Too Early Top Five Teams For 2023

Rion Young December 9, 2022 @ 08:37 AM

<p>It is never too early to get an early look on the next season. Some teams are already back in the weightroom getting ready for next year. That's how things roll when you play football in the state of Mississippi. A lot of teams are returning multiple starters, and that will help them a lot. Here are some teams I think will still be on top next year.</p>   <h2><strong>Starkville</strong></h2>   <p>Starkville is returning a lot of starters on both sides of the football. A lot of those starters will be returning back to the offensive and defensive line. That is always a good position to be in. Injuries could be the blame for them not having a perfect season. At one point this team was 0-3 to start division play. They found a way to get through adversity to become the 2022 MHSAA 6A State Champions. Next year the state will be adopting a higher classification, and Starkville will be one of the 24 teams that will move up. The competition they face will be very familiar. Look for these guys to be trying to repeat next year. </p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='139597' first='Braylon' last='Burnside'], [player_tooltip player_id='273258' first='Trey' last='Petty'], Jermar McCarter and Courtland Cooper are some of their key guys returning. </p>   <h2><strong>Louisville </strong></h2>   <p>A lot of times Louisville does not get the respect they deserve because they are a 4A school. Let's not forget they were top competitors in the state, and already had five 4A state titles when the highest classification in the state was 5A. This program is going to keep their train rolling every season. This year the only game they lost came to the 6A state champs. These guys are good, and know how to win football games. They are returning all of their offensive lineman, and they are only losing four players in defense. It's going to be a long ride for some teams in 4A next year. These guys are going to be loaded again.</p>   <p>Jykevious Goss, Xavier Hunt, Kenneth Hill and Kam Triplett are some of their key guys returning next year.</p>   <h2><strong>Tupelo</strong></h2>   <p>Tupelo had a very great run this season, and it ended with them losing to Starkville in the semi finals. This team was loaded this past season. They had an offense that was putting up very big numbers. Their team had some notable seniors, but a lot of their players were young. Towards the playoffs they had a freshman getting some respectable playing time at running back. They also have a good set of receivers who will be back in the mix. Tupelo is going to come back next season looking to get over the hump. This has been a bad taste in their mouth. The season before last they were 7-4, and didn't get a playoff berth. Next year Tupelo is looking to finish the job.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='344100' first='Jeremiah' last='Harrell'], [player_tooltip player_id='139851' first='JQ' last='Witherspoon'], Qua Middlebrooks and [player_tooltip player_id='413138' first='Tristan' last='Jernigan'] will be some of they key returning starters next season.</p>   <h2><strong>Picayune</strong></h2>   <p>Picayune is another team that has been very young these past two seasons. They are back-to-back 5A champs. Even rolling into a possible three-peat, they are going to see themselves return a lot of kids. It is going to be trouble again for a lot of teams. They will be moving up to 6A so that is going to be interesting to see how they fare on that level. The competition will be a little harder with some of the teams that will remain 6A, and not move up to 7A. They are going to be in the weightroom heavy next year trying to make some things happen.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='344053' first='Chris' last='Davis'], [player_tooltip player_id='344138' first='Jamonta' last='Waller'] and Darrell Smith are some of their key returning starters.</p>   <h2><strong>West Point</strong></h2>   <p>West Point has been to the 5A championship seven years in a row. That's almost a decade. That is one of the greatest accomplishments this state has ever seen. The only teams they lost to this year was Starkville, Louisville and Picayune. All of those teams are champs within their classifications this year. That's not a bad thing to say when you look at this team. West Point is going to be back in the mix again next season. They won't have to worry about bumping into big bad Picayune again for the next two years. They also will be returning a lot of guys. </p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='344052' first='Kahnen' last='Daniels'], Zayvian Lowery, Elijah Lowery and [player_tooltip player_id='503391' first='Coledan' last='Carter'] are some key returning starters.</p>

It is never too early to get an early look on the next season. Some teams are already back in the weightroom getting ready for next year. That's how things roll when you play football in the state of Mississippi. A lot of teams are returning multiple starters, and that will help them a lot. Here are some teams I think will still be on top next year.