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Jahron Manning, Bulldog defense seeking to bounce back against Missouri

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones5 hours agoPaulJonesOn3
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Mississippi State Safety Jahron Manning

It is safe to say last weekend against Georgia wasn’t the finest moment of the year for Mississippi State’s defensive unit. Georgia had its way with State on the ground, through the air and any which way possible.

This weekend that group looks to rebound and safety Jahron Manning noted this week they have to return to the standard expectations for the defense. Manning missed the second half of the Georgia outing due to targeting but will be full go on Saturday against Missouri.

Manning leads the team in tackles (70), second in PBUs (4) and fourth in tackles for loss (3). He met with the media earlier this week to discuss last week and to look ahead to Missouri:

Q: Obviously, it wasn’t fun for you having to miss the second half. But from the sidelines, what did you see from the defense?
Manning: I feel like we had a lot of mental errors as a defense. We didn’t play our best brand of football that we normally play as a defense. I don’t feel like we met our standard. We got to get back this week and fight hard to get back to the defense we normally play.

Q: Missouri likes to run downhill a lot. As a safety, how important is it this week to walk up and fill those gaps?
Manning: You got to have great eye discipline, see connection and make sure you fit off your guy. We’ve got to make sure everybody is in the correct gaps and making sure we are making low, violent tackles.

Q: The last two games Arkansas and Georgia have produced big plays on the ground. Looking back on that, what are you seeing that needs to improve?
Manning: Coming into the SEC every week, you are going to face a good back. Obviously, Missouri has a really good running back core. It’s going to come down to our tackling. I feel like we can’t have as many missed tackles as we did in the Georgia game. That is going to hurt us with a team that has such a good running ability like Missouri does.

Q: Execution has been a really big thing for this defense this year. What’s it going to take Saturday to get back to that?
Manning: Communication. Communication as a defense to make sure we are always on the same page and cleaning up the mental errors that we had this week and play our best brand of football.

Q: After you were ejected for targeting against Georgia, what were your coaches and teammates telling you?
Manning: My teammates and coaches kept my head high. Not being able to play and be on the field with my brothers in the second half, it was something hard to deal with. But I had to show my leadership role on the sidelines and that is what I took away at the time. But playing college football, it’s a bang-bang play. I’m just happy the guy got up okay.

Q: How has the team been returning to practice this week after the Georgia loss?
Manning: Our team responded well. We’ve faced a lot of adversity this season and I don’t think one person in this building has backed down from it.

Q: Kelley Jones is having a great season at cornerback this year. How would you describe his game?
Manning: Kelley has been a phenomenal player for us at corner. Makes a lot of great plays and does a lot of great things. It’s just amazing to have a guy like that on the field that can shut down one side of the field.

Q: You go against KaMario Taylor each week. If he starts this week at quarterback, what kind of element does he add to the offense?
Manning: We have a lot of faith in KaMario. KaMario can hurt you with his legs, decision-making. He is just an all-around athlete and I feel like going into the game if he was to be the starter, it would make for a very complicated gameplan on the defense on their side.

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