BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College football program currently has 35 student-athletes continuing their playing careers at four-year institutions.

Twenty-five former Tigers play NCAA Division I football with five calling a Power Four university their home. Seven alumni play at the Division II level, two suit up for Division III teams and two more are at NAIA schools.

The Northeast basketball programs have a combined 18 student-athletes continuing their playing careers at four-year institutions.

The following is an update on how members of the Northeast family have fared through football season and the first two months of basketball season.

FOOTBALL

TJ Fields (Aberdeen) concluded his first season at the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) by being named to the All-Great American Conference (GAC) third-team. Fields caught 28 passes for 267 yards and one touchdown. He had a season-high eight catches for 104 yards and his lone touchdown against Arkansas Tech University on September 27.

Keaton Thomas (Jacksonville, Fla.) finished his second season at Baylor (Texas) University with 105 tackles, seven tackles for loss, one sack and an interception. Thomas had a season-high 16 tackles in the season opener against Auburn (Ala.) University on August 29. He had five games with 10 or more tackles. Thomas finished tied for second in the Big 12 Conference in tackles at the conclusion of the regular season.

Dorrian Smith (Fort Valley, Ga.) finished his second season at Georgia Southern University with 42 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and three pass breakups. He had a season-high seven tackles against the University of Southern Mississippi on October 9. Georgia Southern qualified for a bowl game by defeating Marshall (W.Va.) University in their regular season finale.

Juwon Gaston (Birmingham, Ala.) concluded his first season at Middle Tennessee State University with 39 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack, two forced fumbles, three interceptions and four pass breakups. Gaston was named Conference-USA Defensive Player of the Week on September 15 following the Blue Raiders' win against the University of Nevada. In that game, Gaston totaled five tackles and two interceptions. He had a season-high eight tackles against Marshall on September 20.

DQ Watkins (Oxford) finished his third season at Long Island (N.Y.) University. Watkins had 26 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. He had a season-high six tackles against the University of Rhode Island on September 20. Both of Watkins' sacks came against the University of New Haven (Conn.) on October 25. Watkins helped Long Island defeat Eastern Michigan University on September 7, which was its first win against a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team. Following the season, Watkins to the All-Northeast Conference (NEC) defensive second-team.

Dallas Payne (Bay St. Louis) finished his first season at Florida International University. Payne caught 25 passes for 266 receiving yards and three touchdowns while also completing one pass for 12 yards and a touchdown. Payne caught and threw for a touchdown against Missouri State University on October 29. He caught four passes for 100 yards and one touchdown in the regular season finale against Sam Houston (Texas) State University on November 29.

RJ Whitehead (Horn Lake) appeared in eight games in his first season at the University of Southern Mississippi. On the season, Southern Miss averaged 29.8 points and 403.7 yards of offense. The Golden Eagles had a season-high 528 yards of offense against Arkansas State University on November 8. Southern Miss had 400 passing yards against the University of South Alabama on November 22 and 225 rushing yards against Jacksonville State (Ala.) University on September 27.

Chris McMillian (Fort Valley, Ga.) finished his first season at Bowling Green State (Ohio) University. McMillian appeared in nine games and totaled 342 rushing yards and three touchdowns. He had a season-high 89 rushing yards against Ohio University on September 27. His first rushing touchdown came on September 13 against Liberty (Va.) University.

Tam Patterson (Corinth) is in his first season at Millsaps College and totaled 389 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Patterson also added seven catches for 70 yards and one touchdown. He had a season-high 101 rushing yards in his first game of the season against Centre (Ky.) College on October 4. He had two rushing touchdowns in the season-finale against Sewanee (Tenn.) on November 15. His lone receiving score came against Southwestern (Texas) University on November 1. Patterson totaled four rushing touchdowns in his final three games of the season. For his performance on the season, Patterson was named All-Southern Athletic Association (SAA) honorable mention.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Corey Stephenson (Hueytown, Ala.) is in his first season at Florida International University. He is averaging 17.7 points and 6.7 boards through the first two months of the season. Stephenson recorded his first double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds against LSU on November 11. Stephenson knocked in five three pointers and scored 25 points two games later against James Madison (Va.) University on November 24.

Caleb Parr (New Hope) is in his first season at the University of West Alabama. Parr is averaging 11.2 points while shooting 51.1 percent from the floor through the first two months of the season. He scored a season-high 26 points against Delta State University on December 18. Parr made five threes in the season opener against Albany State (Ga.) University on November 14.

Ismail Rashid (Brandon) is in his first season at the University of South Carolina at Beaufort. Rashid is averaging 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 46.4 percent from three. He scored a season-high 24 points on November 15 against Francis Marion (S.C.) University. Rashid knocked in five three's and scored 22 points against Ferrum (Va.) College on November 30.

Landon Jeffries (Olive Branch) is in his first season at Benedict (S.C.) College. Jeffries is averaging 10.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists on the season. He scored a season-high 22 points in the season opener against Central State (Ohio) University on November 20. 

Anthony Johnson (Midfield, Ala.) is in his first season at Arizona State University. Johnson is averaging 14.9 points through the first two months of the season. Johnson scored a season-high 24 points against BYU on January 7. Through the first three games of Big 12 play, Johnson is averaging 20.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and three assists.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Alexis Rowe (Little Rock, Ark.) is in her first season at Lane (Tenn.) College. Rowe is averaging 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. She had season-highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds against Albany State on January 5. In the four games of the new year, Rowe is averaging 8.8 rebounds.