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Jersey Number 7
Zakari Tillman
- Position:
- LB
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 235
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Florence, Miss.
- High School/Previous School:
- Florence HS
Career Honors
2025 Athlon Sports Preseason All-SEC (4th Team, LB)
Career Notes
Played in 35 career games with 11 starts โฆ Following the 2025 season, has earned 82 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick and two interceptions.
ย
2025 (Junior Season)
Played in 12 games with 10 starts โฆ Totaled 47 tackles, three TFLs, oneย pass breakup, one forced fumble, one sack and one interception โฆ Finished sixth on the team in tackles โฆ His 47 tackles were a career-high โฆ Did not play in the Dukeโs Mayo Bowl due to injury โฆ at Southern Miss (8/30): logged at least one tackle in 13 consecutive games dating back to the 2023 season ... vs Arizona State (9/6): Earned a new career high of seven tackles in the Bulldogs victory over the Sun Devils ... vs Tennessee (9/27): Registered his first sack of the season ... Secured a pivotal interception in the fourth quarter ... led the team in tackles for loss with two ... tied for second on the team in tackles during the game ... at Texas A&M (10/4): third game this season with a tackle for loss ... at Florida (10/18): earned another start to make it his seventh in a row ... at Arkansas (11/1): recorded his first forced fumble of the year ... at Missouri (11/15): tied his career high in QB hurries ... tied his career high in pass breakups.
2024 (Sophomore Season)
Played in 12 games with one start โฆ Recorded 30 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception and one blocked field goal โฆ Led the team in sacks โฆ Only player on the team with a multi-sack game (at Ole Miss) โฆ Eastern Kentucky (8/31): Recorded six tackles against the Colonels, three were solo tackles and three were assisted โฆ Finished third on the team in tackles โฆ Earned a tackle grade of 81.3 which ranked as the eighth best tackle grade in the SEC by linebackers ... Florida (9/21): Recorded three total tackles, two solo and one assisted ...ย at Texas (9/28): Made his first career start โฆ recorded two tackles, one solo and one assisted โฆ Earned a half tackle for loss and a half sack in the contest, both were career firsts for Tillman โฆ had a pass break up โฆ recovered a fumble โฆย Blocked the first punt of his career (second blocked punt for Mississippi State on the season) ...ย at Georgia (10/12): ย Recorded three tackles, two solo and one assisted ...ย Texas A&M (10/19): Earned his first career interception โฆ Did not record any tackles ...ย Arkansas (10/26): Recorded two tackles, one solo and one assisted โฆ Recorded his first QB hurry of the seasonย โฆ Earned his first career forced fumble ...ย UMass (11/2): Recorded five tackles, one solo and four assisted โฆ Had one pass break up ...ย at Tennessee (11/9): Recorded one solo tackle ...ย vs. Missouri (11/23):ย Recorded three solo tackles โฆ Had one tackle for loss โฆ Had one sack โฆ at Ole Miss (11/29): Recorded five tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.
2023 (True Freshman Season)
Appeared in 11 games, primarily on special teams โฆ Recorded five tackles on the year โฆ Played 99 snaps, with 82 coming on special teams ... SE Louisiana (9/2): Made his collegiate debut ... Collected a pair of tackles ... LSU (9/16): Had two tackles โฆ Alabama (9/30): Recorded a tackle.
High School
Prepped at Florence High School under head coach Rod Davis โฆ Three-star prospect by 247Sports and On3 โฆ No. 22 prospect in the state of Mississippi by On3 Consensus and the No. 27 prospect state-wide by 247Sports โฆ Had 57 total tackles, including 35 solo stops โฆ Registered 13.0 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, a pass breakup and two QB hurries โฆ Offensively, he caught 12 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown โฆ Selected to play in the 2022 Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star Game.ย
Personal
Son of Joezon Darby and LaTonia Tillman โฆ Major is Undeclared.
Career-Highs Entering 2026
Tackles: 7, 2x, last at Arkansas (11/1/2025)
Tackles for Loss: 2.0, 2x, last vs. Tennesseeย (09/27/2025)
Sacks: 2.0, at Ole Miss (11/29/2024)
Interceptions: 1, 2x, last vs. Tennessee (9/27/2025)
Pass Breakups: 1, 3x, at Missouri (11/15/2025)
Forced Fumble: 1, 2x, lastย at Arkansas (11/1/2025)
Fumble Recoveries: 1, at Texas (09/28/2024)
2025 Athlon Sports Preseason All-SEC (4th Team, LB)
Career Notes
Played in 35 career games with 11 starts โฆ Following the 2025 season, has earned 82 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three pass breakups, two forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick and two interceptions.
