Eight months after Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders received widespread national attention when he was hired as the 21st head coach of the Jackson State University football program in December of 2020, Eddie George, another erstwhile NFL star, was introduced as the 22nd head coach of Tennessee State University with much less fanfare.
Sanders instantaneously revived the JSU Tigers, which did not have a winning record in the six previous seasons before his arrival, capturing back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titles in 2021 and 2022, and playing in two straight Celebration Bowl games — the de facto HBCU championship. However, George and the Tigers’ climb was more gradual and curved.
After TSU went 2-5 in 2020 under Rod Reed, George’s predecessor and the school’s longtime head coach, they improved to 5-6 in 2021. They stepped back slightly in 2022 at 4-7, but George had built the foundation. The 1995 Heisman Trophy Winner playing for Ohio State and four-time NFL Pro Bowler understood the charge as expressed at his introductory press conference in April 2021.
“I truly understand the history when it comes to Tennessee State football. I’ve been living here for a little over 24 years, and I was very familiar with the 13 national Black championships they’ve won here…,” he said then. “Taking this job on carries a lot of weight. I have some big shoes to fill, but I feel like I’m the man to get the job done.”
This past Saturday was a fulfillment, albeit partly, of George’s self-actualization: The Tigers won their first Ohio Valley Conference title since 1999 with a 28-21 upset victory over Southeast Missouri State at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. TSU, currently 9-3 and 6-2 in the OVC, hadn’t reached nine wins since going 10-4 in 2013.
On Sunday, the Tigers learned they had earned the program’s first postseason bid in nine years when they were selected to the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs (formerly Division I-AA). They will face No. 13 Montana on the road this Saturday in a nationally televised matchup (ESPN2, 10:15 p.m. EST).
TSU entered their game against Southeast Missouri State at No. 25 in the FCS rankings and rose to No. 19 after the victory. SE Missouri State was No. 11 and dropped to No. 16 with the loss.
In addition to TSU, two other HBCUs are ranked in the FCS top 25: No. 15 Jackson State (10-2, 8-0 in conference) and No. 18 South Carolina State (9-2, 5-0) currently lead the SWAC and MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), respectively, but will not take part in the FCS Playoffs looking ahead to the Celebration Bowl.
The Bulldogs will represent the MEAC in the game and Jackson State, winners of the SWAC East, will take on the Southern University Jaguars (7-4, 6-1), the West titleist, in the conference championship on December 7 to decide who moves on to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on December 14.