Kelley Jones Makes Mississippi State Relevant in Way-Too-Early Talk

Mississippi State cornerback Kelley Jones was named a first-team All-American on On3’s way-too-early 2026 team after a shutdown season.

Mississippi State Bulldogs defensive back Kelley Jones (1) reacts after a pass breakup during the first quarter against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

We have reached the point of the college football offseason where things have quieted down somewhat.

Now we can start to get an idea for what teams will look like, who the best on paper is and who will be the star players next season.

Plenty of outlets will take their best guesses at all of those things. Many have already published their way-too-early top 25 rankings. Unsurprisingly, Mississippi State hasn’t appeared on many of those, but there is a Bulldog being considered one of the best for next season.

Cornerback Kelley Jones was named a first-team All-American in On3’s Way-Too-Early 2026 All-America football team. He was the only Mississippi State player to be included on the list.

Here’s what On3’s Chris Low wrote about Jones:

“Had Jones decided to turn pro, he was a projected first-round NFL draft pick, especially given his size (6-4, 195 pounds), physicality and speed. The 2025 season was Jones’ first as a full-time starter, and he finished with two interceptions and 11 pass breakups. Jones led the country in coverage snaps per reception (31.8), a Pro Football Focus metric that measures how many passing plays a cornerback plays before allowing a catch.”

He was one of the highest graded corners in the country as he finished fourth among corners in the SEC by PFF with a 87.0 grade and he had a 21.7% completion percentage against which was tied for the best in the league.

Jones was also ranked the No. 34 overall college football player in On3’s way-too-early top 100 list.

Jones’ greatness is nothing new to Mississippi State fans. All season long he was a shutdown corner. Opposing receivers would have to make highlight reel-worthy catches against him.

Remember some of those long passing plays towards the end of the season? Jones wasn’t the defender in coverage for those.

Jones was one of the players fans were more eager to learn about their future. He could’ve gone to the NFL and nobody would’ve been surprised. But he choose to return to Starkville for at least one more season.

With Jones back for 2026, as well as defensive lineman Will Whitson (the one lead Mississippi State in sacks with 1.5 for most of the season), Jaray Bledsoe, safety Isaac Smith, linebackers Zakari Tillman and Jalen Smith, and a host of transfer portal additions in a class ranked No. 13 overall by On3, the Bulldogs might have a defense that can, you know, stop opposing offenses.