Week 12 Update: State Leaders In Tackles

Just like any statistical category, the state’s leaders in tackles shakes up week, after week. Specifically, the leaders in tackles happens to change up pretty frequently due to the fact that prospects at the LB position tend to see a high level of tackles each game at the high school level due to the level of talent of some of the offenses that they may face each week. Regardless, this high level of productivity is very impressive, and should not be overlooked. As the regular season is coming to a close, the state’s top 4 tackles leaders have been very impressive, and below, you can get a brief glimpse as to why. <strong>Coleman Cauley (LB)-</strong> First Presbyterian Day (167 tackles) This season, Cauley has had one of the more productive seasons of his high school football career. This has come with 167 tackles to this point of the season, with the pure fact that he leads the entire state in tackles by a 19 tackle margin. If this isn’t impressive, maybe the fact that he has also been able to lead his team to a 8-2 record is. In fact, 5 of these wins specifically happen to be within his region. To add to this. Cauley has also had successful spurts this season, in which he has had 16, 19, and 25 tackle games. This in itself has helped him to acquire such gaudy numbers, in which he also has accumulated a very impressive average per game, as well as a reputation for making big stops, and plays for his team when it matters the most. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="34013" first="Shakai" last="Woods"] (LB)-</strong> Douglas County (148 tackles) It comes as no surprise that Woods has made this list, especially after we have sung his praises all off-season. In this installment of our series, Woods has already totaled 148 tackles in a 10 game span. Woods has had countless 15 tackle games, along with games in which he has also had 13, 16, and 17 tackles as well. In doing so, he has stepped up for his team in big time moments, and has begun to get the recognition that he deserves because of it. Out of all of these tackles, Woods also has a total of 89 solo tackles, with an average of 14.8 tackles a game. Even more impressively, Woods has also had 2 sacks this season, and 3 interceptions, making him a turnover, and situational football machine. <strong>Clark Jackson (LB)-</strong> Aquinas (144 tackles) A few tackles away from the second place spot in the state is that of Clark Jackson, who has totaled 144 tackles so far this season. These 144 tackles come with the 11 games that he has played, in which his team has also fell to 3-3 in their region. Despite this, Jackson contributed at a very high level, including games in which he was able to accumulate a high level of tackles. Along with this, Jackson also racked up his fair share of rushing yards, as he has also been a major contributor on the offensive side of the ball. While Jackson has put up great numbers and not burned himself out, he has averaged 45.8 yards a game, and has a total of 458 yards this year. On defense, out of his tackle total, he has 84 solo tackles, with some of them coming in crucial parts of the games in which he has played in. Because of his level of success as a 2024 prospect, he is definitely worth keeping track of for the future. <strong>Zion Rutledge (LB)-</strong> Hillgrove (142 tackles) Even though Rutledge comes in at fourth on our list, he has still racked up an impressive 142 tackles this year, with an average of 15.8 tackles a game. There have been games in which he has totaled 18, 16, 14, and 13 total tackles, making him an absolute beast of a defensive player. Out of the 142 tackles he has totaled this year, about 86 of them have been solo tackles, meaning he has been very efficient when he comes up to make stops. Rutledge's performance has also been seen to be very impressive as he has had multiple big plays. This season, not only does he have an interception, but he has forced a fumble, and racked up 4 sacks.