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OT/DE, Calhoun City
VITALS: 6-5, 310, senior
THE FACTS: Recorded 63 tackles (44 solo), 4 sacks, 2 passes defended, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. ... Graded out at 84 percent. ... 2011 Mississippi Association of Coaches Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic selection. ... 2011 MHSAA Class 2A First-Team All-State selection. ... Three-year starter. ... Received interest from East Mississippi Community College, Northeast Mississippi Community College, Northwest Mississippi Community College and Itawamba Community College.
COACH SAYS: “Tabarrius has great mobility and quickness for a 300-plus pound lineman. He did a great job in running to the football on screen plays and was a solid player against the run. He has the potential to be a special college player.” – Perry Liles
JOSH CREEKMORE
RB/DB, New Albany
VITALS: 5-8, 175, senior
THE FACTS: Rushed 128 times for 1,139 yards (8.9 yards per carry) and 11 TDs. ... Returned a punt for a TD vs. Amory. ... Caught 28 passes for 368 yards and 3 TDs. ... 2,009 all-purpose yards on 176 touches (11.4 yards per touch). ... Recorded 95 tackles (48 solo) and 1 interception. ... Received interest from Delta State, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
COACH SAYS: “Josh was the heart and soul of our offense. If we needed to get one yard for a first down or a big offensive play, we knew we could go to him. Josh would just look at us and pat his chest to tell us he wanted the ball, and we would give it him.” – Josh Davis, New Albany RBs coach DEMARKOUS DENNIS
RB, Lafayette
VITALS: 5-10, 198, senior
THE FACTS: Rushed 255 times for 2,465 yards (9.67 yards per carry) and 30 TDs. ... Caught 8 passes for 220 yards and 2 TDs. ... Returned 12 kickoffs for 355 yards (29.58 average) and 1 TD. ... 2011 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game selection. ... 2011 MHSAA Class 4A First-Team All-State selection. ... Three-year starter. ... Received interest from Ole Miss and Alabama.
COACH SAYS: “He’s a fast, explosive back that was a perfect fit for our system. He played three years for us and every Friday night he brought it.” – Anthony Hart
JAMEL DENNIS
LB/RB, Lafayette
VITALS: 5-11, 212, senior
THE FACTS: Recorded 154 tackles, 13 sacks, 3 passes defended, 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. ... Recorded a safety vs. Rosa Fort. ... Rushed 28 times for 164 yards (5.86 yards per carry) and 10 TDs. ... 2011 Mississippi Association of Coaches Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic selection. ... 2011 MHSAA Class 4A First-Team All-State selection. ... Three-year starter. ... Received interest from Mississippi State, Northeast Mississippi Community College and Ole Miss.
COACH SAYS: “He can blow up running plays, he can cover the pass, he can run with the running backs ... the total package for us on defense.” – Anthony Hart
JEREMY LIGGINS
QB, Lafayette
VITALS: 6-4, 270, senior
THE FACTS: Completed 81 of 134 pass attempts (60.4 completion percentage) for 1,678 yards, 16 TDs, 6 interceptions. ... 125 QB rating. ... Rushed 165 times for 953 yards (5.78 yards per carry) and 18 TDs. ... 2011 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game selection. ... 2011 MHSAA Class 4A Second-Team All-State selection. ... Three-year starter. ... Received interest from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
COACH SAYS: “Jeremy’s just a great leader and a dominant player. Winning 46 out of 48 games is unbelievable. Jeremy’s a great all-around quarterback. He does everything well.” – Anthony Hart
GABE MYLES
QB, Starkville
VITALS: 6-0, 175, junior
THE FACTS: Completed 114 of 245 pass attempts (46.5 completion percentage) for 1,919 yards, 19 TDs, 8 interceptions. ... Rushed 208 times for 1,014 yards and 13 TDs. ... 2011 MHSAA Class 5A All-State Offensive MVP. ... Two-year starter. ... Received interest from Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State and UAB.
COACH SAYS: “He was a catalyst with everything we did. He did it both with his feet and his arm. He’s a tremendously dynamic player.” – Jamie Mitchell DARIO ROBINSON
WR, Amory
VITALS: 5-10, 170, junior
THE FACTS: Caught 143 passes for 2,191 yards (15.32 yards per catch) and 21 TDs. ... Rushed for 1 TD vs. Shannon. ... Had 3 games with 3 TDs scored. ... Had 3 games with 2 TDs scored. ... 2011 MHSAA Class 4A First-Team All-State selection. ... Two-year starter. ... Received interest from Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss.
COACH SAYS: “Dario is one of the best overall athletes that I have coached. We have five really good receivers, but Dario is just that guy that makes play after play after play, and makes the phenomenal Lynn Swann-kind of catches. The catches I grew up in my yard trying to make, he goes and makes with people on him.” – Trent Hammond
ASHTON SHUMPERT
RB/QB/LB/DB, Tupelo
VITALS: 6-1, 205, junior
THE FACTS: Rushed 173 times for 929 yards (5.37 yards per carry) and 8 TDs. ... Caught 7 passes for 55 yards. ... Completed 7 of 19 passes (36.8 completion percentage) for 53 yards, 0 interceptions. ... Missed 3 games due to a stress fracture in lower leg. ... Two-year starter at Tupelo; played freshman year at Itawamba AHS. ... Received interest from Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, among others.
COACH SAYS: “He’s got good football instincts. He understands the game – the little nuances and all the angles, whether it’s on offense or on defense. He’s a very competitive person.” – David Bradberry
CHANNING WARD
DT/TE/RB, Aberdeen
VITALS: 6-4, 258
THE FACTS: Recorded 116 tackles and 16 sacks. ... Rushed 8 times for 168 yards and 2 TDs vs. Velma Jackson. ... Scored 3 TDs vs. South Pontotoc. ... Caught 3 passes for 70 yards and 2 TDs vs. Mooreville. ... 2012 Under Armour All-America Game selection. ... 2011 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game selection. ... 2011 MHSAA Class 3A First-Team All-State selection. ... Five-year starter. ... Received interest from Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, among others.
COACH SAYS: “He’s a big, fast kid who gets to the football well. He has a motor that doesn’t stop.” – Chris Duncan
FOREST WILLIAMS
QB, Amory
VITALS: 6-2, 180, senior
THE FACTS: Completed 349 of 515 passes (67.8 completion percentage) for 5,100 yards, 55 TDs, 13 interceptions. ... 125 QB rating. ... Rushed for 5 TDs. ... Caught 1 TD pass. ... 2011 Mississippi Association of Coaches Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic selection. ... 2011 MHSAA Class 4A All-State Offensive Player of the Year. ... Three-year starter. ... Received interest from Arkansas State, Delta State, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and University of Alabama at Birmingham.
COACH SAYS: “Over the course of the summer, and playing 7-on-7, you started to realize that he had a really good grasp of things and maybe he would be better than what we had thought. We knew that he would be good, but we didn’t know that he would complete nearly 70 percent of his passes.” – Trent Hammond
Compiled by John Wilbert