Injuries last season forced Jamal Peters into a new role, one he shined in towards the season’s end. Now with a year under his belt at the new position, he looks to help lead Mississippi State University’s defense this fall.
When Peters joined MSU as part of the class of 2015, the junior was a four-star recruit and one of the highest rated safety prospects in the country, according to 247sports.com. However, injuries at the corner position in last year’s fall camp forced the Bassfield, Mississippi native into a new position.
“I did not even know I was going to play corner, I just went in one time in the corner room and went ‘Coach, let me play corner’ as a joke,” Peters said. “The next day I was playing corner.”
Last fall Peters said he was playing mostly off of athleticism, because he had never played corner before.
“My stance was terrible when I first got over there,” Peters said. “Coach (Terrell Buckley) helped me out a lot so my technique should be good.”
Buckley, the cornerbacks’ coach at MSU, said Peters is still making adjustments.
“He developed a lot, but he still has a ways to go which is very exciting,” Buckley said. “It takes about two full years to know what people are going to do to you and then anticipate things.”
Peters said he wants to build off a great performance in the Egg Bowl against Ole Miss last year, where he made a great play in the shadow of MSU’s own goal post when he picked off Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson.
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Peters spent his freshman year at safety and said while both positions are parts of the secondary, they are different.
He said the safety “is the quarterback of the defense” and has to make sure everyone else on the defense is in position. The corner does not have to make as many calls and can worry about what he has to do to make plays.
“You are out there on an island by yourself, either you are going to win or they are,” Peters said.
At 6’2, 218 pounds, Peters is bigger than most other players at the corner positions. He was a physical player at safety and brings that physicality to the cornerback spot.
Peters said he will be pressing 95 percent of the time and will use his physicality to frustrate receivers.
“You make it physical. If you have that dog in you, that energy, you are either going to win or lose,” Peters said. “If you are aggressive there is a 90 percent chance you are going to win. You are going to make the receiver frustrated.”
Peters said he and the rest of the corners have confidence going into the season as they open up against Charleston Southern University on September 2.
“We are way better than we were,” Peters said. “We are more confident because we have everybody back and healthy. I feel like we should be one of the top secondaries in the nation.”
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