After rough start, Jackson State’s Sy’veon Wilkerson earns spot on ‘a bigger stage’ Tigers running back has gained over 100 yards in three games this season

JACKSON, Miss. — There was never any doubt in running back Sy’veon Wilkerson’s mind about what he could accomplish at Jackson State University.

He didn’t care that he didn’t have a scholarship. He didn’t care that he had to dress in the old locker room with the other walk-on players instead of the team’s new digs. He didn’t care that he was sixth on the depth chart when he arrived on campus as a transfer from West Virginia via Delaware State, nor did he care that head coach Deion Sanders didn’t even know his name the first few weeks he was on campus.

All Wilkerson wanted was an opportunity to play for Sanders.

“It’s his energy. He’s a motivator. He’s a leader. His confidence. His consistency on and off the field,” Wilkerson said. “Seeing Coach Prime be that kind of person made me want to play for him, and I felt I could come in and play right away.”

That’s because Santee Marshall, JSU’s leading returning rusher, had 449 yards and three touchdowns last season.

Wilkerson had gained 848 yards and scored eight touchdowns at Delaware State as one of the country’s top freshmen. He spent a semester as a walk-on at West Virginia before leaving for Jackson State.

“I wanted to play on a bigger stage,” said Wilkerson, “and this was the place to be.”

He also figured playing in a one-back offense with a quarterback like Shedeur Sanders, who threw 30 touchdowns last season, would make it easier for him to run.

It took his coach only a few practices to learn Wilkerson’s name and move him quickly up the depth chart.

“This kid came in from day one, kept his head down and just worked,” Deion Sanders said. “He was the sixth-string running back, and I really didn’t know who he was. The way he practiced, it was like, ‘Who is that kid hitting it like he was hitting it?’ He didn’t even start the first two games, but this kid was a dog from day one.”

Wilkerson enters the Cricket Celebration Bowl against North Carolina Central (9-2) with 1,152 yards and 10 touchdowns, despite not having his first 20-carry game until the third game of the season, against Grambling State.

In the first six games, he had three games with fewer than 10 carries as he shared the job with Marshall and JD Martin.

“He had a rough start. He missed a lot of time, and we were moving forward,” running backs coach Gary Harrell said. “When you see him run physically and make some of the cuts he makes, it made the other coaches want to watch him. When the head coach says, ‘I wanna see him more,’ then he’s in the mix. Once that happened, he separated himself from the others.”

Wilkerson is a tough, physical runner who regularly runs through arm tackles. He runs low to the ground, which means he often runs through defenders because he wins the leverage battle. He also has enough speed to make big plays. 

What he does best is give Jackson State’s offense balance.

Last year, Jackson State ranked last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in rushing with 89.1 yards per game and 3.0 yards per carry. This year, Jackson State ranks seventh in the SWAC in rushing at 154.8 yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry.

Wilkerson had three 100-plus-yard games this season and one other with more than 90. His best game was a 214-yard, two-touchdown performance in a 41-14 win over Texas Southern that included his two favorite runs of the season.

The first was a 41-yard run, where he seemed to be tackled for a short gain but ducked under a defender and sprinted into the end zone.

The second was a nine-yard run in the third quarter after Texas Southern had pulled within 21-14, when he ran over a safety in a collision that sounded like a thunderclap. The drive ended with a touchdown and a 28-14 lead.

“The hole opened up and I saw the safety coming up, and I was thinking should I jump over him or should I run him over,” Wilkerson said. “But he didn’t get as low as I thought, so I just decided to run him over. That was a nice run.

“The running back’s job is to set the tone.”