STARKVILLE — At this time last year, Jeffery Pittman was torching junior college defenses all over Mississippi while playing his home games at Gene Murphy Field at Joe Renfroe Stadium, a venue with a seating capacity of approximately 6,000.
In other words, a far cry from the raucous, cowbell-clanging crowd of more than 51,000 that the transfer from Hinds Community College played in front of last Saturday night at Davis Wade Stadium. But Pittman, unfazed by the noise and the bright lights, only needed one moment of brilliance to forever make his way into Mississippi State lore.
Pittman’s name has not appeared on the Bulldogs’ depth chart at running back — he’s behind senior Jo’Quavious Marks, true freshman Seth Davis and redshirt sophomore Simeon Price. In regulation against Arizona, he had managed just four yards on three carries and had not yet been used in the passing game.
The play he’ll be remembered for was one offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay said he kept in his pocket for too long. Barbay was saving it for a third-and-long situation, but as MSU faced a second-and-14 on the first series of overtime, he knew it was the right time.
“I was expecting a little bit of pressure from (Arizona defensive coordinator) Johnny Nansen,” Barbay said. “Pittman made a heck of a play. (Quarterback) Will (Rogers) did a great job of holding that thing and letting the defense come to him. Really proud of those guys. They would have executed whatever play was called.”
Rogers faked a swing pass to Marks in the left flat, then dumped the ball to Pittman on a screen. Pittman immediately stared down Wildcats middle linebacker Daniel Heimuli, but he bounced off the hit and found open space along the right sideline, where only one man stood between Pittman and the goal line.
Safety Gunner Maldonado met him at the 1-yard line, but Pittman lowered his shoulder and spun himself over the safety, landing on his knees in the end zone. The touchdown gave the Bulldogs a 31-24 lead and would hold up as the game-winning score.
“I told him, ‘You’ll remember that for the rest of your life,’” Marks said. “That’s a critical touchdown right there. He’s always ready.”
Pittman was used to putting up big numbers — he prepped at Taylorsville High School and helped the Tartars win back-to-back state championships, rushing for 1,412 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior in 2020. But at a school with an enrollment of fewer than 200 students, Pittman did not garner much interest from collegiate programs, landing at Hinds and playing for head coach Larry Williams and the Eagles.
He burst onto the scene in his first year at Hinds, rushing for 1,111 yards and 23 touchdowns in just nine games. Pittman didn’t quite reach that level of production in 2022, but he still found the end zone 10 times in eight games and rushed for at least 100 yards in five of them.
“He was just an unselfish football player,” Williams said. “Some of the runs he made in this league were just grown-man runs. That kind of motivated our guys when they saw him making those runs, how tough he played. Same thing in the weight room. He would take a challenge personally.”
All of a sudden, major college programs were taking notice. As the top-ranked junior college running back in his class, Pittman had offers from Colorado, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Monroe, among others. But as soon as he found out he would have the chance to remain in his home state and play in the Southeastern Conference, he shut down his recruitment and committed on the spot to MSU.
Williams said some of Pittman’s opponents at Hinds were so impressed with him that they would shake his hand and compliment him after games. The Eagles opened their 2023 season last Thursday with a road game at Northeast Mississippi Community College, and the team stopped for a meal in Starkville on the way to catch up with their former star running back.
“It was a pleasure to coach a kid like that,” Williams said. “You hardly ever knew he was in a room; he was strictly business. He told me because (the Bulldogs) do so many different formations and use so many different backs, he feels like it’s a good situation for him where he can get on the field and play right away.”
MSU’s running back room, headlined by Marks, is deep, with Price, Davis and Penn State transfer Keyvone Lee. But in an offense with a renewed emphasis on running the ball — which perhaps bordered on an overreliance at times against Arizona — Pittman is sure to get his touches. And he’s already taken advantage of one of those touches when the stakes could not have been much higher.
“He probably hadn’t had as many opportunities as some of the other guys, but he took full advantage,” Barbay said. “Every football play has a history and a life of its own. Every single football play, no matter if it’s junior high (or) the Super Bowl, every play has a life of its own. You never know when your play might go down in history, and Pittman is a living example of that right there.”
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