By Robert Wilson
Hartfield Academy All-American football star Bralan Womack grew up watching Dak Prescott take Mississippi State to a No. 1 ranking in the country.
Womack wants to be a part of something big like that, too.
Womack – the No. 2 rated player in Mississippi, and the No. 1 rated safety and the No. 12 player in the country in the Class of 2026 by 247 Sports – signed with MSU this week.
“I’m playing for my home state,” said Womack during an interview session with the media after he signed at Hartfield in Flowood. “Growing up, I watched Mississippi State be No. 1 in the country and I watched Dak Prescott take over college football and I see (MSU freshman quarterback) Kamario Taylor doing that in the near future and I want to be a part of it. I want to leave a blueprint in this state. (MSU head) Coach (Jeff) Lebby is a great guy and even better offensive coordinator. I believe in what he is doing at Mississippi State. They are headed in the right direction. I know it’s not perfect. It’s not the best team in the country. Hartfield wasn’t the best when I got here. I feel like I can come in and contribute to the team. I can leave my footprint in my state and represent my state. Kamario and I have had multiple conversations and I played with him a couple of times in seven on seven. We are really close. I know what type of guy he is. I know what type of guy I am. We are competitors and winners and can we win and that’s what we are going to do. I am playing the highest level of college football for my state and my people who are supporting me. It feels amazing to have that hometown support.”
“Bralan and I have an incredible relationship and there has been great dialogue,” said Lebby, who just finished his second season. “I believe in that young man in a great way. He has loved Mississippi State for a long time and been over here a ton from the time he was a youngster coming over for games and for camps he has attended. Everything came full circle for him. He has incredible family. Great trust on both ends there. I’m just so excited that Bralan at the end of the day for him to be a Bulldog. He loves Mississippi State and it was important to him to stay in state and be a guy in this signing class to go lean on and depend on. He is a huge piece of it and there is a ton of excitement around him for good reason. We were aggressive with him from Day One. We wanted him to be a guy who could lead this class. I love his skill set from the stand point he has this offensive skill set but defensive mentality. A guy that can play in the post, defensively he can play in man coverage. When the ball is in the air, it’s his. All the plays he makes offensively, he’s got incredible ball skills. He has body control. He has the ability to go and make plays. Bralan has great name recognition and has been through it. When 27s (the class of 2027 recruits) come on campus, they will be know who Bralan is. He will be able to talk them through the entire process. At the end of the day, relationships matter. Understanding where we are going is something he’s excited about. That will create a ton of momentum for us.”
“Bralan has had an amazing career at Hartfield Academy,” said Craig Bowman, who led Hartfield to back to back state titles in 2023 and 2024 when Womack was a sophomore and junior, the first state football titles in school history. “Bralan is incredibly gifted when it comes to playing football, but he is even a better person. I have had the privilege of sitting in the room with Bralan and the top college football coaches in the country and he spends more time talking about his teammates than he does about himself. He loves this football program, his coaches, his teachers and our school. I am so grateful that I have a front row seat to watch him grow as a person. I am so excited that he is staying in his home state to play. I know that Coach Lebby and his staff will not only continue to develop Bralan as a player but also as a young man.”
Womack helped Hartfield to 32 wins over the last three seasons.
The 6-foot, 196-pound Womack – who played wide receiver, running back, defensive back and was a return specialist – caught 39 passes for 868 yards and 6 touchdowns, had 11 carries for 206 yards and 3 TDs, had a 33-yard average on 4 punt returns and a 15-yard average on 1 kickoff return, had 26 tackles, 1 interception for a 40-yard return and had 1 pass breakup despite being not at full speed much of the season because of injuries.
He had his best game of the season with 156 yards and 2 TDs on 6 carries (an average of 26 yards per carry), 4 catches for 40 yards, a team-high 7 tackles and an interception return for 40 yards to lead No. 2 seed Hartfield to a 48-21 victory over No. 3 seed Jackson Prep in the Class 4A, Division I semifinals.
He had 39 tackles, 8 interceptions, 2 pass break ups, and 4 TDs, caught 54 passes for 1,045 yards and 13 TDs, had 5 punt returns for a 22.5-yard average and 2 TDs and had 3 kickoff returns for a 42.7-yard average and 1 TD and helped Hartfield to a 12-2 record and its second straight Class 6A state championship last season as a junior.
Womack was named the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year and was the first team all-purpose back selection on the 2024 Mississippi Scoreboard All Metro Jackson team.
He had 26 tackles, 7 interceptions for 89 yards and 2 TDs, 1 fumble recovery for a 52-yard return, and caught 32 passes for 562 yards and 10 TDs and helped Hartfield to a 14-0 record and its first MAIS Class 6A state championship in school history two years ago as a sophomore. He also averaged 54.8 yards on four kickoff returns and 2 TDs and averaged 30.1 yards on nine punt returns and 2 TDs.
Womack was a first team defensive back on the All-Metro Jackson team, the only sophomore on the first team defense.
He had 34 Division I offers, including 13 from the SEC, and narrowed his choices to four schools, Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M and defending national champion Ohio State and chose Auburn in August. Auburn made a coaching change in mid-season, letting Coach Hugh Freeze go, and defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was named interim head coach and Auburn recently hired South Florida coach Alex Goulash and Womack decided to go another direction.
Womack is excepted to graduate this month and enroll at MSU in January.
“Bralan’s commitment to daily improvement is unmatched,” Bowman said. “I am not aware of a better player to come out of the MAIS. Being the top player in the country at his position doesn’t just happen. It takes years of training and surrounding himself with good people. I am so grateful to be around this character of kid and his family.”
Womack is the son of Nicole and BJ Womack. Nicole and BJ are graduates of Mendenhall High and Copiah-Lincoln Community College. BJ played football, basketball and baseball at Mendenhall and football at Co-Lin. Womack’s only sibling, Ma’Nia, is a junior outfielder-designated player for Auburn. Womack’s sister, Ma’Nia, plays softball for Auburn. She transferred from Ole Miss and was an All-State player at Hartfield. Womack’s cousin is the late Steve McNair, who was an All-State defensive back at Mount Olive (his 15 interceptions in a season and 30 for a career are state records), an All-American quarterback at Alcorn State, finished third in the Heisman Trophy as a senior and played 14 years in the NFL, and was the NFL co-MVP in 2003. Another cousin is Steve’s brother, Fred, who played quarterback at Alcorn and in the Canadian Football League, was a former Alcorn head coach and assistant coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge.
