Everything Mississippi State CB Jett Jefferson said after Wednesday's practice

Mississippi State football held its fifth preseason practice ahead of the 2025 season on Wednesday. Afterwards, three players met with reporters to talk about the team's progress in the early portion of preseason practices, including junior college transfer Jett Jefferson. Here's everything he had to say:

Jett Jefferson, CB

Jett, your coaches have kind of mentioned you a couple times. Some of your teammates have. What do you have to say about your performance so far?

I've been doing pretty well during the spring, during the fall. You know, we've been competing. We got a great corner room and, you know, I'm just trying to compete and get better.

Facing off against the ones offensively, who are some guys you enjoy going up against?

Oh, you know, I love—I mean all the receivers—all of them, great guys, you know, all of them competing to get a good spot. So, all the guys, they're very very good. So, you know, I'm just trying to get better.

How do you assess just the overall quality of the receiver group?

Oh, yeah. There's no drop-off, man. I mean the ones, two, three—all of them, you know, high caliber players. So, you know, it's hard to go against all of them.

How is that making you a better player?

Oh, you know, they all competing with them. You know, they play fast, they get to their spot, and they uh—they’re coached very well.

Who's some of the guys standing out at your position so far?

I can't really say because like all the guys, we're all competing for a spot. You know, we're all moving forward and trying to be good as a corner group and get better as a team.

Who gives you the most problems on the other side of the ball at receiver?

I would say all of them. You know, all of them very fast. We got some fast guys on the offense, you know, and they play hard, so it'd be hard competing against.

What's kind of the toughest thing you had to adjust to coming from JUCO off the bat?

Really it's much faster than JUCO. You know, a lot of guys are much bigger, faster. So, I mean, it's a lot to process, but you know, you got to move forward and grow.

Which corner are you primarily working at?

I play both sides. I mean, it don't really matter. So, I mean, you got to be good on both sides to get to the next level. So, I work both.

So, do you have no preference?

No, sir. I don't. I don't.

Kelly's a guy that's been here a couple years now. I mean, what has his relationship been like with you? What has he done to kind of help you prepare?

He's been a good friend. You know, he's helped me learn the plays and learn how to be a better teammate and be a leader, and follow the group.

Junior college guys—there aren't as many being recruited now because of the senior transfer portal, but Mississippi State targeted you and wanted you. How does that reinforce your ideas about your belonging at this level?

I feel like you just—I mean, you can be found anywhere. You know, if you put it on film, you can get where you want to be. Just work hard and pray, and you'll get there.

What do you think about the defense as a whole now that you're about a week into camp?

We bring a lot of energy to the team: to workouts, practice, meeting room. You know, we have a lot of energy, and we just try to do stuff as a team and be great.

Has it been fun getting the contact going?

Yeah, it has been fun. You know, man, we've been thudding and not hitting as much, but now we get to bring some guys down and it's fun.

Are you looking forward to the first scrimmage?

Oh, yeah. I'm looking forward to it. I'm ready to hit, you know, get to it.

Who are some of the other leaders on defense? I know you talked about Kelly, but other safeties, linebackers, defensive line—who have kind of taken charge for the whole unit?

We got a lot of leaders on defense. It's a lot to name, but I would say some is like Hunt and Bravo J, man, you know, the safety. They’re leaders on the defense. And some linebackers like Jalen who was just in here—you know, guys just coming in. So, I mean, we all trying to build a bond together to be able to come together as a team.

While you were being recruited last year, you could see some of the struggles the defense had. But can you see the difference now in the way the front seven is playing—maybe making life easier for the secondary?

Oh, yeah. The front seven—they some dogs down there, you know. They getting to it. They helping us out on the back end. So we trust them and they trust us, and we just work as a team to get it.