Jackson State coach settles into Year 2 with a rebuilt staff and raised expectations

JACKSON, Miss. — On a steamy Monday morning in late August, as the sun peeked through the sky at I Believe practice field, T.C. Taylor walked to midfield and blew his whistle for Jackson State University football players to break off into position groups.

Standing alone, he gazed in each direction, watching his assistants command their groups. Taylor, who is in the second year of his three-year contract as Jackson State’s head football coach, loves the passion and bonds emerging between his players and staff. As music from Future, Key Glock and Lil Durk played on the loudspeaker, Taylor praised the play of his running backs and quarterbacks while igniting urgency in his wide receivers and several players on defense multiple times.

That effort and energy is what Taylor believes Jackson State (1-1) will need to compete for its third Southwestern Athletic Conference title in four years this season – and secure a win against Southern University (1-1) in the BoomBox Classic on Saturday. 

In 2023, Jackson State finished 7-4, but for Taylor, a former Jackson State standout quarterback and wide receiver, it simply wasn’t good enough.

“I want more,” Taylor said. “We didn’t live up to the JSU standard. We dealt with deficiencies, but that’s no excuse. We were on the verge of doing better. We didn’t lose games by a big margin, and we left a lot out there on the field. We want to be dominant at all times.”

Taylor earned his stripes as an assistant under former Jackson State coaches John Hendrick and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, who led the Tigers to back-to-back SWAC titles and berths in the Celebration Bowl in 2021 and 2022. Immediately after the 2023 campaign, Taylor immersed himself in figuring out solutions for the program, adding six new coaches and mixing local and transfer portal talent in this year’s recruiting class.

In the first two weeks of this season, Taylor’s master plan has resulted in Jackson State earning a dominant 58-7 victory over Lane College following a season-opening 30-14 loss to University of Louisiana at Monroe. With JSU’s incoming visit from its SWAC West rival Southern, the Tigers are confident in their leader.

“We believe in him [Taylor],” said Jackson State defensive back Esaias Guthrie, who registered an interception and three tackles in the Tigers’ win against Lane on Saturday. “He’s more settled as a coach, which in turn has molded us a team. Our goals are bigger than just winning games. We want to dominate.”

As practice ends, Taylor flips the switch from JSU’s fierce leader to the 6-foot-4 man who still looks like he could run a back shoulder fade route to the corner of the end zone, rattling off a few jokes to lighten the mood.

“When he’s [Taylor] in his office, you wouldn’t even know he was the head man in charge,” said Jackson State defensive coordinator Torenzo Quinn. “On the field, you can hear him hollering from the other side to get something fixed.”

Otis Riddley, the Tigers’ general manager and associate head coach – and Taylor’s best friend – agrees.

“Most of his jokes are rooted in country stuff,” Riddley said, laughing. “He got this saying, ‘That’s about as country as a brown egg’ … That’s just him. But on that grass, he’s in a different gear.”

All jokes aside, Taylor is optimistic about the Tigers’ football season, partly due the staff changes he has made with the help of Riddley, who has been part of the program since 2019. 

“Coach O [Riddley] is my right-hand man and played an intricate part in rebuilding this staff,” Taylor said. “He shields a lot of the logistics from me so I can focus on football. … This staff understands our culture, my vision, and they have a ton of energy.”

Jackson State lost five coaches on offense after the 2023 season, including co-offensive coordinators Jason Onyebuagu and Maurice Harris. Taylor lost defensive coordinator Jonathan Bradley and one position coach. He retained Riddley; Quinn, was the defensive backs coach last season; quarterbacks coach Rip Kirk, who was an offensive analyst in 2023; and cornerbacks coach Mario Magana Jr.

He added Manny Ramirez, who coached at Texas Southern for two years and played for nine years in the NFL, as the offensive line coach, and Eric Gallon, who returned to JSU after a short stint at North Carolina A&T, as running backs coach.

