By Myra Bean and Angie Ledbetter

Sunday night, South Panola star wide receiver Nickolas Brassell and star athlete Kendrick Market made the decision to verbally commit to playing for Mississippi State.

In essence Market had made up his mind a long time ago. He just chose this week to let it be known.

“I have been wanting to go to Mississippi State since junior high,” said South Panola senior athlete Kendrick Market.

“Really, I was saying first come first serve. Mississippi State came first and offered. It did not have anything to do with the Florida win,” Market said.

Come Monday afternoon, Brassell was saying he had changed his mind after Scout.com had released the information.

“It was really the pressure on me,” Brassell said. “People were just coming at me from every direction. It just made me want to back out for a minute. I am a man of my word, so I am going to stick to it.”

Brassell is considered one of the top recruits coming out of Mississippi this year. He has reportedly entertained offers from Alabama and Ole Miss.

This announcement came as a big surprise around the state. The website, including www.panolian.com has been inundated with comments from fans around the state welcoming the two to the Bulldog nation.

However, Tiger head coach Lance Pogue has been accused of pushing players to Ole Miss.

“That’s the furthest thing from the truth. I have players at Nebraska, Memphis, Southern Miss, Ole Miss and UAB,” Pogue said, as he ticked the names off on his fingers in an interview Tuesday afternoon.

National Day of Signing is February 2 when players sign national letters of intent to the university or college for whom they plan to play. Verbal commitments are non-binding.

It was mistakenly reported Brassell and Market spoke to Bulldog head coach Dan Mullen. They said they spoke to Melvin Smith, the recruiter for the area.

Market said, “I like the coaches down there and the atmosphere. I like that maroon, black and white.

Brassell looked at the young team Mississippi State fields each week and made his decision.

“I just looked at them. They are a young team, got a lot of good players, they are going to be good in the future,” he said.

Brassell said the win over Florida did not influence his decision.

“I watched the game and they played a good game. They didn’t throw it enough but they fought hard and got the win.”

Both report their families support them in their decision.

In the meantime, these two have at least four more weeks of football to play: tonight’s game at home with Southaven, two more on the road district games and the first playoff game.

“Our goal is to take each game one by one and get to the state championship,” Market said.

Brassell has 33 receptions for 530 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. He has carried the ball five times for 27 yards. On defense, he has five total tackles and four pass deflections. On special teams he has seven punt returns for 44 yards and one kickoff return for 28 yards.

He has scored 52 points this season, including four two-point conversions.

Market also has impressive stats from different parts of the game. He has completed all three of his pass attempts for 28 yards and a touchdown.

Market has carried the ball 28 times for 377 yards and three touchdowns. He is averaging 13.46 yards per carry.

On defense, Market has 30 total tackles, fifth highest on the team, two sacks, four interceptions, 10 pass deflections and one fumble return.

On special teams he has one punt return for 20 yards. He has scored 38 points this season with six touchdowns and two two-point conversions.

Alabama/Mississippi All-Star game

Both Market and Brassell, along with teammate Qyen Griffin have been chosen to play in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star game in Mobile on December 11.

Griffin has 151 carries for 1,520 rushing yards this season and 22 touchdowns. He averages 10.7 yards per carry. He has four receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown. He has one kickoff return for 81 yards. This season he has scored 152 points on 24 touchdowns and eight two-point conversions.

Mississippi’s 40-player roster (increased from 37 for the last few years) was selected Wednesday morning for the 24th annual Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Classic. The game will be played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on Versus.

On the roster for the North team of the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic were three South Panola and one North Panola player.

Representating South Panola are tightend Taylor Rotenberry, defensive back Al Hentz and offensive lineman Austin Douglas.

Wide receiver Ricky Hunt has been selected from North Panola.

The 62nd annual North/South game is scheduled for Dec. 18 at Ocean Springs High School.