JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Jackson Public Schools held its 2026 High School Football Season Kickoff Press Conference Friday morning at the JPS Environmental Learning Center, with Lanier High School’s Geraci Carson and Knolyn Bailey among the headliners as the district prepares for another season of competition.
JPS enters 2026 with momentum after a successful 2025 campaign that saw Lanier and Callaway advance to the MHSAA playoffs and more than 20 football student-athletes sign athletic scholarships. Lanier finished 10-2 last season before falling to Pontotoc in the first round of the 5A playoffs.
Carson draws national attention
Defensive tackle Geraci Carson enters his junior season as a five-star recruit, ESPN’s No. 1-ranked defensive tackle in the nation, the top overall prospect in Mississippi and the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2028 class.
Carson said the recruiting attention has not been a distraction.
“I’m always humbling. I’m always open to questions, so it’s nothing,” Carson said.
He credited the Lanier coaching staff, led by head coach Tommy Kelly, a former NFL defensive tackle who played for the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals, with preparing players beyond the field.
“They can teach you a lesson through a drill, and you’ll never know until you stop playing football, because eventually you’re gonna take your last snap,” Carson said. “So they do great at teaching people how to be men.”
Carson confident in returning core
Carson said the Bulldogs’ returning starters have shown up to camp ready to work.
“Every practice they’re ready to go. They don’t put their head down. They don’t slug at practice,” Carson said. “When you look at them in practice and you look at their energy, you look at their habits, you look how they run, things like that. It gives you faith in them.”
He also pointed to offseason growth as a key factor heading into 2026.
“We put in a lot of work in the offseason. We did a bunch of things that needed to be done,” Carson said. “I feel like people going into their next year were becoming upperclassmen, so that means we have bigger roles to step into. I feel like we’re stepping into those roles great.”
Bailey sets sights on 2,000 yards
Running back Knolyn Bailey is also back for his junior season after rushing for more than 1,700 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2025 before an injury cut his season short. Bailey said he is motivated heading into 2026.
“I ain’t get to finish the season, so I’m hoping to aim for better,” Bailey said. “I had 1,700 last year. This year, I’m shooting for 2,000 plus. I’m just trying to keep progressing as I go on and develop myself as a player and a person overall.”
Bailey said the locker room dynamic has been a driving force for the team.
“It’s a real hype environment. We like to come out and work every day,” Bailey said. “We have real good leaders who want to push the younger guys. So as long as we keep getting those younger guys and the leaders to lead the younger guys, then we’re gonna keep developing as a team, and that dynamic gonna ultimately show in the game.”
Lanier opens the 2026 season on Aug. 28 against Harrison Central.
Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.