STARKVILLE — Johnathan Abram’s status inside the Mississippi State football program was already well-solidified. The team’s second-leading tackler from 2017 was leading the team in 2018, surpassing his best benchmarks from last season and doing it all for a defense that is unquestionably one of the nation’s best.
What he’s done the last two weeks has made Abram much more than a trusted safety. It’s made him one of the team’s most important players, on the field and off of it.
The senior safety is doing something he has never done before MSU — playing nickel defensive back, the Star position — to fill a team need. With the first starter, Brian Cole, out for the season and his replacement Jaquarius Landrews also hurt, Abram has shifted there in the last two games. Most recently, it meant a career game in his final game at Davis Wade Stadium: 12 tackles, 3.5 for a loss, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in No. 21 MSU’s 52-6 win over Arkansas Saturday.
Only a player with Abram’s skillset and his mind-set could change from strong safety to a role on the line of scrimmage with such results, all in-season. Coach Joe Moorhead thinks it’s a testament to his football IQ and his competitive nature; C.J. Morgan, the man taking Abram’s strong safety spot while there is a need at Star, never saw any reason to believe Abram wouldn’t succeed.
“Honestly it’s not a transition for John at all. That’s John, that’s what he does: he knows what everybody’s doing on every single play, no matter what position,” Morgan said. “He’s a student of the game, and that’s something I aspire to be.”
Abram took on this role because it’s important to him. Success at strong safety was coming easy for him; this does give the senior the opportunity to showcase some versatility for the NFL teams looking to draft him in the coming months, but he didn’t do it to show that side of him.
He did it because his team needed it. Since he came back to his home state, that’s all he’s wanted to do.
The Columbia native has done all of the things a team leader has done, even if he has none of the titles to prove it.
“I don’t think you have to have a C on your chest to be a captain. Johnathan’s not a captain, he’s not on the leadership council, but he’s one of the best leaders on this football team,” Moorhead said. “By example and emotionally. I think he wears his emotions on his sleeve in a good way and I don’t think there’s a guy on our team that enjoys the process more than him.”
Abram harbors no ill will: “Part of being a captain, I think it requires four years. Nick (Fitzgerald) and Gerri (Green), they deserve that, I can’t take that from them. I utilize my role and a lot of guys look up to me and follow me, so I try to be the best role model for those guys I can be, young and old.”
He does that in how he interacts with each teammate, how he elevates the energy of position-mate Mark McLaurin while communicating effectively with the more level-headed Cameron Dantzler and Erroll Thompson characters of the defense.
Abram does it in how he practices.
“He loves practice as much as he loves games, and what you see in games is what we see during the week,” Moorhead said.
He brings that energy because MSU matters to him. In his first season at Georgia out of East Marion High School, he learned something: the rivalries didn’t carry meaning with him. The 2015 Georgia Bulldogs beat both Auburn and Georgia Tech by a combined 13 points, both games on the road; yet, they didn’t mean more to him, because he wasn’t from there.
That’s why he elected to stay in-state out of Jones County College, even when the out-of-state offers poured in. He wanted to make something of himself at an in-state school and he wanted to do something meaningful.
He did both Saturday.
“Playing with all my friends on Senior Day, at home, it’s probably one of the best feelings ever. I’ll never forget this day,” Abram said, before looking forward to his chance at the rival Rebels. “We have to do what we have to do to get that trophy back.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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