has experienced a quiet time on the recruiting trail, which suits him just fine. He grew up wanting to play for Mississippi State and is just months away from making that childhood dream a reality.

“It’s been pretty quiet since I committed,” James mentioned. “I’m not talking to any other schools and it is all good with Mississippi State. I am happy about that decision. They’ve been with me since high school and I can’t wait to start playing for them.”

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