STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi State signed a recruiting class of 20 players on Tuesday, including heralded defensive end Chris Jones.

The Bulldogs landed Jones, who is from nearby Houston, Miss., after a hard-fought recruiting battle with rival Mississippi. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive lineman was a relative unknown a year ago, but shot up the recruiting rankings with a stellar senior season.

Jones is a 5-star recruit and the No. 2 defensive end recruit in the country according to Rivals.com. The Bulldogs also landed two 4-star players - receiver Fred Ross (Tyler, Texas) and quarterback Cord Sandberg (Bradenton, Fla.). Sandberg is also considered an outstanding baseball prospect.

The Bulldogs also added several defensive backs in an effort to help rebuild after losing Thorpe Award winning cornerback Jonathan Banks to graduation.