MACON — Kyziah Pruitt doesn’t back down from a challenge.
A year ago, the freshman defensive back didn’t hesitate when he was asked to help shut down Starkville High School All-State wide receiver A.J. Brown in the season opener. Pruitt’s performance helped him become a fixture in the secondary for a team that went on to win its second-consecutive Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A State title.
This season, Pruitt is ready to shoulder an even bigger burden.
The graduation losses of players like Jeffery Simmons, Qendarrion Barnett, Ladaveon Smith, Deveon Bell, and Timorrius Conner, just to name a few, have left opportunities for younger players to emerge to help keep the Tigers’ tradition going.
Pruitt is thriving is his new role. The 6-foot-185-pounder offered another example of his two-way capabilities Friday, as he caught eight passes for 178 yards and a touchdown and broke up three passes, including two that prevented possible scoring chances, to help preserve Noxubee County’s 24-23 victory against Columbus.
Pruitt’s touchdown was a 52-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Maliek Stallings that helped the Tigers (1-1) rally from a 23-15 deficit in the fourth quarter.
“We are showing people every year you’re going to have to look out for Noxubee County because this is not just a couple years you’re going to have good players here,” Pruitt said. “The coaches have us so well prepared that every year you’re going to have to worry about us. We might not be the most talented, but we are going to be the best prepared.
“We are trying to start a program. We aren’t trying to just win this year and five years later we win again. We are trying to win every year.”
For his accomplishments, Pruitt is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter said Pruitt’s maturation started last season in the secondary. He feels Pruitt’s natural position is on offense, which is why he plans to feature him with senior Kymbotric Mason at wide receiver. He said the Tigers still plan to use Pruitt in the secondary like they did against Columbus.
Shorter, who played cornerback and safety in college and as professional in the Canadian Football League, said Pruitt has natural instincts that enable him to read the game and read quarterbacks. Those instincts are part of the “it factor” Shorter saw in former Noxubee County High greats like Jeffery Simmons, Dylan Bradley, Pat Patterson, and Vincent Sanders at that age.
“It seems like he is always in the right spot at the right time,” said Shorter, who saw it in Pruitt in junior high school. “Most of the time that is not coachable.
“The kid is just unbelievable. He can do it on both sides of the ball. He can be so explosive for us, and we’re going to try to get the ball to him as much as possible. He can turn a 5-yard play into a 75-yard play in a heartbeat. He can do so much, and we’re going to try to involve him in a lot more offensive plays.”
Pruitt used those skills to break up two key pass plays on third down. He said he knew the Falcons were going to target him because they used the same play on second down and thought Pruitt should have been flagged for a holding penalty. Tested again, Pruitt said he read the play and flew to the ball to break up a score that likely could have helped Columbus (1-1) win the game.
“I knew I had to make a play because I was telling coach to put me in because I knew I had to make a play for my team,” Pruitt said.
The second crucial pass breakup came on a slant pattern that Pruitt said he knew was coming his way because quarterback C.J. Gholar didn’t have anywhere to throw the football.
Pruitt recalled the plays with an ease that belies his relative inexperience at the varsity level. Thinking back to last season, Pruitt said he wasn’t so sure he was ready to be in the game against Starkville, but he said he gained confidence as the year progressed. Now, he said he knows he is ready and is eager to prove it on both sides of the ball.
“I had to realize this is a mind thing,” Pruitt said. “If you have the confidence, you can go a long way. I had to get my confidence up. That is why practice is so important to me because if I feel I can do all of these things in practice it will be easy for me in the games.”
Pruitt said he went into the season thinking he was going to play a big role on both sides of the ball. He began his preparations in the spring, as he competed on the school’s track and field team. Shorter said he encouraged Pruitt, who is a standout tennis player, to go out for the track and field team and compete in the 200 and 400 meters as well as the relays. He said Pruitt’s footwork makes him a strong tennis player. He said Pruitt’s 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash has attracted plenty of attention from college scouts. In fact, Shorter said Pruitt already has one scholarship offer.
Pruitt said the training on the track and field team helped prepare his body for the two-way work he is seeing in his sophomore season with the Noxubee County football team. A year ago, Pruitt saw significant minutes as part of a veteran defense. This season, he has matured into a vocal leader who also is ready to lead by example.
Pruitt is working well with seniors Joshua Little, Kymbotric Mason, Jataquist Sherrod, and Rashad Tate in the secondary. On offense, he credits Stallings, who was 17 of 26 for 275 yards against Columbus, for stepping in as a first-year starter and shouldering the expectations of replacing Conner, who won back-to-back state titles as a junior and as a senior.
“Before the season even started I had a drive in me because I felt we were disrespected,” Pruitt said. “Nobody picked us to do anything this season, not even be in the championship. I talked with Maliek to get his head right and to make sure me and him were on the same page. He is the leader of this team because without him we wouldn’t be where we are now. We wouldn’t have a chance without him. If we keep him on track and everybody follows behind him and keeps working, we will be all right.
Shorter has the same confidence in Pruitt. He said Pruitt’s work ethic, which he said is “out of this world,” sets him apart and evokes thoughts of the school’s past great football players.
Pruitt won’t let his youth stand in the way of realizing his potential. He said he is excited for the opportunity to join the elite group of former Tigers and to help the program remain at the top of Class 4A and in the state of Mississippi.
“I am a younger guy, but I feel my play sets the tone for the whole team,” Pruitt said. “If my play sets the tone for the whole team and they see me doing this and that, they should listen to me. I am not a controlling type of person, but if you want to win, let’s go win. If you don’t, y’all can stay back and stay out of the way.
“I just feel like it is in me. A guy like Kalmorris (Robinson), he is really the leader of the team, but when he can’t get everybody together I don’t mind stepping up and helping him out because it is a team thing. There is no I in this. We have to do this together. If one person is off, we have to go pick him up.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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