STARKVILLE — Jason Washington smiled ear to ear when he heard the news.

As an assistant coach at the University of Houston in 2016, Washington first recruited defensive back Jalen Green. A year later at the University of Texas, Washington helped sign the five-star prospect and bring him to Austin.

Now, the two were about to be reunited. It was January. Green had announced his transfer from Texas earlier in the month. And he’d made up his mind on his new destination: He wanted to follow Washington, Mississippi State’s second-year safeties coach, to Starkville.

“He kept it real with me from Day 1, kept his loyalty,” Green said. “That’s hard to find.”

So is a player like Green, whose 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame coupled with his athleticism make him a dangerous weapon on the field. Through four games, the Houston native has been a valuable addition to the Bulldogs’ secondary as he prepares for a return to his home state Saturday at Texas A&M.

“It’s huge to have him here,” Washington said during fall camp Aug. 10. “I think he’s a blessing to this room.”

Not missing a beat

And Green’s contributions have come at a whole new position. A cornerback since his days at Houston Heights High School, Green has been Mississippi State’s starting free safety throughout 2021.

It wasn’t an easy transition. Green had to learn where to line up and what his assignments were. Fellow safety Collin Duncan pointed out there’s a lot more room to cover on the inside as well as varied responsibilities, including shedding blocks of offensive linemen 100 or more pounds larger.

So far, Green has passed most of his tests with flying colors.

“For him to come from corner and come in at safety and not really miss much of a beat, I feel like that’s pretty impressive,” Duncan said.

But there’s one achievement that eludes him: his first sack as a Bulldog. Green had a chance at it against LSU, but he failed to bring down quarterback Max Johnson, whiffing on the tackle before linebacker Aaron Brule cleaned up the play.

So far, Green’s inability to achieve a sack has become a running joke among Mississippi State’s defenders. They’ve even jokingly advised Green never to blitz again, Duncan said.

But Green’s teammates know when his first takedown does come, more will follow.

“He’s such a big competitor and works so hard, there’s no telling how many sacks he’ll get before the season ends,” Duncan said.

It certainly squares with Green’s physicality on the field. The Texas transfer said he likes the “violence” in coordinator Zach Arnett’s defense, and he shows it: Green has recovered a fumble, recorded an interception and broken up three passes. He owns several big hits among his 17 tackles so far this season.

“Jalen’s a big hands-on guy and likes to try to get his hands on receivers and that kind of stuff,” Washington said. “If he’s able to get his hands on you, he’s pretty dominant.”

‘Like a movie’

A limited ability to showcase those talents led in part to Green’s exit from Texas.

After starting seven games as a sophomore, Green started just one in 2020. Washington had already left for Mississippi State after the 2019 season. On Jan. 2, head coach Tom Herman was fired.

For Green, Herman’s ousting was critical in determining the course of his future. He sat down to talk to his parents, seeking their advice. They told him they’d back him 100 percent; so did his aunt, uncle and grandmother.

“It was a good feeling knowing that I had that kind of support behind me,” Green said.

In mid-January, he put his name into the NCAA transfer portal, ready to leave his home-state school behind.

“I felt like I had a better opportunity going somewhere else to play so I could show my talents,” Green said.

Plenty of schools came calling for the former five-star recruit once recruited by LSU, Alabama and more.

But only one program had Washington.

On Jan. 23, Green announced his commitment to Mississippi State.

“I wanted to go somewhere where I already knew somebody,” Green said Aug. 10. “That had a big impact on my decision.”

In doing so, he closed the chapter on the three years he’d spent at Texas. Apart from his close relationship with Washington, Green said he chose the Longhorns in part because he had the chance to play alongside several friends from home in Austin as the group decided together on the same college.

“We all had fun, and we decided to go to the same school together,” Green said.

His former Texas teammates weren’t the only future Division I players Green grew up around.

He played football at Heights with wide receiver Jacoby Hopkins, now at Texas State, and with linebacker Joshua Reed, now at Grambling State.

“It was pretty fun,” Green said of his high school career. “It was really like a movie. I really just had fun there in high school playing the sport that I love.”

Back to winning

A pair of Texas A&M players also counted among Green’s friends from seven-on-seven football and elsewhere: wide receiver Ainias Smith and defensive back Leon O’Neal Jr. Green said the three haven’t talked about this week’s contest but that he’s looking forward to playing against them.

When that matchup comes — Green could very well be matched up against Smith on Saturday night — it will be in an environment Green knows well. Houston is roughly an hour and a half from College Station, and Texas A&M was one of the schools Green visited during his recruitment. He said the atmosphere at the Aggies’ Kyle Field — capacity 102,733 — was “amazing.”

Of course, on Saturday, the stadium will be filled to six figures with fans rooting against Green and his teammates.

“It’s going to be different because I’m actually playing against them instead of watching them play,” Green said.
Green said his main drive to succeed won’t be a chance to beat his old friends Smith and O’Neal. Snapping Mississippi State’s two-game losing skid is a far more immediate matter.

“It’s really motivating just trying to get back in the win column,” Green said. “That’s what we’re really focused on: just trying to get back to winning.”

He said a key piece of the success the Bulldogs hope to achieve comes from the simple ability to take it easy. Every Thursday, the team takes a metaphorical “deep breath” — eating dinner, playing games and merely spending time together.

“I feel like it helps a lot just having a time to relax and not worry about football, to just enjoy the time with your brothers and check up on them and see how they’re doing besides football,” Green said.

After all, it’s what they did for him. When Green arrived in Starkville in the spring, his fellow players soon showed him he’d made the right choice.

“When I first got here, they all just greeted me with open arms and showed love to me and showed the support that they have,” Green said.

Now, with his play, Green is paying them back.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.