Jeff Lebby lands in Rock Hill, S.C., chasing a priority quarterback target

Jeff Lebby flew from Starkville's George M. Bryan Airport to Rock Hill's York County Airport on June 11, a 1-hour, 3-minute hop aboard the Mississippi State University Foundation's Learjet 45 (N204MS). The trip landed just before the start of a quiet recruiting period, when coaches can attend camps and evaluation events off campus but cannot make in-person contact with prospects.

Rock Hill sits in the wider Charlotte metro, a region Mississippi State has increasingly worked under Lebby. The most likely target is Derek Zammit, an On3 four-star quarterback from Wayne, New Jersey, who narrowed his final four to Mississippi State, Alabama, Washington and Syracuse in early June, per On3. Zammit told On3 last month that Lebby and his staff "breathe football" and that he had built a strong relationship with the coaching staff during a recent Starkville visit. Lebby has made quarterback acquisition a defining feature of his rebuild.

Mississippi State's 2026 class is ranked 29th nationally with seven commitments, per On3. Lebby signed three-star QB Brodie McWhorter on June 5, per Maroon and White Nation, and is also working the transfer portal — atozsports.com reported this week that former Oklahoma wideout Zion Ragins, whom Lebby originally recruited to Norman, has joined the Bulldogs. The Learjet's flight history shows Lebby frequently targets the Atlanta and Memphis corridors; the Rock Hill sortie extends his recruiting radius east toward the Carolina pipeline.