STARKVILLE — Brooks Oakley has plenty of options.
The Starkville High School defensive coordinator has some of the most talent he has coached in one of the state of Mississippi’s best defenses.
Still, he has to motivate them. Starkville (7-1, 4-0 region) will travel to Jackson to take on Murrah (3-5, 1-3) in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 game at 7 p.m. Friday at Newell Field.
“We just try to get those guys to understand they have to play hard every snap,” Oakley said. “It doesn’t matter the opponent. We’ve got to get those guys to understand we’re trying to get better every week and making sure they’re playing hard.”
Oakley, who was the quarterbacks coach at Olive Branch High, compares Starkville High’s defense this season to the one the Conquistadors had in 2007 that featured former Mississippi State Bulldog and current Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright, former Tennessee Volunteer defensive tackle Victor Thomas, former Ole Miss linebacker Allen Walker, and linebacker Chris Zinn, who signed with Auburn.
Three of Starkville’s defensive linemen have Division I offers. Defensive end Lorenzo Dantzler is committed to Louisiana Tech, while defensive tackle Kobe Jones has numerous Southeastern Conference offers, and defensive tackle Maleke Bell has seven offers, including South Alabama, which he calls the front-runner. Dantzler and Bell will play in the 67th annual Bernard Blackwell All-Star Football Classic, while Jones will play in the Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Football Game and the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl. Dantzler also will play for the United States in the International Bowl.
Junior linebacker Willie Gay already has caught the eye of SEC teams and he has offers from Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Even with all the talent, they are high school students and can lose focus. The coaches don’t want them to settle for anything than their best.
“We see it every day, even when we kill the scout team five plays in a row,” Bell said. “Take one play off, coach Oakley is really getting after us. We really can’t have any plays off playing with coach Oakley. I think it helps us a lot.”
Junior linebacker Abdural Lee, who has a scholarship offer from Baylor, leads the team with 63 tackles. Jones has 21 tackles and five tackles for loss, while Bell has 23 tackles (nine for loss) and two sacks. Dantzler has 28 tackles (nine for loss) and a team-high seven sacks. Gay has 47 tackles and seven tackles for loss.
Even if the Yellow Jackets occasionally lack motivation, they have allowed only 57 points — 7.1 per game — and a little more than 180 yards per game. Starkville has allowed only 20 points in the second half of games and six in overtime. Noxubee County scored those six points in a season-opening 26-20 double-overtime decision in Macon. That is the most point Starkville has surrendered all season.
Noxubee County and Madison Central are the only two offenses to drive the ball into the red zone against Starkville’s first-team defense.
“In the past years, we didn’t have the same type of defense, not giving up so many points, but really giving up a lot of yards,” Bell said. “This year we’re really based on doing both — not giving up that many yards and not giving up that many points.”
Bell wants the players to motivate themselves and not see it come from the coaching staff.
In four division games, the Jackets have allowed 24 points and 176.5 yards per game. Starkville’s wins have come against Madison Central (28-10), Greenville (42-0), Callaway (49-7), and Northwest Rankin (30-7). Senior safety Terrance Grayer has three of his four interceptions in region play. He had two against Callaway, including one he returned for a 59-yard touchdown, and one against Greenville.
Grayer hasn’t been surprised by how the Yellow Jackets have played on defense.
“We’ve got nothing but talent on the defensive side of the ball. That’s what I expect,” Grayer said.
Starkville, which has clinched a playoff spot, also has been opportunistic, making eight interceptions and recovering eight fumbles. With regular-season games remaining against region contenders Warren Central and Clinton, Starkville’s defense will play a large part in helping the team secure a top-two finish in the region and a home playoff game in the first round.
“We’ve been preaching that to them for four weeks, but we’ve kind of hit a lull,” Oakley said. “Just being ready when the time comes.”
Oakley’s wife, Lindsey, jokes with him that he has one of the easiest jobs because of all the talent he has to coach. It has been easier on Oakley with the talent, but practices have been long. But he sees a different defense on the field Friday nights.
“We know we have to win, so when it comes to a game, that’s all we are trying to do,” Grayer said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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