Year two of the Jeff Lebby era has arrived and the Mississippi State coach is back to work.
After a disappointing first season, the coach and his staff are doing what they can to get things back on track in Starkville. The players on the field will be the difference for State this season if they are to make a return and we’re going to discuss every single one of them over the course of the next few months.
As we do every year, we’re counting down 100 days until State’s first game at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on August 30. Over this period of time, we’ll breakdown every scholarship player on the roster, look back at great moments in MSU history and even talk about legends that have come before the current Bulldogs.
Today, we look at two former junior college standouts set to make an impact for the Bulldogs this year.
20 Days: No. 20, Sr. Running Back Johnnie Daniels
Shortly after Lebby arrived in Starkville, the coaching staff was on the hunt for a running back that could come in and impact the unit right away.
Along with the transfer portal option, Lebby and his staff had their eyes locked in on a JUCO back that could make the transition smoother. The recruitment of Daniels began far before Lebby and the crew were hired and the relationships had already been forged with staff members that were still on campus.
A week after Daniels earned an offer from the existing State staff, he was a Bulldog. Lebby and his coaches were on campus for just a few days when they took his commitment and he fit in like a glove.
A former standout at Crystal Springs High School, Daniels played with his future college teammate Trevion Williams. A star athlete in several different sports at his school, Daniels excelled on the football field where he rushed for over 1,000 yards in three-straight seasons. For his career there, Daniels rushed 428 times with 4,470 yards and 56 touchdowns and had 40 catches for 580 yards and five touchdowns receiving.
Daniels had some four-year college options with an offer from Memphis on the table, but he would land at Copiah-Lincoln Community College where he would stand out. After making his initial impact with 485 yards and two touchdowns in seven games as a freshman, Daniels became one of the hottest running backs in JUCO football as a sophomore.
Leading the Wolfpack to the school’s second 10-win season in school history, he earned First-Team All-State honors and was named a member of the All-Region 23 team in the NJCAA. Daniels was the nation’s leader with 15 touchdowns and his 1,253 yards in 12 games came in second nationally as he averaged 6.8 yards per carry and over 100 yards per game.
While the offers remained on the Group of 5 level with Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State and McNeese State being the early verbals, evaluators believed there was something there that could make some noise. On3 had Daniels on the verge of four-star status as the No. 1 running back in JUCO and he was the No. 26 prospect overall.
Daniels put that into motion in the SEC last year as he served as a backup running back and made the most of his time in the game. Playing in all 12 contests, Daniels had 108 carries for 540 yards and four touchdowns and he averaged 5.0 yards per tote.
He enters this season fighting for reps with Davon Booth and Fluff Bothwell as the Bulldogs have stacked the running back room to be among one of the best in the SEC.
As the season is closer and closer to arriving, the corner room is starting to shake out for the Bulldogs.
It’s a room that has created much conversation within the Bulldog fanbase as State fans share concern over a group that lost its best corner in the offseason and didn’t add many headliners in the transfer portal. Despite that, no one at State offered similar concerns in the spring or at the start of training camp.
Perhaps its that the unit has performed above expectations and hasn’t been a major issue in practices and scrimmages. If that is the case, Jefferson might be a player that helped make it all happen.
Jefferson quietly went about his recruitment last season at East Central Community College and had some strong mid-major offers from teams like Nevada, Boise State, Liberty, Texas State, UTSA, Coastal Carolina, UNLV and others. The Bulldogs would be his only Power 4 offer and the Mississippi boy would stay home as he committed to State around Thanksgiving.
A Parklane Academy graduate, Jefferson grew up watching cousin Jameon Lewis star for State as the Bulldogs made a run to the No. 1 team in the country during the 2014 season. From that point on, he wanted to be in those same cleats wearing the maroon and white.
Like Lewis, Jefferson did a little bit of everything in high school. He was quarterback for the team and threw for 1,400-plus yards and 17 touchdowns while also rushing for over 1,000 yards on the ground and 14 touchdowns his senior season. Defensively, Jefferson showed his prowess as he made 21 tackles, had five interceptions and five pass deflections.
Despite a big year on the gridiron, junior college would be where he would land and he made the trip over to ECCC in Decatur to play for the Warriors the last two seasons. It was a breakthrough sophomore year for Jefferson last season as the DB had 40 tackles, four INT, four pass deflections, a forced fumble and a 0.5 tackle for loss. He helped the Warriors to a tremendous season as they started 8-2 and went to the MACCC Championship where they fell short of a state title.
Jefferson comes to Starkville having earned a high three-star ranking by On3 as he was named the No. 38 JUCO player in the country, the No. 17 player in the state of Mississippi and the No. 6 corner nationally. His work in the spring and summer to this point has drawn strong reviews from his coaches and teammates and he looks poised to compete for starting reps.
