For Jackson State University football coach TC Taylor, Saturday's spring game had a different atmosphere than the first game of 2023.
Music blaring and fans watching quarterback Jacobean Morgan score two touchdowns and 293 yards to lead the white team against the blue team in the annual blue-white scrimmage at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. He was excited to see the pass that led to a 23-9 victory. .
It was such an exciting event that Southern Sonic Boom split into two bands, sitting on separate sidelines and fighting back and forth throughout the game.
Here are three takeaways from this match.
Jackson State football defense dominates spring game
Jackson State's first and second team defenses went after opposing quarterbacks. The Blue defense sacked Morgan three times and forced six runs. The driving lanes were clogged, and the white team was forced into three-and-outs many times.
Blue quarterback Gee McDonald was sacked four times, forcing other players to run, but he looked better in this game than he did a year ago. McDonald seemed comfortable taking snaps and made some nice quick throws.
The offensive line needs to be more physically strong.
The offensive line should be impressive in warm-ups. If he can translate that size into in-game awkwardness, he could play the type of power football Taylor wants to play.
“I’m still trying to get this team to understand the physicality in the trenches,” Taylor said. “That's what I didn't see today. The D-line brought that. Up front on the offensive line, they're big, but we need to be more physical and run the football. I don’t think we did the best job with that.”
Taylor sees strength in Jackson State football's growing player base.
Taylor said the difference between this year's spring game and last year is that he has a system in place. He also said he doesn't have to replace 40 players, but could probably replace a few more players.
He said the team was conducting official recruiting visits during the game and hoped to announce some signings soon. Help could also come during the under-2 spring transfer portal, which opens on April 16th.
It was the last official practice of the season. The team had 14 rigorous practices and used that time to improve.
jackson state spring football gameJackson State University football spring game set for April 6th
“We’re still building our football team,” Taylor said. “Spring is all about building on what we have on campus. What's nice for us is that we have 95 students on campus to find out who's going to help us in the fall.”
Jackson State begins its 2024 schedule on the road against UL Monroe on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. The Tigers' home opener is Sept. 7 against Lane, and their SWAC opener is Sept. 28 against Texas Southern.
