As Jackson State was wrapping up clinching the program’s third SWAC championship in the last four seasons, T.C. Taylor was frozen in time.
The second-year JSU coach recounted standing at the 40-yard line, soaking it all in late in the fourth quarter of the Tigers 41-13 win over Southern.
“I couldn’t move,” said Taylor in the postgame press conference. I was just stuck in that moment just thinking, ‘Wow, we’re SWAC champions.”
Taylor couldn’t help but reflect on his personal football journey from an All-SWAC wide receiver at JSU to assistant coach at his alma mater before being the head coach leading the program to a conference title in a city dear to him.
“It still hasn’t hit me,” he said. “I’m still taking it all in. It’s a blessing.
Taylor credited the recruiting his staff has done to help rebuild Jackson State. Saturday, all the different contributors to the win over Southern that helped JSU earn another SWAC title were evident.
“Once I took this deal over, the cupboard was bare,” said Taylor. This is something we built. I have great guys around me. Building it was a process.”