Here are southwest Missouri's high school football defensive backs to know in 2024

Southwest Missouri is loaded with returning defensive backs who are primed to continue to lock down defenders heading into the 2024 high school football season.

Here are the ballhawks you should know heading into the year.

Jordan Arthur, Houston, 12

Arthur tied for second in the area last year with seven interceptions. The playmaker is one of the top returning receivers averaging 15.5 yards per reception with six touchdowns last season.

More: Here are southwest Missouri's high school football quarterbacks to know heading into 2024

Bryden Baxter, Fair Grove, 12

Baxter is as versatile as they come for Eagles athletics. He was a first-team all-Mid-Lakes Conference quarterback and defensive back for one of the best small-school teams in the state.

Randy Flint, Nixa, 11

Flint helped give Nixa a dangerous duo between him and Spencer Ward a season ago. With Ward now graduated, Flint steps into a prime role where he should flourish as one of the better all-around athletes in the area. He has a really high ceiling in several sports.

Trent Garton, Kickapoo, 12

The Chiefs have had phenomenal secondaries in recent years. Having Garton back in one of the safety spots should continue the tradition into the Central Ozark Conference after the Southwest Missouri Football Coaches Association named him an all-area second-teamer last season.

More: Here are southwest Missouri's high school football running backs to know heading into 2024

Bryer Guerin, Marionville, 11

Guerin, Marionville’s state-championship-winning quarterback, led Southwest Missouri in interceptions last season with eight. The Comets are loaded all over the field as they look to go back-to-back.

TaMarkus Holmes, Forsyth, 11

Holmes was the youngest player to be named a first-team All-Mid-Lakes Conference performer last year with a unanimous selection as one of the league’s top defensive backs. He’s made a name for himself as one of the better small-school athletes in the area.

More: Here are southwest Missouri's high school football receivers to know heading into 2024

Langston Morgan, Carthage, 12

In a loaded field of quality corners, Morgan was named an All-COC first-teamer last year after breaking up five passes with one interception and a touchdown.

Levi Phillips, Kickapoo, 12

Opposite Garton, the Chiefs will have one of the better, if not the best, safety duo in the area. Phillips was a first-team All-Ozark Conference performer last year.

More: Here are southwest Missouri's high school football offensive linemen to know heading into 2024

Xavier Robinson, Clever, 12

Robinson catches a lot of passes whether it’s on offense or defense. He was among the top defensive backs in the area last season with five interceptions when he was also one of the area’s leaders in receiving.

Spensar Seiger, Fair Grove, 12

The Baxter-Seiger combo helped Fair Grove get to the state semifinals last year on the gridiron and it helped make the Eagles one of the best basketball teams in the area as well. Seiger is as good of a defensive back as you’ll find in the Mid-Lakes as he’s coming off a unanimous Mid-Lakes selection as a first-team defender.

Alex Wilkerson, Lamar, 12

Wilkerson missed a lot of last season with an injury but when he’s on the field, he’s as good of a small-school quarterback as there is and an elite player in the Tigers’ secondary. With good health, expect him to bounce back into the all-state form he was throughout Lamar’s deep playoff run.

More: Here are southwest Missouri's high school football specialists to know heading into 2024

Jarrett Zerby, Mount Vernon, 12

Opponents didn’t find much success when challenging Mount Vernon’s secondary last season. Zerby was a big reason for that while being a lockdown corner and receiving a unanimous selection to the All-Big 8 East postseason team.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Here are southwest Missouri's high school football defensive backs to know in 2024