Zakari Tillman looking to lead charge in defensive turnaround at State

Since arriving in Starkville three years ago, there’s always been a buzz around Zakari Tillman.

He was a player that was ahead of the game when he arrived in Starkville and former head coach Zach Arnett was excited about the potential after getting him committed. Following a true freshman season mostly spent on special teams, Tillman made a huge jump last year and he’s now set to make another jump as a rising junior.

“I look at myself as a leader. I hold myself to high expectations,” Tillman said. “Every day I come in and find something to work on and every day is a mental thing. Just trying to figure out how to get a calm mindset for myself, go out there and play the next play.”

Tillman has flashed as a star in the making in Starkville

Tillman played in 11 of the 12 games as a true freshman in 2023 and had five tackles on the season before seeing those reps increase. Though he came off the bench last season, Tillman looked the part as the most dynamic linebacker and had 30 tackles in 12 games with 3.5 sacks, three pass deflections, an interception, block, forced fumble and fumble recovery.

He had the opportunity to enter the transfer portal each of the last two seasons, but Tillman has instead continued to stay the course. His head coach has seen the maturation and feels there is something special to work with there.

“There’s been growth in Kari because of how he’s living inside and outside the building. He’s a guy that is incredibly bought in right now,” head coach Jeff Lebby said. “He’s a guy that has the opportunity to be a really good player. He has a chance to make those strides and create consistency inside the building. He’s doing that right now. Excited about where he’s at but excited to see where he’s going with continued reps and work.”

There are many players on the team that Lebby could use under that same description.

The Bulldogs enter year two with the head coach with nowhere else to go but up. It’s a different looking situation than the one that Tillman saw when he committed to the Bulldogs out of Florence High School. Tillman committed to Mike Leach in the middle of what would be a nine-win season. In two years, he has seven wins.

On last year’s defense, Tillman was one of the few bright spots in a unit that was among the worst the Bulldogs have presented this century. Defensive Coordinator Coleman Hutzler and the staff set out to overhaul that side of the ball and prepare for a step forward this season.

That current players and the newcomers have the same mindset to bigger and better season in 2025, too. That means everyone holding the rope and pulling in the right direction and what happens on the field will take care of itself.

“As a defense, we’re a lot more connected this year. We’re hanging out outside the field,” Tillman said. “We come in early and get some extra work in and are doing a lot of things together building a lot of team cohesion. We’re bringing a lot of that strong connection and bond together.

“We’re very eager, we’re hungry. We have a lot of guys that are hungry and they’re ready to show y’all in a couple of weeks.”