Vote: Who Are The Top Returning Mississippi High School Linebackers for 2025?

We have selected 12 individuals to watch for this season

Ridgeland's Nigel Lockett had 125 total tackles, including 60 solo and 10 for a loss, in a sensational 2024 season. / Jody McRee

The talent for high school football in Mississippi is arguably the best it's ever been, and that holds true for the linebacker position.

As the 2025 football season gets closer, we continue to preview the top returning players in Mississippi, and today we are focusing on the top returning linebackers. Outside of the quarterback and center, the linebacker might be the most important position on the field as they are the ones who typically relay the calls and signals to the rest of the defense.

They tend to be the cornerstone and leaders of the defense, and as they go, the rest of the defense goes. These nominees excel at this while also playing at an extremely high-level on every snap. With that being said, we have selected 12 exceptional individuals to watch for throughout the season.

As always, we ask you, the fans, to vote on who you think is the top returning linebacker in Mississippi for the 2025 season.

Voting ends on August 14 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Here are the nominations:

TJ White, Jackson Academy

White, who recently committed to Tennessee earlier this month, is ranked as the fifth best player in Mississippi and the seventh best linebacker in the country for the 2026 class according to the Rivals Industry Rankings. In 2024, White finished with 61 solo tackles, 102 total tackles and 21.5 tackles for a loss. He also tallied 11 sacks, four pass deflections, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Caleb Triplett, D'Iberville

Triplett, who is committed to Mississippi State, finished 2024 with 42 solo tackles, 82 total tackles and eight tackles for a loss. He also tallied eight quarterback hurries and three pass deflections.

Ashton Moore, Brandon

Moore exploded onto the scene last season as he was a crucial piece for the Bulldogs' defense that lost to Tupelo in the Class 7A state championship. The Arkansas State commit finished 2024 with 66 solo tackles, 142 total tackles and 13 tackles for a loss. Moore tallied three sacks, six hurries, seven pass deflections and one forced fumble.

Devontray Brewer, Tupelo

Brewer enters his junior season as one of the top linebackers in the state, and the 13th best player in the class of 2027 in Mississippi according to Rivals. Brewer, who was a defensive cornerstone on the 2024 state championship team, finished last season with 59 solo tackles, 80 total tackles and 26.5 tackles for a loss. He was also relentless in getting after the quarterback as he finished with 10.5 sacks and 17 hurries. Lastly, he tallied one interception and one fumble recovery.

Lane Prestage, Pisgah

Prestage finished with 50 solo tackles, 140 tackles and 15 tackles for a loss in 2024. He also tallied six sacks, eight quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.

Jacolby Bailey, Ocean Springs

Bailey finished with 83 solo tackles, 115 total tackles and 12 tackles for a loss in 2024. He also finished with one interception, five pass deflections, forced three fumbles and recovered two fumbles.

Andre Peters III, Gulfport

Peters returns as one of the top linebackers in the state after winning Defensive Player of the Year in the Region 4 of 7A football and being rewarded as a member on the 1st Team All-State. He tallied 68 solo tackles, 149 total tackles and seven tackles for a loss. Peters also forced two fumbles and recovered three fumbles.

BJ Payton, Noxubee County

Payton was one of the top defensive players for the Tigers throughout the season in 2024. He finished the year with 141 total tackles and seven sacks. He also tallied nearly 20 tackles for a loss and forced three fumbles.

Linkin Sanders, Horn Lake

In 2024, Sanders finished with 93 solo tackles, 129 total tackles and 19 tackles for a loss. Sanders also tallied one sack, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

Nigel Lockett, Ridgeland

Lockett tallied 60 solo tackles, 125 total tackles and 10 tackles for a loss. He also finished with two sacks, two interceptions, one pass deflection, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery

Ayden Harmon, Poplarville

Harmon finished the 2024 season with 72 solo tackles and 134 total tackles with 11.5 tackles for a loss. He tallied four sacks, one interception, four pass deflections, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Tyler Brown, Lamar

In 2024, Brown finished with 32 solo tackles and 130 total tackles. He tallied 23 tackles for loss, three sacks and 19 quarterback hurries as well. Brown also displayed a nose for the football as he forced four fumbles, recorded two fumbles and scored two touchdowns on offense.

Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll.