STARKVILLE — Milton Talbert has the unenviable task and the charmed life.
When his coaching career brought him to Starkville High School in the offseason, he took over a defensive line that featured a Tennessee commitment (Jalil Clemons) on one end, an inside presence (Jaylan Ware), and plenty of options at the other end. Talbert also inherited a unit poised to win a state championship and little time to grow into a new coach’s method.
Luckily, Talbert knows the pressure to win all too well.
Talbert played for Alabama in Nick Saban’s first three seasons, including the 2009 national championship team.
Talbert is taking what he learned under Saban and a host of other assistants who have gone on to become head coaches and passing it on to his charges at Starkville High. Through four games, Starkville (4-0), the No. 1 team in The Associated Press’ latest Mississippi prep football rankings, has allowed only 26 points thanks in part of the play of its defensive live. Starkville will unleashes that unit against Provine at 7 p.m. Friday in the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A, Region 2 opener.
In addition to playing for Saban, Talbert played for Kirby Smart (defensive coordinator) and Jeremy Pruitt (off-field staffer). Smart is coach at Georgia, while Pruitt is coach at Tennessee. He also played for Sal Sunseri, who he called “the pass-rushing guru.” Sunseri has coached at a Power 5 conference school or in the NFL every season since 2000. He was a part of two national championships at Alabama and is now Florida’s defensive line coach.
“You learn from the greats. I learned from the greats,” Talbert said. “The way they practice, the tempo at which they do things, I model my coaching after that. It’s a great philosophy. Their high energy, their intelligence, their ability to demand perfection. It rubbed off on me, and I’m grateful to have worked under those guys and learned.”
The connection with Pruitt helped Talbert connect with Clemons, who will join Pruitt’s program next season. Talbert has taken joy in watching Pruitt rise to the point he was able to land a prospect like Clemons.
“Coach Pruitt was a great coach, smart. He worked extremely hard,” Talbert said. “He was right there with coach Saban, learning. It’s amazing, his journey.”
Ware is leading the team with 27 tackles, three for a loss and a sack. Clemons is second on the team in tackles (25) and tackles for a loss (six) with one-and-a-half sacks and six quarterback hurries. Johnson has 11 tackles, one for a loss, and three quarterback hurries.
Johnson thinks the new approach has improved things.
“It’s a great experience. He’s taught me a lot,” Johnson said. “He does everything to the basics, the fundamentals and everything technique-wise.”
Talbert credits Starkville High football coach Chris Jones for making his transition easy.
“Coach Jones does a phenomenal job of running our program just like a college program. I love it,” Talbert said. “The speed of it, the accuracy of it, the organization. He runs it just like a college program and does a great job of it.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.