ย
2025 (Junior Season)
Played in 12 games with 10 starts โฆ Totaled 47 tackles, three TFLs, oneย pass breakup, one forced fumble, one sack and one interception โฆ Finished sixth on the team in tackles โฆ His 47 tackles were a career-high โฆ Did not play in the Dukeโs Mayo Bowl due to injury โฆ at Southern Miss (8/30): logged at least one tackle in 13 consecutive games dating back to the 2023 season ... vs Arizona State (9/6): Earned a new career high of seven tackles in the Bulldogs victory over the Sun Devils ... vs Tennessee (9/27): Registered his first sack of the season ... Secured a pivotal interception in the fourth quarter ... led the team in tackles for loss with two ... tied for second on the team in tackles during the game ... at Texas A&M (10/4): third game this season with a tackle for loss ... at Florida (10/18): earned another start to make it his seventh in a row ... at Arkansas (11/1): recorded his first forced fumble of the year ... at Missouri (11/15): tied his career high in QB hurries ... tied his career high in pass breakups.
2024 (Sophomore Season)
Played in 12 games with one start โฆ Recorded 30 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two pass breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception and one blocked field goal โฆ Led the team in sacks โฆ Only player on the team with a multi-sack game (at Ole Miss) โฆ Eastern Kentucky (8/31): Recorded six tackles against the Colonels, three were solo tackles and three were assisted โฆ Finished third on the team in tackles โฆ Earned a tackle grade of 81.3 which ranked as the eighth best tackle grade in the SEC by linebackers ... Florida (9/21): Recorded three total tackles, two solo and one assisted ...ย at Texas (9/28): Made his first career start โฆ recorded two tackles, one solo and one assisted โฆ Earned a half tackle for loss and a half sack in the contest, both were career firsts for Tillman โฆ had a pass break up โฆ recovered a fumble โฆย Blocked the first punt of his career (second blocked punt for Mississippi State on the season) ...ย at Georgia (10/12): ย Recorded three tackles, two solo and one assisted ...ย Texas A&M (10/19): Earned his first career interception โฆ Did not record any tackles ...ย Arkansas (10/26): Recorded two tackles, one solo and one assisted โฆ Recorded his first QB hurry of the seasonย โฆ Earned his first career forced fumble ...ย UMass (11/2): Recorded five tackles, one solo and four assisted โฆ Had one pass break up ...ย at Tennessee (11/9): Recorded one solo tackle ...ย vs. Missouri (11/23):ย Recorded three solo tackles โฆ Had one tackle for loss โฆ Had one sack โฆ at Ole Miss (11/29): Recorded five tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.
2023 (True Freshman Season)
Appeared in 11 games, primarily on special teams โฆ Recorded five tackles on the year โฆ Played 99 snaps, with 82 coming on special teams ... SE Louisiana (9/2): Made his collegiate debut ... Collected a pair of tackles ... LSU (9/16): Had two tackles โฆ Alabama (9/30): Recorded a tackle.
High School
Prepped at Florence High School under head coach Rod Davis โฆ Three-star prospect by 247Sports and On3 โฆ No. 22 prospect in the state of Mississippi by On3 Consensus and the No. 27 prospect state-wide by 247Sports โฆ Had 57 total tackles, including 35 solo stops โฆ Registered 13.0 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, a pass breakup and two QB hurries โฆ Offensively, he caught 12 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown โฆ Selected to play in the 2022 Bernard Blackwell North/South All-Star Game.ย
Personal
Son of Joezon Darby and LaTonia Tillman โฆ Major is Undeclared.
Career-Highs Entering 2026
Tackles: 7, 2x, last at Arkansas (11/1/2025)
Tackles for Loss: 2.0, 2x, last vs. Tennesseeย (09/27/2025)
Sacks: 2.0, at Ole Miss (11/29/2024)
Interceptions: 1, 2x, last vs. Tennessee (9/27/2025)
Pass Breakups: 1, 3x, at Missouri (11/15/2025)
Forced Fumble: 1, 2x, lastย at Arkansas (11/1/2025)
Fumble Recoveries: 1, at Texas (09/28/2024)
Sunday, September 20
Sunday, September 20
Sunday, September 20
Saturday, September 19
