Jackson Free Press

Two former college-football stars ended up dead just over a year apart. Both former players ended up hanging themselves in their jail cells.

Former University of Nebraska star running back Lawrence Phillips didn’t have the best childhood, as he grew up in group homes in his youth. Football was a way for Phillips to escape his past and build a future.

The running back might have been able to outrun defenders on the football field, but he couldn’t outrun his anger off the field. He dragged a former girlfriend down a couple of flights of stairs while playing for Nebraska.

Then-Cornhuskers head coach Tom Osborne kicked Phillips off the team for just six games before reinstating him, saying he needed the structure of football in his life. Phillips helped Nebraska win back-to-back national championships.

Life in the NFL was not as great for the former college star. The St. Louis Rams drafted him sixth overall but cut him due to him showing up drunk for work and his inability to stay out of trouble.

Phillips spent time with the Miami Dolphins, NFL Europe, the San Francisco 49ers and the Canadian Football League. The running back ended up being released at nearly every stop for fighting with coaches, getting into legal trouble or failing to do the necessary work to be successful at the pro level.

After football, Phillips stayed in trouble and ended up in jail after running over three teenagers with car and nearly choking his girlfriend to death. He was no longer a football star and on Jan. 13, 2016, the former star hung himself.

Flash-forward to today, April 19, when former University of Florida and New England Patriots star tight end Aaron Hernandez was found dead from hanging in his jail cell. Hernandez was a high school star at Bristol, Conn., before he committed to play at Florida.

While at Florida, the coaches were worried about the people Hernandez was spending time with off the field. The coaches even tried to keep him in Gainesville, Fla., when school was out for breaks.

Some of the issues Hernandez dealt with while in college was a fight at a Florida bar, a double-shooting and rumors of spending time with the wrong people. There were also rumors of failed drug tests while playing for the Gators.

Those issues ended up dropping Hernandez to the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. The New England Patriots gambled that the tight end would leave his past behind him and even rewarded him with a contract extension in 2012.

Hernandez didn’t leave his past behind and was still associated with the wrong people. He was convicted in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd and given a life sentence in 2015.

Last week the former NFL player was acquitted of double murder charges in Boston, Mass. He was still suspected of other crimes at the time of …

As April comes to an end, there are three Division I baseball teams in our state that are chasing division or conference titles: Mississippi State University in the SEC, the University of Southern Mississippi in Conference USA and Jackson State University in the SWAC.

JSU and USM are leading their respective conferences, and MSU is a game behind its division and conference leader, the University of Arkansas. Both the Bulldogs and the Golden Eagles are ranked in multiple baseball top-25 polls.

MSU is 25-13 overall and 10-5 in SEC play, but the Bulldogs are tied with the Auburn University and the University of Kentucky for second place in the conference. The Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers are also tied for second place in the SEC West.

MSU still has five three-game conference series left to play. The Bulldogs host the last-place University of Alabama this weekend before hosting Auburn in the next weekend. They end the season on the road against Texas A&M University, on the road at the University of Georgia, and at home against Louisiana State University. Georgia is in last place in the SEC East, and Texas A&M and LSU are within striking distance in the SEC West.

Back in March, Arkansas swept the Bulldogs in a three-game series that could come back to haunt them if they finish in second place. It is within reason to believe that MSU could win two of the three games in every series left.

MSU is still in play to win both the SEC West and the SEC regular-season titles. The Bulldogs will need to keep winning and get some help from others if they are going to take either the division or conference crown.

Southern Miss is currently leading C-USA by a full game over Florida Atlantic University. The Golden Eagles are 28-9 overall and 12-3 in conference play, and they have five more three-game series in conference play.

Southern Miss hosts Old Dominion University this weekend and travels to Middle Tennessee State University in the next weekend. Then, the Golden Eagles host Florida Atlantic, stay at home against the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and finally, hit the road to finish the season at the University of Texas, San Antonio.

Old Dominion is third in the C-USA standings, and the Florida Atlantic series could decide the regular-season championship. Middle Tennessee, UAB and UTSA are in the middle to bottom of the conference standings.

Southern Miss is in great shape to take the regular-season title. The Golden Eagles get to host the second- and third-place teams to end the season, and if they can win the series against Old Dominion and Florida Atlantic, they will be in the driver’s seat for their last two series.

Jackson State currently has a two-game lead over Alabama State University in the SWAC East division. The Tigers are five games ahead of Texas Southern University, who leads the SWAC West. …