Nine Members of Mississippi State Football Team Selected to Athlon Sports All-SEC Team

A total of nine Mississippi State football players were selected to the Athlon Sports All-SEC Team on Tuesday.

Quarterback Will Rogers was one of four offensive players slated to have an outstanding 2022 season. Wide receiver Jaden Walley, center LaQuinston Sharp and all-purpose player Jo'quavious Marks were the other athletes selected for the All-SEC offense. Defensively, linebackers Jett Johnson and Tyrus Wheat, cornerback Emmanuel Forbes and defensive lineman Jaden Crumedy also made the list. MSU even had one special-teams athlete make the cut: speedy kick-returner Lideatrick Griffin.

Out of each of the 14 SEC teams, Mississippi State was fifth in total student-athletes named to the All-SEC Team. Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia and Tennessee were the only teams with more players selected.

Rogers had an outstanding 2021 season as the signal-caller for the Bulldogs. He finished his sophomore year with a 73.9 percent completion percentage and threw for 4,739 yards with 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Rogers broke countless single-season records for Mississippi State and finished among the best in the nation in many passing categories.

Walley has played a pivotal part in the Air Raid offense over the last two seasons. The rising junior has totaled 107 receptions for 1,346 yards with eight touchdowns in his collegiate career. Marks is another talented offensive player who has contributed a little bit of everything to the team. In 2021, he put up 416 yards and six touchdowns on the ground while also accumulating a total of 502 receiving yards with three touchdown receptions.

Sharp, a redshirt senior, will be bringing leadership to an offensive line that has a few holes to fill. He started all 13 games for the Bulldogs last season and played a key role in protecting his quarterback in the pass-heavy offense.

As the team's top kick returner, Griffin had some shining moments in his sophomore year. He returned a kickoff for a 100-yard touchdown against NC State in the second game of the season and totaled 459 yards on kick returns -- even while missing a few games due to an injury. He helped the Bulldogs on offense with 269 receiving yards on 26 receptions.

Johnson and Wheat are veteran players who are bringing toughness and strength to Mississippi State's defense. While Johnson had 87 tackles, Wheat picked up 7.5 sacks for a loss of 52 yards. The pair also had one forced fumble and one interception each.

Forbes is a turnover machine, to say the least. The cornerback has totaled eight interceptions in just two seasons with the Bulldogs. Three of those have been returned for touchdowns, which leads all active players in the FBS. He has also accounted for 104 tackles, 5.5 tackles-for-losses and one sack in his collegiate career.

Crumedy, a defensive tackle, is another experienced athlete heading into his redshirt senior season. Through four years in maroon and white, he has accumulated 69 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-losses and four sacks. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound defender has shown steady improvement through the years.

Mississippi State kicks off its much-anticipated 2022 season in less than two months, as the Bulldogs will take on Memphis on September 3rd.