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Chris Jones anxious to live up to the five-star hype
Chris Jones is a rarity on the Mississippi State football team, he's not an undervalued prospect the coaches have had to grind and develop into a serviceable player. No, Jones came to Starkville with a five-star rating and was rated as the No. 2 overall prospect in the nation by 247Sports in high school.
The expectations for every five-star recruit is incredible coming into college but for a playing heading to a school that rarely signs prospects of that caliber, the expectations are even more daunting.
Jones' head coach singled him out during the team's first week of fall camp: “We need him to really play like a big-time player,” Dan Mullen said to the Clarion Ledger. “Play with a sense of urgency to try and dominate games.”
Mullen also warned of the dangers of labeling players in the preseason, as the results are often difficult to live up to.
“He gets a lot of the preseason hype and all of this stuff. But you’ve got to play that way,” Mullen said. “I think the worst people are preseason All-Americans. If you are a preseason All-American you better finish a postseason All-American.”
Jones career started off strong his freshman year but as the team emerged as a national threat last season, his play declined as his starts, tackles and tackles-for-loss numbers all went down in his sophomore campaign.
Jones is quick to point out just what those preseason honors he's been anointed with mean to him.
“That don’t mean nothing because last year I was named all that and I didn’t get it,” Jones said. “This year, I just want to leave a mark and play with a chip on my shoulder because of last year. I wanted to achieve so many things and I feel like I let myself down.”
The defensive lineman has dropped his weight after shedding weight and worked on his technique during the offseason in an effort to improve his produciton.
“I’ve gotta lead the defensive line. I’ve gotta be unblockable,” Jones said. “That’s every play not just on one and two plays, but I have to be consistent with it.”
If all else fails, Jones is hoping his old high school jersey number of 98 helps him perform better on the field.
“I wore that number one time and I had an amazing year,” Jones said. “Hopefully it will bring it back.”
(h/t Clarion Ledger)
