STARKVILLE — Jamie Mitchell can’t help but consider seniors Princeton Jones, Darius Grayer, and Fontavious Smith as cornerstones of the transformation of the Starkville High School football program.
While announcing the intentions of Princeton Jones, Darius Grayer and Fontavious Smith to sign junior college scholarships Wednesday, Mitchell thanked the players for the belief they showed in the program four years ago.
“It’s pretty obvious that when I and (Starkville Athletic Director) Dr. (Stan) Miller took our jobs here the program was in bad shape,” Mitchell said. “These kids continued to believe and come with effort every day when football wasn’t the thing to do at Starkville.”
Jones, Grayer, and Smith leave a legacy at Starkville that includes two state championship appearances and Class 5A state title from two years ago that laid the foundation for the powerhouse program Mitchell intends to be a mainstay in Class 6A.
“We’re proud to be able to know we left this program better than we had it coming in,” said Smith, who will join Grayer at Holmes Community College in Goodman. “That’s what it’s all about isn’t it? We didn’t know what to expect as ninth-graders walking in, but we trusted our coaches, and our hard work has paid off to this point.”
Smith, Grayer, and Jones, who will attend defending national champion East Mississippi C.C., are part of a new wave of talent from Starkville High that is taking the next step. This class joins a group in 2013 that included Mississippi State freshman Gabe Myles.
“When Jamie and I got here, we were told the athletes weren’t here in Starkville anymore, and we both laughed,” Miller said. “Besides being quality young men, these three represent the quality of athletes that were still around the Starkville area that nobody wanted to see initially.”
Jones’ recruitment was a whirlwind of excitement. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound athlete couldn’t pass up a chance to go to Scooba to play for coach Buddy Stephens’ national champs.
“It means a lot to me to be headed to a program that is consistently competing for championships like EMCC because that was always the goal here at Starkville,” Jones said.
Jones was a three-year starter at wide receiver before he moved to quarterback for his senior season. Mitchell said Wednesday he believed Jones, who had 2,332 total yards and 32 touchdowns, would have attracted more recruiting attention if he hadn’t switched positions.
“It’s one of those situations where I’m so sorry we had to do that with him, and that’s why I’m so glad for him that it ended in a way that allows him to find a home with East Mississippi,” Mitchell said. “He is a such a good athlete I know those coaches will find a way to use him in multiple ways.”
Jones said he hasn’t been told what position he’ll play at EMCC, but he is open to anything that gets him on the field as soon as possible.
“I’m just going to go in there as an athlete and know that the offense they run is incredibly similar to what we did at Starkville, so I think I can make the transition very quickly,” Jones said. “If they want me on defense as an athletic secondary player, I’m happy to do that as well.”
Grayer finished an injury-plagued season with 603 yards and three touchdowns. He also had an interception on and 14 tackles as an emergency defensive back.
Smith also played on both sides of the ball and had an interception and a touchdown in a campaign that ended in the North Half semifinals at South Panola.
“I look at this day as just another step in my future and a blessing to get to play junior college football, and hopefully have that translate into a possibility at a four-year school,” Grayer said. “Our coaches told us when we got here that faith was belief without seeing, and our faith was rewarded on a day like today.”
Follow Matt Stevens on Twitter @matthewcstevens.
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