Gulf Coast standout DE postpones ‘big announcement’: Is commitment coming?

Isaiah Buggs sent out a tweet Saturday night that caught the attention of most who follow recruiting:

“BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TOMORROW!!!!” wrote the big Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College defensive end.

With virtually every school in the Southeast after his services, the tweet was certainly noteworthy.

However, the Ruston, La., native’s announcement will have to wait. Early Sunday afternoon, Buggs sent out another tweet that his big news has been postponed.

“I have decided to hold out on the big announcement, I wanna make sure that this is really what I wanna do. I hope you understand thank you!!!” he tweeted.

In a series of subsequent tweets, Buggs said, “My situation is a little bit different and I need you to understand that ... Nothing’s wrong with asking God ... God got me.”

Earlier in the month, the 6-foot-4, 280-pound Buggs released a Top 5 list with Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and LSU all included. The LSU Tigers were a new addition from Buggs’ Top 10, which he released in April.

Asked after MGCCC’s spring game where LSU stood, Buggs said: “That’s home. I know everybody is waiting on that answer. You never know what might happen.”

Some seem to think LSU was in the driver’s seat for Buggs, until recently, with Alabama and Ole Miss in second and third. Did Buggs postpone his announcement to not overlap with the killing of three police officers in Baton Rouge, La., or is the star defensive end having a change of heart and needing more time to weigh his options? We’ll find out soon enough as Gulf Coast opens fall camp Aug. 10, with its opener Sept. 1 against Itawamba.

Loaded squad

The Bulldogs have national title aspirations and why not? The defending MACJC South champs have a loaded roster heading into its opener. Running back T’Rod Daniels recently committed to Southern Miss and former Gulfport receiver and USM signee Jonathan Nance pledged to Arkansas after spring camp concluded. Receiver Brandon Martin, who signed with LSU out of high school, recently committed to Auburn before quickly re-opening his recruitment. Offensive linemen D’Marcus Hayes and Rishard Cook are among the other Bulldogs who are also getting serious looks from D1 programs.

QB transfer

The Bulldogs will play ICC for the third time in four games on Sept. 1 in Fulton. After beating ICC to conclude the 2015 regular season, MGCCC knocked off the Indians to open the playoffs before falling to Northwest in the MACJC championship game. When ICC coach Sean Cannon faces off against his old college roommate, MGCCC Chad Huff, he’ll have a new quarterback under center. Replacing Southern Miss signee Kwadra Griggs will likely be Peyton Bender, who recently transferred from Washington State.

At WSU, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native completed 53 of 91 passes for 498 yards and three touchdowns with four interceptions.

The Bulldogs will counter with former Tulsa quarterback Jabe Burgess.

This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 5:49 AM with the headline "Gulf Coast standout DE postpones ‘big announcement’: Is commitment coming?."