100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 96 Days, Former No. 96 Chris Jones

Jeff Lebby’s era of Mississippi State football has arrived.

The Bulldogs are on their third coach in as many years as Mike Leach’s tragic passing opened the door for defensive coordinator Zach Arnett’s debut as head coach last year. That experiment failed before the year even ended for State and now it’s Lebby’s turn to take the wheel.

While there is always a risk in hiring first time head coaches, Lebby brings to Starkville an exciting offensive scheme that has been productive everywhere he’s been. The coach has also brought with him some swagger that has the fanbase ready to see what’s next.

Over the course of the next 100 days, we will take a look at Lebby’s roster and even some fun historical rewinds that will bring back memories for Dawg fans of all ages.

Today, we take a look back at the tragic end to a promising career and life of a State great.

100 Day Bulldog Countdown: 96 Days – Former No. 96 Chris Jones

Before Jones was one of the great players in the NFL, he came from extremely humble beginnings at Houston High School.

Jones was a relative unknown in the recruiting process until blowing up during his senior season. Former coach Dan Mullen and his staff tried to hold him under wraps after grabbing his commitment in the summer of 2012, but that wouldn’t last.

Everyone in the country was after Jones in the final couple of months of his recruitment and it would come down to one of the most fierce instate recruiting battles of all time.

After several days of trips back and forth to Starkville and Oxford, Jones stuck with his commitment to the Bulldogs that he made the summer prior as a two-star recruit.

Jones earned immediate playing time with the Bulldogs, as expected, as a true freshman and performed well enough to be one of the top freshmen in the country. With 32 tackles, seven for loss, three sacks and 10 quarterback hurries, he affected the game when he was in there but was still raw on the surface.

Much more was expected out of Jones in his sophomore season in 2014, but he didn’t quite reach expectations set for him. Jones moved around some at defensive end and inside at tackle and grabbed just 23 stops a year ago though he equaled his three-sack total. He became more frustrated in year two with double teams and didn’t have as much of a fire off the ball.

In 2015, Jones had his best year as he made 44 tackles and had 7.5 tackles for loss and four pass deflections for career highs. He also had 2.5 sacks during the season as he earned second-team All-American honors. He was quickly starting to develop into the potential that everyone knew he could reach.

While the measurables and ability were undeniable, teams were obviously still not sold. The Kansas City Chiefs would take him in the second round with the 37th pick and he entered the NFL with a chip on his shoulder.

In year one in 2016, Jones worked his way into the starting lineup playing in all 16 games and starting in 11 as he had 28 tackles and 2.0 sacks. He had 6.5 sacks in seven starts in 2017 and things would take off from there. In 2018, Jones had 15.5 sacks and was named to the All Pro second team. He’s followed that up being on the Pro Bowl team for five-straight seasons and has landed on the All-Pro team five-seasons as well.

He’s won three Super Bowls and played in four in his career including winning it all for a second-straight season this year.

After holding out the first game of the season for more money, Jones has earned every cent he got this offseason. The Houston native is now the highest paid defensive tackle in the history of the game with a $158.75 million contract in progress.

Through the course of his career, he’s already racked up 273 tackles, 75.5 sacks, 12 forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries and he’s got more in the tank. The boy from Houston has become one of the best players in the game and it’s not surprise to those that watched him grow up inside the state.