Tag: Jackson State

Ex-Jets draft pick reacts to Travis Hunter shocker: NFL will find talent at HBCUs

After Travis Hunter shocked the world, ex-Jets DE Hugh Douglas reminded everyone that he went to a small HBCU before becoming a first-round pick.

Traditional college football powerhouses usually dominate the headlines on National Signing Day. The likes of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and others usually get a handful of their top targets and sign top-five recruiting classes year in and year out.

This year, though, the biggest recruiting win of the 2022 cycle came from the most unexpected source.

Deion Sanders and Jackson State, an HBCU in Mississippi, pulled off one of the most shocking recruiting coups of all-time, flipping No. 1 overall prospect Travis Hunter from Florida State. Hunter is widely considered to be a generational talent and is projected to play cornerback at the next level, although he has been dominant as a wide receiver at Georgia’s Collins Hill High School, the No. 3 team in the nation, per USA TODAY High School Sports.

HBCUs typically don’t land anything more than three-star recruits, let alone a consensus five-star prospect who is the best in his class. They have sent plenty of players to the NFL, though, including former Jets first-round pick and three-time Pro Bowler Hugh Douglas. Douglas played at Central State University, an NAIA HBCU that now plays at the Division II level. Douglas was selected 16th overall by New York in 1995.

The hulking 6-foot-2, 281-pound Douglas won defensive Rookie of the Year with the Jets before being traded to the Eagles in exchange for draft picks in 1998. Douglas flourished in Philadelphia, developing into a two-time All-Pro and earning trips to the Pro Bowl from 2000-2002.

Douglas beamed with pride over Hunter’s commitment to Jackson State on Thursday, taking to Twitter to remind everyone that talent is talent and it can be found at every level of football — no matter where the game is being played.

Douglas makes a good point, as HBCUs have a history of sending players to the NFL. Numerous HBCU products are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including Walter Payton, Jerry Rice and Shannon Sharpe.

Hunter has a long way to go before being mentioned along with those names, but he has the tools to develop into a star, future high draft pick, and productive pro. He won’t be playing under the spotlight of national television every weekend, but if Hunter is as good as everyone thinks he is, the NFL will find him.

And Douglas will likely be following his journey every step of the way.

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Watch the moment Travis Hunter literally tossed FSU and Georgia aside before committing to Jackson State

Travis Hunter really did that. Wow.

The number one high school player in the nation is going to an historically Black university. That really just happened.

Travis Hunter Jr. just made it official. The dual-threat wideout and corner just officially committed to Deion Sanders’ Jackson State on Wednesday, spurning Florida State University for the HBCU.

The moment he did it was even sweeter. Hunter really played up the situation on national signing day. He shuffled through every single hat on his table before officially making his choice.

Georgia. FSU. Both of them tossed from the table. Then he removed his hoodie to show us his Jackson State shirt. He put on his hat and it was all official.

What. A. Moment. So awesome. College football fans were thrilled about his choice.

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The college football world is stunned as No. 1 recruit Travis Hunter flips from Florida State to Jackson State

Deion Sanders and Jackson State have pulled an epic recruiting feat.

Florida State has been trending down since they beat Auburn in the national championship in the 2013 national championship, but they might have hit a new low.

Travis Hunter, the number one high school football recruit in the country for the class of 2022 has flipped from Florida State to join Jackson State.

A highly touted high school prospects changing schools as national signing day approaches is not strange. What is strange, and profoundly different about NIL rules being introduced into the sport, is what school Hunter flipped to.

Hunter flipped to Jackson State to play for Deion Sanders and the Tigers. Yes, Jackson State. The historically black college based in Jackson, Mississippi has pulled the top recruit in the country.

At his recruitment ceremony, Hunter threw Auburn, Georgia and Florida State hats away before having his mom toss him a Jackson State hat and revealed he was wearing Jackson State attire.

Hunter had clearly come to this decision prior to today, considering he had a graphic ready to go on his Twitter page.

The college football world was stunned:

This is the second big time recruit that Deion Sanders has pulled to Jackson State. Last winter, De’Jahn Warren, the top junior college recruit in the country, flipped from Georgia to Jackson State.

Sanders has something cooking at Jackson State. All eyes will be on their football program next fall.

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Deion Sanders and Jackson State flip top 2022 recruit Travis Hunter

Top 2022 recruit Travis Hunter has flipped his commitment from Florida State to Jackson State.

Top 2022 recruit Travis Hunter is on the move — just not to where the masses expected him to be.

Hunter shockingly flipped his commitment from Florida State to FCS Jackson State on the first day of the early signing period, locking himself in to play for NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. Georgia was thought to be the program with the best chance to flip Hunter, who had said multiple times he was all-in with Florida State, but Jackson State came in late to pull off the stunning coup.

Hunter has been viewed by many as a generational talent to play at an elite level on both sides of the ball. The Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill star is set to play cornerback in college.

“Legitimately CB1 and WR1 for the class of 2022,” 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins’ wrote in his scouting report of Hunter. Makes everything he does look easy. Smooth. Explosive. Competitive. At times it seems like he’s almost a human cheat code as he’s always making the highlight reel play at the right time. Video game numbers during prep career (over 3,600 receiving yards, 46 touchdowns catches and 19 interceptions) make him seem even more godly.”

