Chris Rayford knew that he would see more action this season after Mississippi State graduated two cornerbacks last year.
After injuries to seniors Cedric Jiles and Tolando Cleveland however, Rayford’s role in the secondary has drastically increased.
“Even before those injuries, I was working towards this opportunity just in case something like this happened,” Rayford said.
Rayford received his first taste of SEC action last season after a redshirt year. The 6-foot, 199-pounder appeared in 13 games for the Bulldogs making five tackles in 2015.
Rayford enters Saturday’s season opener against South Alabama battling juco transfer Lashard Durr for one of the the starting cornerback jobs.