What Mississippi State football's Jett Johnson said of wild interception vs Southern Miss

STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football linebacker Jett Johnson had the ball for two seconds before he made eye contact with teammate and safety Marcus Banks on Saturday. A second later, fresh off his third interception of the season, Johnson was being dragged down by a Southern Miss player.

Rather than falling to the ground, Johnson elected to circle back to Banks. Instinctually, Johnson lateraled the ball back to Banks who took it for the final score in MSU’s 41-20 win against Southern Miss at Davis Wade Stadium.

“Hindsight is 20/20 − kind of a dumb play, honestly,” Johnson joked afterward. “I was just in the moment. I thanked Marcus Banks in the locker room. I was like, ‘Man, thank you for catching that ball.’ ”

Johnson is among the most dependable players on Mississippi State’s defense. He led the SEC in tackles last season (116) and is on pace to do so again, with 117 tackles secured going into Thursday’s Egg Bowl against Ole Miss.

He’s added interceptions to his repertoire this year. The pick against the Golden Eagles was his third this season and of his career. As he’s collected interceptions, interim head coach Greg Knox has implemented the term, “seat belt.”

When Johnson intercepts a pass and he’s swarmed by opposing players looking to tackle him, Johnson is encouraged to put his seat belt on – meaning he needs to hold onto the ball like a running back so he doesn’t fumble it back to the offense.

“When you’re in heavy traffic with the ball, you put your seat belt on,” Knox said.

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Johnson intercepted a pass in practice this week, and he put the term to use.

“That seatbelt really works,” Johnson told Knox. “You must know a little something.”

However, the term went to waste against the in-state foe.

“When he came off, I just said, ‘Seat belt.’ He just started laughing,” Knox said. “That was great, though. The kids, they grasp buzz words. Seat belt is one of them, and they just love it. They had a fun time today. Jett, that was special. That was special. Special players make special plays.”

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State's Jett Johnson details wild interception vs Southern Miss