Jeremy Lindsey is happy to be a member of the Jones County Junior College Bobcats.

“It’s pretty good because a lot of my friends came down here to play football,” said the 6-foot-4, 311-pound offensive tackle from Laurel High School. “They let you know right out of the bag that it’s going to be hard work when you get here. I accepted it, came down here and it was a challenge, but I got through it.

“Once you make it through all of the workouts and everything, it’s pretty good when you get into the season. It just flows through. It’s been a good experience so far.”

Lindsey and his Bobcat teammates have had a season to remember in 2008.

JCJC owns a 5-0 overall record and leads the South Division with a 3-0 mark. The Bobcats are ranked No. 3 in the nation in the latest NJCAA/jcfootball.com poll and will host No. 10 Pearl River Community College in a crucial league showdown at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Lindsey graduated from Laurel in 2007, signed with East Mississippi Community College and played a year with the Lions. But, he decided to transfer to JCJC and spend his sophomore year closer to home.

He said an opportunity to play for a championship team was a big factor. Two of his former high school teammates – Len Armstrong and Demareay McDonald – were on last year’s title team at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and his high school team – the Laurel Golden Tornadoes – won the state 4A title the season after he graduated.

“Jones is closer to home and I wanted to play for a national championship,” said Lindsey. “ I knew they were going to be ranked real high coming into this season, so I wanted to have that chance. Several people I have been around have won championships – two from Gulf Coast and those guys that went to Laurel last year.”

“I like being at Jones. I wish I would have come here out of high school. You’ve got people here from Laurel you played with and others from West Jones and Northeast Jones you have played against, so it’s fun.”

Lindsey was playing on the inside with the Lions. He was a left guard at EMCC, but the Bobcat coaches have moved outside to a right tackle slot.

He enjoys playing that position.

“When I was at East Mississippi, I played left guard. They moved me to right tackle when I got down here,” he said. “It’s basically about the same on the blocking scheme. The thing I like is I am just blocking the opposite tackle half the time. But, every now and then, you might get an All-American end that’s pretty fast off the edge!

“That’s a challenge and I pretty much like a challenge.”

The Bobcats have answered all challenges so far this season. They held off a fourth quarter surge by Hinds Community College to beat the Eagles, 31-24, last week.

Lindsey said he has been pleased with the progress of the offensive line this season. He said injuries have caused a few setbacks, but they have been able to overcome them.