Jerious Norwood attended Brandon High School in Mississippi where he was a four-sport athlete, playing football, baseball, basketball, and running track. As a junior, Jerious totaled 2,291 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns on his way to all-state honors. As a senior he rushed for 2,152 yards and 32 touchdowns, leading Brandon to a 13-1 record and the semi-final round of the state playoffs. He earned all-state honors for the second consecutive season. Over the course of his career, Jerious racked up over 8,000 all-purpose yards and scored 92 rushing touchdowns (4th all-time in the state). He led Brandon to a 33-8 record during that time period. Following his senior season, Jerious was selected to play in the Mississippi-Alabama all-star game. He was considered to be one of the top running back prospects in the nation and accepted a scholarship to play at Mississippi State. He made an immediate impact, finishing second on the team in rushing with 394 yards on 66 attempts. He also had 47 receiving yards on 5 receptions. As a sophomore he received eight starts, rushing for 642 yards on 121 attempts. He scored two rushing touchdowns and caught 8 passes for 6 yards on the season. As a junior, Jerious started all eleven games, rushing for 1,050 yards and 7 touchdowns on 195 attempts. He became just the sixth player in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. He also caught 11 passes for 37 yards on the year. He was named second team all-SEC for his play as a junior. As a senior, Norwood scored 6 rushing touchdowns on 191 carres. He had career highs in rushing yards (1,136), receptions (19), and receiving yards (96), on his way to all-SEC honors.

Jerious Norwood has alot of experience having started at running back for Mississippi State in each of the past three seasons. During that time he has proven to be a very durable player who rarely misses time due to injury. Jerious has good size, with the frame to add even more bulk. He has good vision and runs hard between the tackles. He has good lower body strength and breaks alot of tackles, allowing him to gain additional yardage. He has the speed to get to the outside and turn the corner. He isn't the greatest at making defenders miss in the open field, however, he does have the speed to take it the distance when he does get free. He needs to do a better job of following his blockers. Jerious wasn't used much as a receiver at Mississippi State. He needs to work on his route running and his blocking to become a more complete back at the next level. Jerious Norwood is an underrated back with some upside, he should be a late first or early second day pick in the 2006 NFL draft.