Tillman Taking Strides As A Sophomore
October 25, 2024 | Football
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's improvement over the last three games is evident.
The same can also be said for the Bulldogs' sophomore linebacker Zakari Tillman. Since making his first career start at then top-ranked Texas, Tillman has tallied five tackles, a half-sack, one interception, recovered a fumble and blocked a punt.
"He's just continued to have really good growth and understanding of what's being asked of him," said head coach Jeff Lebby. "This is a young guy that hasn't played a ton of defensive snaps and his best ball is ahead. He's a twitchy guy that loves to play the game. I think he's got a great future here with us and I'm excited about his growth and potential."
Tillman began the season by making a career-best six tackles in the opener against Eastern Kentucky. A few weeks later, the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder had his coming out party against the Longhorns by making a pair of stops to go along with a half-sack, a pass breakup, one fumble recovery and also blocking a punt.
Tillman followed up that performance by notching three more tackles on the road at now second-ranked Georgia and picked off his first career pass last weekend against No. 14 Texas A&M. Â
"My teammates have been encouraging me every week to keep getting better, keep fighting for that strain of consistency every week," Tillman said. "Yeah, it's just been happening on the field and I've been there to make the plays."
Tillman's interception last week against Texas A&M came on the first play of the fourth quarter. Fellow linebacker Stone Blanton applied pressure to the Aggies' signal caller Conner Weigman and Tillman read the play all the way in coverage and set the Bulldogs' up at the A&M 12-yard line with the offense reaching the end zone three plays later.
"I was just watching the quarterback's eyes and broke on his vision," Tillman said. "I just went and made the play. I was excited and my teammates were excited for me. I just wish I could've stayed on my feet."
Tillman's ball skills shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that has followed his career. The in-state product played wide receiver, cornerback and returned kicks at Florence during his prep days but got a head start on preparing to play linebacker at the college level after graduating high school early and enrolled at MSU in January 2023.
"I'm actually happy that I made that decision of coming here early because I was recruited as a receiver first, and then I made that big jump playing linebacker," Tillman said. "I needed that little bit of extra time in the spring to learn how to play middle linebacker."
Although Tillman sat under the linebacker learning tree and honed his skillset behind Jett Johnson and Nathaniel Watson, he still found his way onto the field as a true freshman last year.
Tillman appeared in 11 games for the Bulldogs last fall, with 82 of his 99 snaps coming on special teams.
"As a true freshman, playing special teams was essential to me," Tillman said. "Just being out there getting that field and learning the schematics out there, I feel like it helped me a lot and I'm thankful for the opportunity of being able to play on special teams."
Tillman admits that he is still growing into a linebacker in more ways than one. He has put on 10 pounds of muscle since he arrived in Starkville but plans to pack on even more during the offseason to help him flourish in a physical league like the Southeastern Conference.
"I've been really hitting it in the weight room," Tillman said. "I've still got to gain some more weight now. That's that's my biggest focus right now. Getting ready to prepare for the offseason next year, I just need to add more weight, more muscle mass, be more aggressive, learn how to get off blocks and take on bigger O-linemen."
But before his focus fully shifts into offseason mode, Tillman and his State teammates still have at least five games remaining during the regular season. And while the team's steady improvement over the past three games mirrors his own, Tillman's aspiration is for that to continue throughout the rest of the fall.
"My biggest goal is to just keep bringing my teammates together, keep playing together, and keep playing hard no matter what the circumstances are," Tillman said. "And before you know it, we're going to shock the world. My biggest emphasis is just coming together as a team."
