Mississippi State fans knew Chris Jones’ name long before he ever arrived in Starkville to don the Bulldogs’ maroon and white.

As a former five-star high school prospect, Jones is the highest-rated Mississippi State signee of the Dan Mullen era, an era widely regarded as one of the best in MSU history. Jones’ commitment to the Bulldogs gave State fans hope their program might begin competing with the traditional powers of the SEC West on the recruiting trail and eventually on the field as well.

And they were right. Sort of. Last season, Mississippi State assumed its first No. 1 ranking in school history and won 10 games for only the second time in more than 70 years. It was a season for the ages in Starkville, the culmination of the growth shown during Mullen’s six years on campus.

But Jones had little to do with last year’s success. After matching fellow 2013 five-star signee Robert Nkemdiche tit for tat as freshmen while Nkemdiche competed for in-state rival Ole Miss, Jones suffered a sophomore slump a year ago, fading into the background as players like Preston Smith and Benardrick McKinney took ownership of the defense.

Now those players are gone, along with two other starting defensive linemen, two starting safeties and a starting cornerback. Jones is one of few returning starters left on the defense, and as far as raw talent is concerned he’s far and away the best of the bunch.

Which is why Jones needs to play like he did as a freshman, when he logged 32 tackles, 3 sacks and 7 tackles for loss, and not like he did a year ago when he recorded only 26 tackles, 3 sacks (only one against an SEC foe) and 3.5 tackles for loss.

Jones arrived at Mississippi State hoping to one day work his way into the top 10, perhaps even the top 5 of a future NFL Draft. He’ll become draft eligible after the coming season, just like Nkemdiche, who appears destined for the first round of the 2016 draft barring a setback this fall.

Jones still has work to do if he hopes to once again equal his in-state counterpart as he did on the recruiting trail and as freshmen. Their paths feature so many parallels: Both were five-star players, both began their careers as defensive ends before coaches moved them inside to tackle, both are the biggest and strongest members of their defensive lines and both are asked to do plenty of thankless work in the trenches that allows others to make plays and receive much of the credit.

But Jones must become more impactful as a junior in 2015. Rather than simply occupying blockers and generating a push up front, he must find ways to work himself into opposing backfields. He must duplicate his team-high 10 hurries as a freshman and help MSU boast one of the best run-stopping defenses in the SEC.

And as an upperclassmen, and often the largest man on the field, there’s nowhere for Jones to hide from the expectations he faces this season.

“Our expectations of him are extremely high,” head coach Dan Mullen told ESPN. “He came in freshman year with a bunch of hype. He had a good year, and then really learned, though. … Last year, he was out there and people knew who he was. I think he hit a little bit of that, ‘Hey, it’s my sophomore year and I’m trying to figure it all out.’ So we expect him to be a big-time playmaker on the front for us and really jump into that starting role, claim that starting role and be one of the top playmakers in the front seven.”

Mississippi State and Jones know he has the potential to be an all-conference performer this fall. He was nearly one as a freshman in 2013, and he’s learned a lot since then. Last season he failed to adjust as the rest of the West learned his game, and instead he added more than 30 pounds and lost a lot of the explosiveness and athleticism that made him such a rare talent at the defensive tackle position.

This spring he’s back down to 280 pounds, his playing weight as a freshman, and it appears he’s prepared to be a leader in the locker room and a star on the field.

And that’s what Mississippi State needs if it’s to repeat last season’s accomplishments upon losing so much veteran talent. The Bulldogs have done it before with the likes of Fletcher Cox, Pernell McPhee and Denico Autry, all of whom now star in the NFL, so there’s certainly a path in place for Jones to realize his NFL dreams.

But first he has something to prove at the college level, and this fall is as good a time as any to prove it. He knows it, his coaches and teammates know it, and the rest of the SEC knows it. We’ll see how much Jones wants it this fall.

“It has to be a mindset,” Jones told ESPN regarding how he’ll approach this season. “It has to be something you choose and are willing to do.”