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Mississippi State

Multiple defensive roles awaiting 2026 State commit Maurice Jones this season

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby: Paul Jones07/28/25PaulJonesOn3
maurice jones
Maurice Jones (Photo by Paul Jones, Maroon and White Daily)

Last season 2026 Mississippi State commitment Maurice Jones had a productive junior campaign with 54 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and four sacks. In his final season at Dr. Phillips (Fla.) High School this fall, the Rivals three-star linebacker wants to be more disruptive in the backfield.

Jones will play various positions again this season and that includes learning a new position. Jones is rated as the nation’s No. 100 linebacker and the state’s No. 126 prospect by Rivals.

“This year I will be in the box at middle linebacker and also outside backer,” Jones explained. “I will be a little at defensive end but our outside backer and defensive end are basically the same in our defense. But playing middle backer is something new.”

Overall, this offseason was also productive for Jones. He entered the spring wanting to add more weight to his frame and was also able to take steps forward, mentally.

“This offseason I’ve been building my body back,” added the 6-foot-3 and 220-pound Jones. “Trying to work on my explosiveness and improving my football IQ. I’ve just been doing all that and grinding.”

Jones was one of several out-of-state prospects to join Mississippi State’s Class of 2026 last month. He made that decision during his Bulldog official visit and said things have been smooth with the staff since then.

“It’s been great with Mississippi State,” remarked Jones. “They are in contact with me every 2-3 days. It’s been talking to Coach Vincent Dancy and Coach Courtney Williams. They always check in on me and they’ve been good keeping in contact.”

Those conversations with Dancy have included his role within the Mississippi State’s defensive scheme. While it carries a different title, it is similar to what he does at Dr. Phillips High School.

“We’ve talked about my position there,” Jones noted. “They’ve been recruiting me as an outside backer and they call it a jack linebacker. Possibly, they said I could be in the box, too.

“Coach Dancy has just been telling me to work on my position. He wants me to work on everything with my position.”

Looking toward the fall semester, Jones also expects to be busy with academics. He plans to take several extra classes with hopes of graduating high school in December.

“I am trying to enroll early in January,” mentioned Jones. “I’ve going to be doing a lot of on-line classes and then take all of my core classes this upcoming year.”

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