Character is important to Tyrone Shorter.
He tries to mold it into all of his football players at Noxubee County. He also tries to instill it in the Tigers by playing some of the toughest competition every season.
The last two years, Shorter and Noxubee County have added local rival Kemper County to their murderer’s row of non-conference opponents. Kemper County has lived up to the challenge by beating Noxubee County 29-28 in overtime and 26-21 in 2015 and 2016. The last victory was part of a 15-1 season that saw the Wildcats win the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 3A State title.
Kemper County’s success shouldn’t be surprising because its roots come from Chris Jones’ upbringing in Shuqualak and then as a player for veteran coach M.C. Miller at Noxubee County High.
Shorter, who was an assistant coach for Miller before taking over the program, remembers Jones as a smart young man who had a motor on the football field that didn’t quit. Shorter has seen Jones apply those same traits at Kemper County High, which is why he is confident Jones will do well as the new football coach at Starkville High.
“I think he is a great person,” Shorter said. “He is not one of those coaches who cares just about wins and losses and championships. He cares about young people and molding young men.”
On Wednesday, the Starkville-Oktibbeha County District School Board unanimously approved the hiring of Jones as the Yellow Jackets’ 19th football coach at a special board meeting. He will be introduced at 2 p.m. today.
Jones takes over for Ricky Woods, who spent two seasons at the school and led the team to the 2015 MHSAA Class 6A State championship. After Starkville failed to make the playoffs in 2016, Woods resigned and decided to return to South Panola High, where he will coach that school’s football team.
Kemper County High hired Jones, 34, in 2012. He went 9-4 in his first season in 2013. The Wildcats finished 1-10 in 2012. Jones capped a four-year stint at Kemper County this past season when he led the Wildcats to the 2016 MHSAA Class 3A State championship. He had a 45-12 record at the school.
Jones went on to have a standout career as a wide receiver at Jackson State. He told The Dispatch on Wednesday he had a “few cups of coffee” in the NFL before playing in the Arena League and in the Canadian Football League. He then worked as an assistant coach under Miller at Noxubee County and Louisville high schools prior to taking his first job as a head coach at Kemper County High. He helped transform a program that won one game the year before he arrived.
Shorter expects Jones to have the same success at Starkville High in part because he saw him do a lot of the things he does with his program at Noxubee County High. He said what Jones accomplished at Kemper County High was “amazing” and that he wishes him nothing but the best.
“He took a place that really was basketball orientated and changed the culture around and changed it to a football school,” Shorter said. “He got those people there believing in football.”
Shorter said he talked to Jones after Woods stepped down as Starkville High’s coach. He said he told Jones he wasn’t interested in applying for the position and encouraged him to put his name in the running. He said Jones has done a great job listening to advice from other coaches and incorporating it into his coaching style.
Columbus High football coach Randal Montgomery, whose team defeated Kemper County each of the last two seasons, agreed with Shorter’s assessment. He, too, feels Starkville High made a great hire.
“His teams always were well prepared, they always played really hard, and they seemed to fight for the head coach,” Montgomery said. “You could just tell they had a real bond with Chris because those guys played really hard for him. When kids playing that hard for you, there is a special bond between them and the coach.”
Montgomery said Jones was successful because he tailored his philosophies to his talent. He said the Wildcats had “a lot of guys make plays in space” because Jones was able to find ways to exploit their skills. Montgomery feels Jones will be able to step in at Starkville High and “hit the ground running” and be able to coach at a school that has an established program. He is confident Jones will be able to get the Yellow Jackets to buy into his style.
Shorter said that mind-set will include a high-energy brand of football that plays to the final whistle, as evidenced by the fact that the Wildcats rallied from a 21-0 halftime deficit to beat the Tigers this past season.
“I thought his kids were well disciplined and had no quit in them,” Shorter said. “That is who he was as a player. He just carried that same thing and molded it into those kids.
“I am proud of him. In a short period of time what he is doing for high school football in Mississippi is a great thing.”
Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait contributed to this story.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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