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Stan Becton | krikya18.com | August 27, 2023

'Prime Time' is over as coach T.C. Taylor leads Jackson State into a new era

QB Jason Brown wins MEAC/SWAC Challenge MVP in his Jackson State debut

Jackson State football is embarking on a new era in 2023 — and it's starting at the top. Gone are the fanfare and larger-than-life personality of former head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders — or known affectionately at Jackson State as "Coach Prime." In comes new head coach T.C. Taylor, a Jackson State alum who's worked his way up the HBCU coaching ranks and now aims to take the Tigers to a place that not even Coach Prime could go: the mountaintop of a Celebration Bowl win.

Big shoes to fill

Taylor began his coaching career as an assistant at Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, Mississippi, before heading to North Carolina Central and finally returning to Jackson State as a tight ends and wide receivers coach in 2019. Throughout his journey, Taylor always had his eyes set on being a head coach.

"God told me I would be in this seat," Taylor said. "I didn't necessarily know it would be at Jackson State."

Now entrenched as the head man, Taylor has big shoes to fill. For all the headlines — positive and negative — that Coach Prime received during and after his tenure at Jackson State, he made sure to handle business on the field. Jackson State returned to a level of dominance under Sanders that brought back "Sweet" memories of Walter Payton donning the blue and white as the Tigers won back-to-back SWAC championships, never losing a conference game.

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Taking over a two-time defending conference championship-winning coach would be a big task for any first-time head coach, but for Taylor, he has to do so at his alma mater, too. For most people, coaches or not, these circumstances would create immense pressure to live up to expectations. Yet, Taylor's the outlier.

"I don't believe in pressure, I believe in preparation. If you prepare, there's no such thing as pressure," Taylor said. "I'm excited to be able to run on the field at Veterans Memorial Stadium, a place where I played at, grew up a fan. I'm just excited to lead that charge as the head coach of Jackson State." 

Excited. It's a feeling Taylor displayed during his late-July media tour at SWAC football media day in Birmingham, Alabama and at an early MEAC/SWAC Challenge press conference in Atlanta, Georgia — the latter happening just hours before Taylor had to catch a flight to get to his first training camp practice on July 26. 

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Preseason doubters

But along with excitement, there's plenty of doubts about Jackson State's ceiling entering the year.

A look at the SWAC predicted order of finish and you'll find the Tigers picked second in the SWAC East with only two first-place votes. Tight end D.J. Stevens was the only Tiger to land among the first- or second-team preseason All-SWAC selections. It's a stark contrast for a team last fall that had 12 all-conference players and won the conference's Offensive, Defensive and Freshman of the Year awards. Coach Taylor remains unphased, even with the preseason voting done by his fellow coaches and sports information directors.

"I look at the preseason and no games have been played," Taylor said. "They don't know. They haven't seen the new Jackson State football team and we're gonna show them,"

As the preseason gives Taylor, his team and fans a new mantra to reflect the chip on Jackson State's shoulders, the projected slippage for the Tigers isn't without cause. 

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A new-look team

Jackson State "lost close to 60-70 players" this offseason, per Taylor. Just look at what the Tigers lost from a top-10 scoring offense in the FCS.

Other than preseason All-SWAC selection D.J. Stevens, the only returning offensive player with more than 25 touches is running back J.D. Martin. The fourth-year back is one of the few offensive holdovers from the Coach Prime era that didn't graduate or depart via the transfer portal. That familiarity has not only thrust Martin into a leadership role but it's also led to increased expectations for the backup-turned-starting running back this fall. That hasn't changed Martin, a former four-star recruit, and his approach to the upcoming season.

"I still have the same mindset. I've prepared for it, but deep down, I know what I can do," Martin said. "I know what I'm capable of and I'm ready to showcase my talent to the world."

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In what figures to be a more explosive offense under new coordinator Maurice Harris' scheme, Martin could line up anywhere from the backfield to in the slot at wide receiver. Martin's contributions to the offense are intriguing for Jackson State and Taylor. However, there remains a more pressing issue facing the coach this fall.

