2018 Football Roster
Roster
Johnathan Abram
- Position:
- S
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- 215
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Columbia, MS
- High School/Previous School:
- Jones County JC
2019 NFL Combine Participant
2019 Senior Bowl Selection
2018 Second-Team All-American (The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports, AFCA)
2018 Third-Team All-American (Associated Press, Phil Steele)
2018 First-Team All-SEC (Associated Press)
2018 Second-Team All-SEC (Coaches)
2018 SEC Defensive Player of the Week (vs. Arkansas)
CAREER: Hard-hitting, instinctive safety who has a nose for the football … Has been touted as the No. 1 safety in the 2019 NFL Draft ... Vocal leader on and off the field … Boasts three years of SEC experience with his last two at MSU … Played in 26 games with 18 starts at MSU … Totaled 170 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, five sacks, three fumbles forced and two interceptions in two seasons in Starkville … Put together an All-America senior season … Teamed with Mark McLaurin to form one of the elite safety tandems in the country … Arrived at MSU via the junior college ranks and prior to that played as a freshman at Georgia … Graduated from MSU in December 2018 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies.
2018 SENIOR SEASON: Regarded as one of the top defensive backs in college football … Saw action in 13 games with 11 starts – nine at safety and twice at star … Earned six All-America honors which included The Athletic (second team), Sports Illustrated (second team), The Associated Press (third team), CBS Sports (second team), American Football Coaches Association (second team) and Phil Steele (third team) … Also collected All-SEC first-team honors from the AP and second-team honors from the coaches … Led the team and ranked eighth in the SEC in tackles (99) … Filled the stat sheet with nine tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, five pass breakups, one fumble forced and one fumble recovered … Was tops in the SEC and third in the nation in total pressures among safeties (16) according to Pro Football Focus … Five of his recorded pressures were QB hits, which led the SEC and tied for third in the country among safeties … His 99 tackles also were the most of any SEC defensive back … Finished with at least one tackle for loss in each of the last four games, including a career-high 3.5 on Senior Day vs. Arkansas (11/17) and totaled seven during that span … Closed out the regular season tops in the SEC among safeties with a 43.6 passer rating allowed, per PFF … Dominated the month of November with 31 tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble … Averaged 8.4 tackles in conference games, which led all SEC defensive backs … Logged at least eight tackles in eight different games … His nine tackles for loss were the second-most in the SEC among defensive backs … Recorded his first interception of the season in the third game vs. Louisiana (9/15) … Turned in his first of two double-digit tackle efforts (10) and added one sack at No. 5 LSU (10/20) … Was a ballhawk at No. 1 Alabama (11/10) as he tallied nine tackles, one tackle for loss and three pressures, including a pair of QB hits … Earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance vs. Arkansas (11/17) which included career highs in tackles (12), tackles for loss (3.5) and sacks (1.5) … Also forced and recovered a fumble and was responsible for a season-high five pressures according to PFF against the Razorbacks … Closed the regular season with four tackles, including one for loss, and an interception at Ole Miss (11/22).
2017 JUNIOR SEASON: Appeared in 13 games with seven starts at safety … Over his debut season, recorded at least five tackles in nine of his 13 appearances, including a career-high nine in the TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Louisville (12/30) … Ranked second on the team with 71 total tackles, which was 29th in the SEC … His 43 solo tackles led MSU … Also had five tackles for loss … Starts came against Louisiana Tech, Georgia, BYU, UMass, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Louisville … Made his debut as a Bulldog in MSU’s season opener against Charleston Southern (9/2) … Earned his first-career start at Louisiana Tech (9/9) and tallied seven tackles … Grabbed four tackles and recorded his first-career pass break-up in MSU’s historic win over No. 11 LSU (9/16) … Led the defense on the road at Arkansas (11/18) with five tackles, matching his career-high 1.0 TFL and forcing his first fumble as a Bulldog … Tallied career-highs in tackles (9), sacks (1.5) and TFL (2.0) in TaxSlayer Bowl victory over Louisville (12/30).
2016 JUNIOR COLLEGE: No. 1 junior college safety in America and a consensus four-star prospect … Among all JUCO prospects ranked No. 10 overall by 247Sports and No. 25 overall by Scout.com … Spent one season at Jones County and made 23 tackles, including 2.5 for loss to go along with one pass breakup and one forced fumble … Also saw some action at quarterback in “Wildcat” formations.
2015 AT GEORGIA: Appeared in 10 games and made four starts at Georgia ... Collected 25 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss ... Had five tackles vs. No. 11 Florida ... Collected four tackles at Tennessee ... Made his first college start against South Carolina, finishing with four tackles ... Originally enrolled at Georgia in January 2015.
HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped at East Marion, coached by Kevin Jackson ... 2014 MAC Defensive Player of the Year … A three-star prospect by ESPN.com, Scout.com and 247Sports and No. 14 overall prospect in the state of Mississippi … Returned an interception for a touchdown in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star game … Led East Marion to a 10-5 record and a berth in the 2014 2A Mississippi state semifinal game … Played quarterback in addition to safety for East Marion … Finished his junior season with 88 total tackles, five interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery as well as 1,288 rushing yards, 19 rushing yards, 1,737 passing yards and 21 passing touchdowns … Two-sport athlete who was a three-time varsity player for the baseball team.
PERSONAL: Born Johnathan Jauquez Abram on Oct. 25, 1996 … Twitter handle is @JohnathanAbram1.
ABRAM’S CAREER HIGHS
Tackles: 12, vs. Arkansas (11-17-18)
Tackles For Loss: 3.5, vs. Arkansas (11-17-18)
Sacks: 1.5, (twice) last vs. Arkansas (11-17-18)
Pass Breakups: 2, (twice) last at Ole Miss (11-22-18)
Interceptions: 1, (twice) last at Ole Miss (11-22-18)
