STARKVILLE, Miss. — A rough October for Mississippi State football still produced some good news in Starkville, Miss., on Sunday, as three Bulldogs picked up midseason All-America recognition from national voters.
Senior cornerback Kelley Jones, a Clarksdale, Miss., native listed at 6-4 and 205 pounds, was named to a midseason All-America first team. Through six games he was thrown at only 20 times and gave up nine receptions with no touchdowns allowed, while breaking up six passes.
Fellow corner Jett Jefferson, a redshirt junior from Tylertown, Miss., who came to State from East Central Community College, landed on a midseason second team. His best day came against Missouri, when he led the Bulldogs with five passes defended and swatted away the final throw of that win.
Senior wide receiver Anthony Evans III, whose hometown is Converse, Texas, also made a second team, joining receivers from Rutgers and Wake Forest at that spot. Over his last six games he has 47 catches for 614 yards and five scores, even as injuries forced the Bulldogs to rotate quarterbacks.
Evans opened the year with 408 receiving yards in four games, and in school history only two Bulldog receivers, Eric Moulds (1995) and Justin Jenkins (2003), have topped that total over the first four games of a season. His biggest game so far came against Missouri, when he hauled in eight passes for 114 yards.
Both cornerbacks work under position coach Corey Bell, and Jones has pointed to Bell and head coach Jeff Lebby as key figures in his growth. Back in July at SEC Media Days, Jones set his sights on being the top corner in the nation and winning the Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the best defensive back in college football.
Jones shares the first-team cornerback spots with Nebraska standout Andrew Marshall, while Jefferson sits on the second team next to Georgia’s Ellis Robinson IV. Having two starting corners honored at the halfway point is rare for a single secondary, and it gives Bulldog fans something to build on as the second half of the season gets underway.
Section: More Starkville MS sports news
Filed under: Starkville MS Sports News
