Mississippi State football has lost another defensive player commitment for its 2025 recruiting class.

Austin Howard, a three-star linebacker from Bartlett, Tennessee, decommitted from the Bulldogs on Tuesday. He’s ranked as the No. 681 player nationally, the No. 69 linebacker and No. 23 player in Tennessee, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Howard is the third three-star defensive player to withdraw his commitment to MSU in the last eight days after defensive lineman Kevovnte Henry and safety Steve Miller decommitted and flipped to other schools. Howard did not immediately announce a commitment to a new school, though 247Sports recently logged two crystal ball predictions for him to land at Vanderbilt.

Mississippi State and first-year coach Jeff Lebby have three other linebacker commits in the 2025 class: four-star Tyler Lockhart, three-star AJ Rice and junior college three-star LaKendrick James.

Austin Howard 247 ranking

Howard, listed at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, is a three-star, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He’s tabbed as the No. 681 player nationally, the No. 69 linebacker and No. 23 player in Tennessee.