Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics
A Breakout Performance By Jett Johnson
September 12, 2021 | Football
STARKVILLE – Jett Johnson has been at Mississippi State for over three years and only had five career tackles entering 2021.
But the redshirt junior linebacker burst onto the scene in a big way against NC State last Saturday with a career-best nine stops to go along with a half-tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.
"I feel like I've waited my time and paid my dues," Johnson said. "I've just tried to keep a level head through the highs and lows. I'm just thankful for my teammates and coach (Zach) Arnett for trusting me in situations like this."
Johnson made four tackles in the first half but it was his fifth stop that proved to be the highlight of his collegiate career to this point. On the opening drive of the third quarter, the 6-foot-2, 235-pounder from Tupelo lowered his shoulder to pop the football free from the grasp of Wolfpack running back Zonovan Knight.
The fumble was recovered by safety Jalen Green near midfield and seven plays later, MSU's offense punched it in for a touchdown to go up 21-3.
"Coach Arnett and the whole defensive staff preach pursuit, pursuit, pursuit," Johnson said. "I'm not the most talented guy so I have to bust my tail on every play. So that's what I did, I just ran to the ball. Our defensive philosophy is run to the ball with bad intentions. So I got the ball out and we scored off that turnover so that was a good deal."
Johnson's hustle, work ethic and dependability has already helped endear himself to head coach Mike Leach, who had glowing remarks about him following Saturday's win.
"Jett Johnson does a great job of being the same guy every single day, every single play," Leach said. "There's a reliability on that. There's a consistency to that. As a result, if he's twisting with somebody, they always know where he's going to be. If he splits with somebody, they always know where he's going to be, and he always hits it at the same speed – full speed.
"The NFL is full of guys like that. The NFL is full of Jett Johnsons. Guys that aren't the biggest or the fastest, but are great football players. That's kind of what he is, and it starts with being the same guy every play. It becomes something you can rely on, something you can game plan around, something that you can expect every time."
Although he has come off the bench in both games thus far, Johnson has already accumulated 13 tackles. That tackle total ranks him third on the team in that category.
The NC State game was just the breakout moment Johnson has been preparing for and he hopes will propel him into an even bigger role for the defense moving forward.
"It's a big confidence booster," Johnson said. "Hopefully I showed the coaching staff that they can trust me in big situations."
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But the redshirt junior linebacker burst onto the scene in a big way against NC State last Saturday with a career-best nine stops to go along with a half-tackle for loss, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.
"I feel like I've waited my time and paid my dues," Johnson said. "I've just tried to keep a level head through the highs and lows. I'm just thankful for my teammates and coach (Zach) Arnett for trusting me in situations like this."
Johnson made four tackles in the first half but it was his fifth stop that proved to be the highlight of his collegiate career to this point. On the opening drive of the third quarter, the 6-foot-2, 235-pounder from Tupelo lowered his shoulder to pop the football free from the grasp of Wolfpack running back Zonovan Knight.
The fumble was recovered by safety Jalen Green near midfield and seven plays later, MSU's offense punched it in for a touchdown to go up 21-3.
"Coach Arnett and the whole defensive staff preach pursuit, pursuit, pursuit," Johnson said. "I'm not the most talented guy so I have to bust my tail on every play. So that's what I did, I just ran to the ball. Our defensive philosophy is run to the ball with bad intentions. So I got the ball out and we scored off that turnover so that was a good deal."
Johnson's hustle, work ethic and dependability has already helped endear himself to head coach Mike Leach, who had glowing remarks about him following Saturday's win.
"Jett Johnson does a great job of being the same guy every single day, every single play," Leach said. "There's a reliability on that. There's a consistency to that. As a result, if he's twisting with somebody, they always know where he's going to be. If he splits with somebody, they always know where he's going to be, and he always hits it at the same speed – full speed.
"The NFL is full of guys like that. The NFL is full of Jett Johnsons. Guys that aren't the biggest or the fastest, but are great football players. That's kind of what he is, and it starts with being the same guy every play. It becomes something you can rely on, something you can game plan around, something that you can expect every time."
Although he has come off the bench in both games thus far, Johnson has already accumulated 13 tackles. That tackle total ranks him third on the team in that category.
The NC State game was just the breakout moment Johnson has been preparing for and he hopes will propel him into an even bigger role for the defense moving forward.
"It's a big confidence booster," Johnson said. "Hopefully I showed the coaching staff that they can trust me in big situations."
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