Head coach TC Taylor calls for offensive play as the blue team defeated the white team 23-9 at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday during Jackson State University's annual spring football game. .
It was a task necessitated by an offseason coaching staff change. Co-offensive coordinators Maurice Harris and Jason Onyebuagu, who called plays in 2023 when the Tigers led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in overall offense, have left for other jobs. So did quarterbacks coach Quinn Billerman.
According to the Jackson State football website, no coaches have listed offensive coordinator as their responsibilities. In Saturday's postgame press conference, Taylor did not commit to being offensive coordinator for the 2024 season.
“Let's see,” Taylor said. “There's still a lot of time. We don't have any games until August. We continue to grow this football team, but today I addressed it. We'll continue to evaluate and see how it feels.” And I'm going to make that decision.”
There are more than four months until the Tigers' season opener at UL Monroe on Aug. 29, but there will be no practice until about four weeks before that game. If Taylor leaves the offensive coordinator role to a current assistant or takes the job from outside the program, he will allow that coach to implement a new system or master the system in place over the next four weeks. It means that you trust. That's a daunting hurdle considering everything it takes, from learning the system to communicating it to assistants and offensive players to calling plays in the heat of the game.
Defense dominates black and white gamesDefense dominates Jackson State University football blue and white spring game
It might make sense for Taylor to take on offensive coordinator duties. He spent six seasons as offensive coordinator at Coahoma County Community College and four seasons at North Carolina Central, including 2016, when the Eagles appeared in the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl.
Taylor also served as offensive coordinator at Jackson State in 2021 under head coach Deion Sanders. The team ranked fourth in the SWAC in scoring offense (27.5 points per game), seventh in total offense (337.6 yards per game) and second in passing (248.5 yards per game). Game) Uses FCS and SWAC Newcomer of the Year Shedule Sanders as quarterback. The Tigers won his SWAC and qualified for the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
Regardless of how Taylor handles the offensive coordinator position, for a team looking to improve on a 7-4 record in 2023, and with Taylor entering the second year of a three-year contract. , this is an important decision.
