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Much like assists in basketball, tackles are a bit of an arbitrary statistic and always have been.
One site might have a player listed with one amount of tackles for a game/season/career, while a school site might have a different number. With all those bodies swarming ball-carriers or quarterbacks, it’s not always easy to determine tackles.
But let’s give it our best shot. Here are the SEC’s career leaders in that statistic from my research entering 2015.
Tennessee’s Brian Randolph (240): The 6-foot, 200-pound redshirt senior defensive back set a career high with 88 tackles a season ago; that total was third among SEC defensive backs. Randolph isn’t going to sniff the Tennessee school record for tackles in a career, however. That’s a whopping 547 by Andy Spiva from 1973-76. That’s also the SEC record.
Missouri’s Kentrell Brothers (206): The 6-foot-1, 235-pound redshirt senior linebacker is the leading returning tackler in the SEC. He led Missouri with 122 tackles was named All-SEC second team in 2014 Brothers had a career-high with 14 tackles in the SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Florida’s Antonio Morrison (191): The 6-foot-1, 230-pound senior linebacker is coming off two major knee surgeries; he was originally hurt in the Birmingham Bowl win over East Carolina. Morrison led the Gators with 101 tackles on the season, the first UF player to reach 100 since Ahmad Black in 2010. Morrison was a second-team All-SEC selection.
Auburn’s Cassanova McKinzy (189): The 6-foot-3, 253-pound senior linebacker led Auburn with 91 tackles in 2014. This will be his third year as starter.
Tennessee’s LaDarrell McNeil (188): McNeil, a 6-foot-1, 209-pound senior defensive back, had a career-high 76 tackles in 2014 while playing strong safety. He had a career-high 11 stops in a Nov. 22 loss to Missouri.
LSU’s Jalen Mills (186): The 6-foot, 195-pound senior safety enters the season with more career starts than any player on the LSU defense with 39. This is his second year at safety after beginning his career at cornerback. Mills won’t be able to add to his career totals for a few games as he is expected to miss at least four weeks with a fractured fibula.
Ole Miss’ Trae Elston (182): Elston is a 5-foot-11, 195-pound defensive back for the Rebels. He was a three-year starter at Rover but will play at free safety in 2015. Elston finished with 59 tackles last year.
Vanderbilt’s Darreon Herring (162): The 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior linebacker is a versatile guy. Last year for the Commodores, he started eight times at inside linebacker and three at nickelback. He ranks as the team’s active career leader with 162 tackles and 89 solo stops.
Ole Miss’ Mike Hilton (156): Hilton will have the honor of wearing the No. 38 jersey of late Ole Miss player Chucky Mullins in 2015. Hilton, a 5-foot-9, 184-pound senior, has started at every position in the secondary over his career. He led Ole Miss in 2014 with 71 tackles.
Auburn’s Kris Frost (151): Frost is a 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior who was third on the Tigers last year with 87 tackles, 10 of which were for loss. He is on the preseason Butkus Award list with teammate McKinzy.
Matt Severance is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina.
