The Youthful Side Of The Mississippi State Defense

This is a new age of football for the Bulldogs as they will look to take advantage of the new opportunities in front of them.

Sep 10, 2022; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive lineman Trevion Williams / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

STARKVILLE, Miss – The Mississippi State Bulldogs are as youthful as ever and many are looking to take advantage of an opportunity in their hands.

The Bulldogs over the years have always had a veteran group of players to lead the defense on and off the field. Many of those players are either looking towards the NFL draft or hitting the portal, and there is a batch of young players looking to take advantage of a new opportunity.

Sophomore Trevion Williams missed most of last season after picking up an injury three games into his freshman campaign. He showed flashes of brilliance on the field and now that the major setback is in the rearview mirror, he believes that he has a chance to make up for that lost time.  

“It was very frustrating because once I got hurt, I went down and couldn’t play anymore for the season. I was just getting in the groove. Now that I am back, I am going to transition from then to now and I got a point to prove,” Williams said.

Redshirt Freshman Kelley Jones understands and knows how young the room is but he also knows that it means more opportunities. Two spots are up for grasp for the starting cornerback position and Jones has been working on his craft with cornerbacks coach Corey Bell.

“Coach Bell is very technical and real firm on technique and wants you to be the best player that you can be,” Jones said. “You wake up and look forward to something every day and he loves our toughness.

Technique, aggressiveness, and youthfulness will favor the Bulldogs for the long run of the program. Developing and instilling the fundamentals will only be beneficial for the defensive side of the ball as they are starting to gel with the new coaches and buying into the program.