SEC's Top Tacklers Leading MSU's Linebackers
August 20, 2023 | Football
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State has the benefit of experience returning at multiple positions across the board this season.
But no position has the amount of experience and production as the Bulldog linebacking corps. After all, that's where the top two tacklers in the Southeastern Conference from last season reside in Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson.
Johnson led the league with 116 tackles last year with Watson coming in a close second with 114 stops. In all, the two tackling machines have 78 games worth of experience including 46 combined starts and 448 career tackles and both decided to return for a sixth season.
"We have a ton of game experience and that's something you can't emulate," Johnson said.
Johnson and Watson stayed atop the SEC tackle leaderboard throughout 2022 and had a friendly rivalry between one another to see who would be crowned the tackling champion. Watson led the league with 108 tackles during the regular season but Johnson's 12 stops in the win over Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl gave him the overall edge for the year.
"It's just a fun, competitive thing between us," Watson said.
The two veteran linebackers enter their final year in Maroon and White trying to set the tone and a good example for the rest of the younger players at their position.
"My preacher back in Tupelo says to 'preach the Gospel everywhere and if necessary, use words'," Johnson said. "On the football field, I think you've got to lead by example. With the heat, sometimes it's hard to be vocal because you're sucking wind too. So you lead by example by going hard, eradicating those bad thoughts and pushing through. The younger guys look up to you as an older guy who has been through it and watch your actions, so you've got to make sure to give them something good to look at."
Assuming a leadership role is one of those moments that causes Watson's career to coming full circle. He vividly remembers watching the way the upperclassmen ahead of him went about their craft and shared their knowledge with him. Now, it's his turn to pay it forward.
"When I was a young cat, I had Erroll Thompson, Tim Washington, Willie Gay and guys like that ahead of me so I know how they feel right now," Watson said. "I'm just doing the best I can to bring them up and hold them accountable for their actions. Hopefully, one day I'll see them in my shoes."
The examples Johnson and Watson have set are already starting to trickle down to some of the underclassmen like sophomore Nic Mitchell.
"It's great to have 'Bookie' and Jett in the room because they can show everybody the right way to do things, especially in the film room," Mitchell said.
But Johnson and Watson aren't the only seasoned linebackers State has in its quiver. Seniors DeShawn Page and J.P. Purvis are also making pushes for more playing time after making the most of their chances the past couple of seasons.
Page has played in 24 games the last two years after transferring in from East Mississippi Community College and tallied five tackles for loss in 2022. He too is taking on more of a leadership role in his final season.
"I feel like I've evolved as a player in the two years I've been here," Page said. "I feel like I've become more of a vocal person. Being a linebacker in this defense makes you talk more and you have to interact and make sure everyone knows what they're doing at all times."
Purvis packed on 20 pounds of muscle over the offseason to help him transition from a Will linebacker over to Sam to try and replace the loss of Tyrus Wheat to graduation. The now 6-foot-1, 255-pound Purvis has always been a solid contributor on special teams but showcased what he could do defensively during a breakout performance against Texas A&M last year.
Purvis picked up a career-high seven tackles against the Aggies, including team-best 1.5 sacks in a 42-24 home victory for Mississippi State.
"J.P. is a smart guy and has developed into that position," said defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Matt Brock. "He's added weight and is getting used to that weight as far as how you're supposed to play with the phonetical effort we want carrying that weight. He's having to push that wall back but there's been progress."
Purvis is battling with John Lewis for that vacancy at Will linebacker. Lewis, a former four-star prospect, was the highest-rated recruit the Bulldogs signed in the 2021 class and seems to be coming into his own as a sophomore.
"We're both big competitors," Purvis said. "John has some things that coach says he does better and I have some things that I do better. So we've just been coming out every day competing against each other and push that wall back to be the starter."
Mitchell is another sophomore making moves to play a bigger role in the linebacker rotation this year and has turned heads early on in preseason camp.
"Nic Mitchell is having a good camp and is very bright," Johnson said. "He's very athletic and eager to learn. He's a good buddy of mine and is going to have a good year."
Avery Sledge and Javae Gilmore got their first taste of college football as true freshmen last fall. Sledge and Gilmore each debuted against East Tennessee State with Sledge also seeing action in the Egg Bowl.
However, both Sledge and Gilmore ultimately garnered redshirts last season, as did fellow 2022 signee Khalid Moore. Walk-on sophomore Michael Robinson is also awaiting his first action after spending two seasons on the scout team.
The Bulldogs inked Zakari Tillman and Ty Jones to bolster their linebacking talent during the last recruiting cycle. Tillman graduated from Florence High School early, enrolled at MSU in January and was able to go through spring drills and a full offseason in an SEC strength program.
Tillman's early arrival helped jumpstart his college career and could lead to him playing right away as a true freshman.
"Athletically he can do it, no doubt about it," Brock said. "He's a quick-twitch guy who is physical. He's learning to play the game with his hands at the line of scrimmage when people get up to him. He sees it pretty naturally for a guy who hasn't played at this level as a defender coming in as a high school player…I've definitely been excited with what he's shown to this point."
Jones was a four-star recruit that helped lead Bay Springs High School to back-to-back state titles. Ranked as one of the top recuits the Magnolia State, Jones starred on both sides of the ball playing both running back and linebacker at the prep level and was voted the 2022 Mr. Football for Class 1A.
