STARKVILLE — Coming into his senior season at Starkville, safety CJ Willis had been a steady presence in the Yellow Jackets defense the past three seasons.
However, with last season’s starting running back, Jordan Mitchell, graduating in the spring, Starkville had a big hole in its offense.
The last time Willis played running back was in junior high, so while it was familiar to him, it would take a bit of time to get himself back into that mindset.
After his first true start of the season against Clinton, Willis quickly picked things back up.
Since that point, he’s been a key contributor for the recent offensive dominance of the Yellow Jackets, who found themselves back in the MHSAA Class 6A title game Saturday for the first time since 2017.
“It really wasn’t a big deal,” Willis said. “I just wanted to help the team. Our main goal was to win states, and we’re here now.”
That Clinton game was Starkville’s sixth game of the season, and since that point, Willis put together quite the nine-game stretch for the Yellow Jackets, leading the team in rushing with 792 yards while being second to quarterback Trey Petty in rushing touchdowns with six.
His breakout performance of the season was that second start the following week against Tupelo, at that point, came into the game 6-0 and hadn’t allowed more than 10 points in a game, but Willis himself scored two touchdowns as Starkville gave the Golden Wave their toughest test of the season to that point.
He rushed for 207 yards and two 40-plus-yard touchdown runs in that game, very quickly establishing himself within 6A football that he meant business.
“He always wanted to carry the ball,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “Truthfully, everyone on defense wants to carry the ball, play running back, quarterback, but it just kind of happened (with CJ). We put him back there one game, and we didn’t really have anyone else.” “He took advantage of the opportunity and has been good ever since.”
Willis has been one of the key leaders on this Starkville team on the defensive side of the football over the past three years, but being able to retain that level of leadership in a completely new role on the other side of the football has been massive.
Leaders have the ability to adapt and overcome adversity regardless of the circumstances, but on top of that, they can still be incredibly effective and, in select cases, dominant.
Averaging 88 rushing yards a game in nine starts as the primary running back after not getting any touches for the previous three seasons of high school fits that to perfection.
“That Tupelo game gave me a lot of confidence,” Willis said. “After that, I was ready. I was rollin’. I was feelin’ myself … This season, it was all about not quitting. Anytime somebody messed up, had their head down, it was as simple as just focusing on the next play.”
Starkville and Willis have definitely kept that mentality of ‘keep moving forward’ as the season wore on for the Yellow Jackets.
Once a team in the midst of a three-game losing streak, those coming in the first three district games of the season, they’ve righted the ship and rightfully earned their place in the MHSAA Class 6A title game.
That’s especially true after the performance that the Yellow Jackets had in the semifinals against Tupelo last Friday, scoring 41 points on the Golden Wave on the road.
Willis got 20 touches in that win, running for 77 yards. With three games of 100-plus rushing yards and three multi-touchdown performances this season, he sought Saturday night to replicate that success on the biggest stage of his high school career to state: the state championship game.
“Last year, around this time, we were at home watching,” Willis said Friday. “We should have been there. We lost to Madison Central in the last round of the playoffs. That’s what we talked about: Remember that feeling.
“I’m feeling good. I wish tomorrow was today.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 45 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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