"We've gotta figure out who the quarterback is. We've got 3, 4, 5 guys that I like a lot. They've got some huge shoes to fill," Taylor said.

The shoes Taylor refers to are the cleats of Shedeur Sanders, 2023's Deacon Jones Trophy winner as the best player in Black College Football. 

Finding the right quarterback is one of the biggest tasks for Taylor over the next month. The starting signal caller is one of many positions that Taylor dove into the transfer portal to find this offseason, primarily using a strategy to grab "young guys" with multiple years of eligibility left. Taylor quickly formed a relationship with Jackson State athletic director Ashley Robinson to seamlessly bring in new additions during the dog days of summer to prepare for the fall. 

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Setting the tone

The most underrated addition for Jackson State this fall might be the addition of Director Of Football Sports Performance Jaylen Watson from Texas Tech. Taylor hired Watson to make Jackson State a more physical team, and rightfully so. The last time we saw the Tigers on the field, they were pushed around to the tune of 276 rushing yards for 6.3 yards per carry. Taylor knows Jackson State has to fix that if they want to reach a new level.

RECAP: How North Carolina Central defeated Jackson State in the 2022 Celebration Bowl

"We've gotta play a physical brand. One of the things I said I want to add to the football team is physicality. I told Watson,'We've gotta get more physical as a football team.' If we do that, we'll be fine," Taylor said.

The physicality will start in the trenches with a defensive line that is the strength of the football team entering training camp. Last year, Jackson State led the FCS in sacks and allowed the second-fewest points per game in the FCS. In 2023, the defensive line will have to set the tone for the defense and the entire team if Jackson State looks to keep standards high.

"I hold everyone accountable to do their job," returning defensive lineman Devonta Davis said. "I know what it takes to go 12-0. I know the hard work and the dedication it takes to be at the top."

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Difficult beginnings

The path to return to the top of the SWAC this fall in T.C. Taylor's first year won't be easy. 

Jackson State opens the season in Week 0 in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge against South Carolina State in Atlanta, a place where the Bulldogs routed the Tigers just two years ago. Taylor, a rookie head coach, will face off against whom he describes as the "legendary" Buddy Pough. The Tigers have lost three straight games in Atlanta, from the 2019 MEAC/SWAC Challenge to the last two Celebration Bowls.

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If the opening game looks hard enough for a first-time head coach, the rest of the schedule appears treacherous. Taylor will be introduced to college football with four straight games on the road, following the MEAC/SWAC Challenge with SWAC East favorite Florida A&M, SWAC rival and defending SWAC West champion Southern and FBS foe Texas State. 

That's a treacherous slate that could have the Tigers out of the SWAC championship picture before playing a game in front of fans that led the FCS in attendance last year. However, Taylor's not complaining about the difficult task ahead in his inaugural season. He's embracing the challenge.

"It's up to these young men, my coaching staff and myself to be ready to play. It's the hand we were dealt. It's not gonna change," Taylor said. "I'm excited about it. As a first-time head coach, you're really getting truly tested in these first four games. Let's line it up and see what happens."

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Start in Atlanta, Finish in Atlanta

Taylor isn't afraid of facing a challenging 2023 schedule. He has the same goal for Jackson State that the Tigers had under Coach Prime: winning a Celebration Bowl. When Taylor's team lines up for its first game on August 26 at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, GA, he hopes the location of the first game foreshadows the location of the last game.

"With the way our players are working on a day-to-day basis, [a SWAC championship] is what they expect. They expect to be playing in a Celebration Bowl and finishing it this year," said Taylor. "We talk about it all the time. We get an opportunity to start in Atlanta and we get an opportunity to finish there. What we do in between is up to us as a program. That's the expectation of our fans and our players and we want to continue that."

Those are high expectations for Taylor in his first year as a head coach. Yet, with his confidence in himself, his team and an influx of new talent, Taylor may be able to take Jackson State football to the promised land.

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