Jackson State may not be the No. 1 team in the FCS polls, although we’re not sure any of the heavyweights would relish playing them.
On the other hand, the Tigers may be one of the most entertaining teams, not only in FCS but all of college football. This is a team with flash and dash, and for those counting the turnstiles, making plenty of cash.
The 3-0 Tigers are a big attraction and for good reason.
For all the impressive statistics, how does this one sound – 41,903? That is the average attendance for the Tigers’ first three games.
The Tigers drew 39,907 for an opening 59-3 opening win over Florida A&M during the Orange Blossom Classic in Miami. The next week, it was 51,351 during a 16-3 win over Tennessee State in the Southern Heritage Classic at Hale Stadium in Memphis. This past week, there were 34,451 for the home opener, a 66-24 high-octane win over Grambling State in the W.C. Gorden Classic in Jackson, Mississippi.
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There are plenty of FBS teams that would love to average that number for each game.
Sure, head coach Deion Sanders, the NFL Hall of Fame cornerback and return man, has drawn plenty of attention. Coach Prime has brought the Tigers into primetime, but fans aren’t coming to watch him coach. He has assembled a talented team.
And BTW, when will people start admitting that Coach Prime might know what he is doing?
Jackson State went 4-3 during the COVID-shortened first season. Last year, the Tigers went 11-2, 8-0 in conference and won their first SWAC title since 2007.
And now 3-0 this year.
While Sanders may not be the second coming of his Aflac commercial cohort Nick Saban, he is showing the ability to recruit and develop talent. In other words, he is doing what winning programs need from their coach. There are plenty of FBS programs that could do worse than hiring Sanders.
Let’s get to the team.
First off, they have impressed the pollsters.
HERO Sports FCS analyst Sam Herder, who votes on in the Stat Perform Top 25 media poll, has the Tigers No. 11 this week, which is exactly where they are slotted in the actual poll.
Jackson State brings the best of both worlds – plenty of talent and even more entertainment.
Anybody watching Saturday’s game saw an almost video game-like showing on offense. This was against a Grambling team coached by former NFL head coach Hue Jackson. (Although for the sake of this article, we may want to overlook Jackson’s 11-44-1 career NFL coaching record with the then Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Brown).
Running the high-octane Jackson State offense is the coach’s son, sophomore Shedeur Sanders (6-2, 215) who has not earned the starting job due to nepotism. In three games, Sanders has completed 72.7% of his passes for 956 yards, 10 TDs, and zero interceptions. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, both against Grambling.
Sanders, the quarterback, can throw the deep ball with plenty of touch as evidenced by this 86-yard touchdown pass to Willie Gaines.
Dallas Daniels, a 6-1 and 180-pound graduate student transfer from Western Illinois, had seven receptions for 120 yards and three scores against Grambling.
Shane “Hollywood” Hooks (6-4, 210) is a big target, a transfer from Ohio U, who doesn’t always need two hands to catch a pass as this insane play demonstrates.
Six players have scored at least one receiving touchdown.
Sophomore Sy’veon Wilkerson, a former standout for the MEAC’s Delaware State, is the leading rusher, having gained 272 yards (5.8 avg.) and two touchdowns.
The defense has been as impressive. Sophomore linebacker Nyles Gaddy (6-4, 230) already has 4.5 sacks for a unit allowing just 10 points per game. And this is without having freshman cornerback Travis Hunter for two games due to injury. Hunter was considered the No. 1 high school recruit, having first committed to Florida State before joining Coach Prime.
This is a team that should continue to be dominant as long as Deion Sanders stays. This season, Jackson State welcomed 19 transfers, 17 from FBS programs and two from FCS schools. Who wouldn’t want to go to a school that draws big crowds, plays an exciting brand of football, and is coached by an NFL Hall of Famer?
It’s a program that has combined the two most important ingredients – having fun and winning as it’s become one of the true attractions in all of college football.
