ITTA BENA, Mississippi – Two members of the 2009 Mississippi Valley State football team will be among those honored Monday in Jackson, Mississippi in two ceremonies.
Sophomore nose tackle Jared Green and senior free safety Michael Higgins will be involved in post-season events sponsored by CellularSouth. Green has been named a finalist for the Conerly Trophy – given to Mississippi’s top football player – while Higgins will be honored as the team’s senior most outstanding performer by the Jackson Touchdown Club.
Green – a 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive lineman from Little Rock, Arkansas (Central High) – has been one of the more dominant members of the MVSU defensive unit over the last two years. This season, he had 60 total tackles (24 solo) along with 14 tackles for loss, eight sacks and a pass breakup. He tallied nine tackles and a sack against Jackson State and seven tackles and two sacks at Alcorn State. He also had six tackles, three sacks and a quarterback hurry against Texas College. Over his two seasons at MVSU, Green has amassed 93 tackles, 19.0 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles.
Higgins – a 6-foot-3, 195-pound defensive back from Greenwood, Mississippi (Greenwood High) – was named team co-captain this season putting a cap on his four seasons at MVSU. This season, he was third on the team in tackles with 64 along with 5.5 tackles for loss, four pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one forced fumbles and five blocked kicks on special teams. He blocked two kicks in the season opener at Arkansas State while tallying five tackles and two pass breakups versus Alabama State. He had ten tackles at Alcorn State and had nine tackles against both Grambling State and Texas Southern. In his four seasons at MVSU, he had 154 total tackles (76 solo) along with 8.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions and eight pass breakups.
