Tackett Curtis

Tackett Curtis is an American football linebacker for the Wisconsin Badgers. He previously played for the USC Trojans.

Early life
Curtis attended Many High School in Louisiana where he was a two-way player and was highly recruited, receiving offers to play college football as a freshman. He totaled 92 tackles and four interceptions on defense as a sophomore and helped Many win the state championship while being named the Class 2A Most Outstanding Defensive Player, The Times Defensive Player of the Year, All-District, All-State, and the defensive most valuable player of the latter two.

The following year, Curtis had 128 tackles, 18 tackles-for-loss, four interceptions and three forced fumbles and was named All-District and the defensive MVP, All-State and defensive MVP, the Louisiana Football Report Co-Defensive Player of the Year and MaxPreps Small School All-American. As a senior, he helped Many win another state title while totaling 112 tackles, 16 tackles-for-loss, six sacks and three interceptions, additionally recording 1,115 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. He was the first Many athlete to be named the LSWA Mr. Football and received many other additional honors, including: state championship MVP, MaxPreps Louisiana Player of the Year, All-District, district defensive MVP, first-team MaxPreps All-American and being a finalist for the Butkus Award for top linebacker in the U.S. Curtis was ranked a top-100 recruit nationally and committed to the USC Trojans.

College career
Curtis became a starter immediately as a true freshman at USC in 2023, being the first to start at his position as a true freshman for the school since 2015, and the second since 1978. He ultimately appeared in 12 games for the Trojans in the 2023 season and posted 40 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries. He entered the NCAA transfer portal after the season. He was ranked the best linebacker in the transfer portal and ultimately committed to the Wisconsin Badgers.