The countdown to this year’s college football season has begun in earnest with less than four weeks until Mississippi State opens the season on Aug. 31 against Eastern Kentucky at Davis Wade Stadium. The Bulldogs, under first-year head coach Jeff Lebby, opened fall camp last Thursday.
As camp progresses, The Dispatch will be taking a look at each position group on MSU’s roster, noting who could be the potential starters, backups and impact players to look out for on the zzzgridiron.
For the last several years, the Bulldogs have been blessed with a shutdown cornerback who has gone on to play at the next level, from Martin Emerson to Emmanuel Forbes to most recently Decamerion Richardson. MSU does not have a proven star corner this year, but youngsters Brice Pollock and Kelley Jones have both flashed potential in their brief playing time so far.
Here is all you need to know about the Bulldogs’ cornerbacks heading into the 2024 campaign.
The Starters
Brice Pollock
6-foot-1, 190-pound sophomore from Snellville, Georgia
Pollock played in 11 games and started three as a true freshman last year, finishing with 24 tackles and one pass breakup. He grew a lot as the season progressed and is likely MSU’s best cover corner heading into his sophomore season. Pollock chose the Bulldogs over Ole Miss, Kentucky and several other major conference offers.
Kelley Jones
6-foot-4, 195-pound redshirt freshman from Clarksdale, Mississippi
Built more like a wide receiver than a cornerback, Jones can cover some of the biggest and fastest wideouts MSU will play thanks to his long frame. He played in just three games last year as a true freshman, with his only appearance in Southeastern Conference play coming against Alabama.
The Backups
Khamauri Rogers
6-foot, 180-pound redshirt sophomore from Madison, Mississippi
Rogers spent his freshman year at Miami but played in just one game, then returned to his home state last season but did not see the field at all. He was the No. 3 prospect in Mississippi for his class out of high school and a consensus four-star recruit.
DeAgo Brumfield
6-foot, 190-pound senior from Cincinnati, Ohio
Brumfield played his first two collegiate seasons at NAIA Campbellsville University before transferring to Memphis for his junior year, where he started 12 games for the Tigers and helped them to a 10-3 campaign. He finished the year with 42 tackles and a team-leading 10 pass breakups to go along with a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble.
Raydarious Jones
6-foot-2, 180-pound redshirt senior from Horn Lake, Mississippi
Jones spent three years at LSU, playing in 16 games including nine in 2021. But in his two seasons as a Bulldog, Jones has made just one appearance — last September against his former team. He did recover a fumble in MSU’s spring game this past April.
Montre Miller
5-foot-11, 190-pound redshirt senior from Blythewood, South Carolina
Miller is entering his seventh year in college, the first five of which came at Kent State. He played in eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2019, then started 25 contests between 2021 and 2022. In his last season with the Golden Flashes, Miller had 52 tackles (40 of them solo) as well as two interceptions and eight pass breakups. He transferred to West Virginia for the 2023 season but played in just one game there due to injury.
The Rest
Traveon Wright
6-foot, 180-pound redshirt freshman from Perry, Georgia
Wright joins the Bulldogs after spending his freshman season at Memphis, where he did not play in any games.
Elijah Cannon
6-foot, 180-pound freshman from Coconut Creek, Florida
Cannon, from talent-rich South Florida, had three interceptions and six pass deflections in his final high school season.
Nicholas Bargains
5-foot-9, 170-pound redshirt sophomore from Allen, Texas
Bargains has not seen the field in his two years with the Bulldogs.
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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 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