Jackson State also hired Vincent Marshall, who previously coached at Norfolk State, as the wide receivers coach; Chris Orr, who was a defensive assistant at Baylor, as linebackers coach; Kali James, who previously was a defensive assistant at Florida, as the defensive line coach; and Jackson State football alum Javancy Jones, a former All-American, as the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach.

Although the entire staff has spent only roughly five months together as a unit, Taylor has established a winning mindset.

“You’d think we’ve been coaching together for a couple years,” Jones said.

When Jackson State named Taylor to succeed Sanders as its next football coach in December 2022, it was a dream come true for him. However, dreams do not always come with the perfect blueprint. 

“There were mistakes I had to learn from in my first year that have prepared me for now,” Taylor said. “Football is a physical sport, and things happen. I didn’t want to just fill this team with bodies [from the transfer portal], I wanted the right pieces. … That’s what we have now in this program.”

A couple weeks after the Tigers’ 28-24 loss to in-state foe Alcorn State in the Soul Bowl last season, Taylor began adding depth on both offense and defense. 

Although Jacobian Morgan — who has thrown for 378 yards on 32 of 39 passes and three touchdowns thus far this season — and Zy McDonald returned at quarterback, Taylor brought in multiple signal-callers. Eastern Michigan transfer Cam’Ron McCoy, a dual-threat quarterback, threw five of nine passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 107 yards and two more scores on six carries before suffering an apparent right knee injury against Lane.

“He [McCoy] has a rocket on the right side of his arm and is probably the fastest football player we have in-house,” Taylor said.

The Tigers added depth on the offensive line as well as healthy competition in the running backs and wide receivers rooms. Jackson State has 18 offensive linemen on the roster, including preseason All-SWAC First Team selection Evan Henry.

At running back, true freshmen Travis Terrell Jr. and Nate Blount IV provide a new layer to a room that’s already filled with lead backs Irv Mulligan and J.D. Martin, who are close to returning from prior injuries. Preseason All-SWAC First Team wide receiver Fabian McCray has embraced the leadership at his position, but according to Taylor, one wideout to watch is redshirt sophomore Joanes Fortilien, who has two touchdown receptions this season, including a one-handed touchdown catch against Louisiana Monroe.

“The O-line set the tone of our offense,” Taylor said. “I push those guys hard because I love to run the football and they must protect the quarterback. Irv makes the game easy to coach. … Travis is going to be special, and Fortilien probably had the best camp out of wideouts in the group.”

Key returners such as Guthrie hope that Saturday’s performance will keep the energy high in the defensive unit, one that Taylor and Quinn beefed up to fill the absence of cornerback Jaheem Hazel, last year’s SWAC leader in interceptions. Besides Guthrie, the Tigers returned Ke’Vric Wiggins Jr. and B.J. Washington in the secondary and added Day Day Bright (Portland State transfer), Cameron Smith (Eastern Michigan transfer) and safety Robert McDaniel, who started his college career at JSU before playing for a junior college.

Among the Tigers’ leading linebackers heading into the game against Lane were linebackers Ashton Taylor (10 tackles) and Reid Pulliam (eight), a group that was of concern entering the season. However, after Pulliam earned defensive MVP honors in the game, with 4 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for a loss, he has emerged as one of Jackson State’s key defenders. The defensive line is anchored by linemen Tru Thompson, Joshua Nobles and Jeremiah Williams, who combined for 15 tackles against Lane.

Taylor never dreamed of becoming a coach, let alone entering the second season of leading his alma mater. However, he knows the expectation of championships that comes with coaching at Jackson State, which keeps him motivated to exceed last year’s finish — Robert “Judge” Hughes, one of Taylor’s former coaches, was fired after multiple 7-4 campaigns at JSU.

“I believe I have the greatest job in college football,” Taylor said. “But it’s championship or bust here. That’s why I felt 7-4 wasn’t good enough. Next year I’ll be entering my contract year. I feel like if I can get this right [in 2024], that’s something that I won’t have to think about next season.

“There’s no pressure. It’s about my preparation in leading this staff and these players. If we can remain healthy, stay together in the good and bad times and maintain good quarterback play, we’ll have a great shot at playing in Atlanta in December.”