Which Mississippi State football players are poised to have breakout seasons in 2025? Here are three Bulldogs ready to have big years...
Linebacker Zakari Tillman
Amidst the awfulness of the 2024 Mississippi State defense, linebacker Zakari Tillman began to emerge as a player to get excited about for the future. He burst onto the scene at Texas with 0.5 sack, a fumble recovery, and blocked punt. He recorded a pick against Texas A&M, and had a pair of sacks in the Egg Bowl. His 3.5 sacks led the team. As a backup, he simply made regular big plays in the opportunities he got. Now going into 2025, he's set to be a leader in the linebacker room and potentially a leader on defense. Expect a big year out of the junior.
Tight End Seydou Traore
Wide receivers get most of the attention in this offense when it comes to skill talent, but when Jeff Lebby loves to highlight the tight end assuming he's got a play-maker there. Seydou Traore can be that play-maker. He finished second on the team in receptions last year but wasn't necessarily a featured target in the offense, especially once the scheme was simplified for Michael Van Buren. When he did make grabs that weren't dump-offs, he flashed big play potential. The return of Blake Shapen opens the door for State to run more plays that highlight Traore as the go-to option, and with the Bulldogs needing pass-catchers to step up, he's a prime candidate.
Edge Branden Jennings
Jack linebacker Branden Jennings wasn't quite the force off the edge State hoped he'd be last season, but he still had a solid 2024 with 56 tackles, 5.0 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks. Now a returning starter, he could make more of an impact. The biggest thing helping Jennings this year: he's got defensive linemen next to him that can actually be impactful players up front. Having space-eaters inside 1. will improve the run defense which in turn creates more pass-rush opportunities and 2. frees up Jennings to pin his ears back and get after QBs. He's got more competition at his position this year, but he should see an uptick in production this fall.