STARKVILLE — Former Mississippi State defensive lineman AJ Jefferson skipped the St. Petersburg Bowl, but he stuck around to participate Wednesday in the program’s Pro Day at the Palmeiro Center.
Now that Jefferson has done it, he is even more confident in the decision he made in December.
“I made the right decision staying here (at MSU in draft prep). They got me right,” Jefferson said.
Jefferson’s final season ended in the Egg Bowl after he decided to rehabilitate a nagging shoulder injury and to get healthy prior to the draft. Despite injuries, Jefferson finished second on the team in tackles for a loss and sacks in 11 games.
Jefferson seemed encouraged by his progress, but he elected Wednesday only to do position drills for scouts.
“It wouldn’t have been fair,” he said. “You leave in December, these guys have two or three months to train for that stuff and I’ve had a month, two weeks maybe. I think I made the right decision just doing line drills.”
Jefferson said it is possible he will do more traditional tests in individual workouts. He also acknowledged he might hold his own Pro Day next month.
Beard business
Former Bulldog Richie Brown, having completed his workout, smiled as he approached a group interview with media. Brown has a dense beard that matches the dark tan color of his hair. It looks well-manicured, despite the hours of exertion preceding this appearance.
But Brown’s beard isn’t as famous as Jefferson’s.
Jefferson — he came to make jokes at Brown about his 40-yard dash time, but left after taking one final friendly jab at Brown by comparing their beards.
In launching his football career, Jefferson hopes his beard can create a business of its own. Jefferson mentioned hoping to get in touch with Houston Rockets guard James Harden to create something out of his beard like Harden has.
Holloway displays speed
Former Washington wide receiver John Ross took over the NFL Combine earlier this month with a record-breaking 4.22-second 40-yard dash. Former MSU running back Brandon Holloway isn’t far behind.
Holloway ran the 40 twice Wednesday. His first run — a 4.31 despite his feet tapping each other early on — was his best.
Holloway called the time “decent,” but he said running a fast time wasn’t a priority.
“I think pretty much everybody knows I can run,” Holloway said, “I just wanted to go out here today, run some routes, and show some scouts what I can do on the field.”
Holloway enters the draft process after a senior season in which he ran 50 times for 236 yards and a touchdown and caught 15 passes for 91 yards.
Spring practice update
While former Bulldogs participated in Pro Day, the 2017 team held meetings in between midweek practices.
MSU will practice today before its first intrasquad scrimmage of the spring Saturday at Davis-Wade Stadium.
“That’s kind of the end of installation, so now you get to go play and implement the installation,” MSU coach Dan Mullen said. “I’m expecting guys to be at a lot of different levels based on where they’re at, but we’ll see when we get in the stadium.”
This week’s practices and scrimmage are closed to the media, but in the final practice that was open before spring break, Malik Dear was seen going down with an apparent leg injury. Mullen declined to comment when asked about Dear, saying he will provide an update about injuries after spring practice.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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