STARKVILLE — Chris Jones was still settling in as Starkville High School’s football coach when it came time to attend the Mississippi State football camp.
Jones wasn’t sure how much talent he had in his new job, much less how those players would perform at the showcase.
Jones didn’t see the show because he was making sure his players were properly registered. As a result, he wasn’t on the field when his new defensive backs ran the 40-yard dash.
When Jones stepped on the field, he was a pretty popular man.
As the Starkville High defensive backs continued to post times around 4.40 seconds in the 40, Jones knew the secondary would be “the bread and butter,” of his defense.
Those defensive backs continued their high level of play last week in a 38-14 victory against Northwest Rankin in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A, District 2 matchup.
Starkville (6-1, 2-0 district) had two more interceptions to give it 10 for the season. It will look to add to that total at 7 p.m. Friday when it goes on the road to face Greenville in another district game.
“I’ve never seen so many guys that can truly play corner,” Jones said. “That’s what (colleges) do now. They recruit corners that aren’t as fluid or whatever and play them at safety. We’ll be able to match up with anybody across the board.”
The Yellow Jackets also have 34 pass deflections. In the last two games, they have held opponents to an average of 68 passing yards per game.
Starkville has returned the 10 interceptions for 226 yards. When the interceptions don’t directly result in touchdowns, they almost always lead to them because the offense has a short field to cover.
“I think the main thing is most of them have some pretty good ball skills,” Jones said. “We joke about guys not having hands playing defensive back, but they have some hands, and they probably could play some offense.”
The crew starts with cornerback Natrone Brooks, a Memphis commit who was the hero of the Oxford game after he intercepted the final pass in double overtime. Alexis Stallings, Jalen Ware and Corbin Grantham also have at least one interception or five pass breakups.
The self-proclaimed “king” of the group is Myles Stone. For a unit that lives on turnovers, Stone’s five interceptions make him untouchable in the meeting room, which isn’t an easy task given the players around him.
“I think we have one of the better groups in the state of Mississippi,” Jones said.
Defensive coordinator Kevie Thompson’s system is based on a Cover 3 scheme, which leaves two cornerbacks on the boundaries and one safety in the middle of the field. Jones credits the players’ situational awareness for the team’s ability to mix man-to-man, Cover 2, and Cover 4 concepts.
The versatility of the secondary often forces quarterbacks to dissect pass coverage schemes while avoiding a pass rush that has 20 sacks.
“We’re still a run defense wanting to stop the run, but we know if we can get them in bad situations, we have the guys on the back end that know what’s coming,” Jones said. “We want them to throw it.
“When you think about high school football, how many good quarterbacks are there? There aren’t many teams that can beat you throwing the ball, so we want to get them in situations where they’re uncomfortable throwing the football. I feel like anytime a high school team is throwing the football more than 15 times per game, there’s a lot of room for interceptions.”
In describing the unit around him, Stone used a modified version of the trademark put forth by MSU defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, Corbin’s father: “I think we’re fast, aggressive, and physical.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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