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Deion Sanders leads Jackson State to SWAC Championship

Deion Sanders leads Jackson State to SWAC Championship

It was a fine time Saturday for Prime Time and Jackson State in the SWAC Championship Game.

Deion Sanders’ Tigers are 11-1 after toppling Prairie View A&M, 27-10, to earn the conference crown.

It was an all-around effort by Jackson State, which got a touchdown from the offense, defense, and special teams in taking down the Panthers, who fell to 7-5.

Shedeur Sanders, the coach’s son, threw a TD pass in the first quarter to erase a 7-0 deficit.

Isaiah Boldon had a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

Linebacker James Houston IV returned an interception 5 yards for a score.

Why did Deion Sanders walk out of SWAC Media Day?

Why did Deion Sanders walk out of SWAC Media Day?

Deion Sanders apparently took umbrage to a reporter referring to him by his first name Tuesday. The former NFL star, Pro Football Hall of Famer, and current Jackson State coach left SWAC Media Day after a reporter called him, “Deion.”

The unceremonious exit took place after Clarion Ledger reporter Nick Suss asked Sanders a question.

Per the newspaper:

“You don’t call Saban, ‘Nick.’ Don’t call me Deion,” Sanders told Nick Suss from the Clarion Ledger.

“If you call Nick (Saban), Nick, you’ll get cussed out on the spot, so don’t do that to me,” Sanders later added. “Treat me like Nick.”

The paper reports this was the second time for Suss to cover Sanders at SWAC Media Day. Jackson State went 4-3 in Sanders’ first season, which was played in the 2021 spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More from the Clarion Ledger:

“When I interview people, I call them by their first name,” Suss said. “Whether it’s someone I’ve been working with for years or someone I’m talking to for the first time. This is true of the coaches and players on the Ole Miss beat, the coaches and players at Mississippi State and Southern Miss when I help out covering their teams and, as recently as January, even Sanders, too.”

Suss has referred to Saban and the football coach on his Ole Miss beat, Lane Kiffin, by their first names, along with the Bulldogs’ national championship baseball coach, Chris Lemonis.

There was a predictable reaction to Prime’s fodder

 

This former Florida linebacker transfers to Jackson State

Former Gator James Houston IV entered the NCAA transfer portal in January and announced Friday that he will be transferring to Jackson State.

Former Florida linebacker James Houston IV announced Friday that he will transfer to Jackson State to play for head coach Deion Sander s. He entered the NCAA transfer portal in January following the Gators’ loss to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.

He played nine games in 2020 and posted 37 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss, a sack and a forced fumble. Houston tallied 100 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and three forced fumbles in four seasons with the orange and blue.

But his playing time was set to fade in 2021 with linebackers Ventrell Miller, Amari Burney and Mohamoud Diabate likely to take most of the snaps at his position. The duo seemed to get more run in the Gators defense in the latter half of the season. Houston started three games while Diabate made six and Burney recorded four.

His transfer is also good news for some younger players in Florida’s linebacker room like Ty’Ron Hopper, Chief Borders, Jeremiah Williams and Diwun Black.

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Deion Sanders suffers first loss as Jackson State head coach

Deion Sanders suffered his first loss as head coach of Jackson State as the Tigers fell to Alabama State in FCS play.

The first loss of Deion Sanders’ career as head coach at Jackson State proved March Madness is not restricted to the basketball court.

Alabama State downed Jackson State, 35-28, Saturday in a game that had twists, turns, and plenty of controversies.

Alabama State got a 50-yard touchdown run from Ezra Gray after Jackson State had tied the game at 28. It was the third TD run of the fourth quarter by Gray, who had 195 rushing yards.

That was part of the bizarre nature of the game. After Jalon Jones scored on a TD run, he shot the ball over the goal post and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Rather than push Jackson State back 15 yards via the penalty — the Tigers have already missed five PATS in their first three-plus games — Alabama State opted to take the penalty on the kickoff.

After the successful PAT tied the game at 28, Alabama State returned the kickoff to midfield and Gray went the distance on the next play.

JSU got the ball back with 1:27 remaining, but an interception by quarterback Jalon Jones with 27 seconds left ended all hope for Sanders’ squad in the SWAC contest.

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The game saw a kickoff return for a touchdown by Jackson State negated by a video review. The final quarter was marred by a series of replays, penalties and overall confusion.

Jackson State was 3-0 and trying to go to 4-0 for the first time since 1996.

Alabama State improved to 2-1.

 

 

Deion Sanders goes 2-0 as Jackson State forces Grambling State fumble at goal line

A late fumble recovery at the goal line by Jackson State against Grambling State and Deion Sanders is 2-0 as a college coach

Deion Sanders made headlines as a player. He had a major voice as an announcer. The spotlight continues to find “Prime” in his first season as a coach at Jackson State.

Jackson State handed Grambling State its first home loss since 2015 Saturday in a battle of schools nicknamed Tigers.

The Jackson State Tigers came away with a 33-28 victory in a game that was not sealed until Sanders’ team forced a fumble near the goal line with little more than a minute left.

Grambling State running back Keilon Elder fumbled, and Jackson State linebacker Keonte Hampton recovered at Eddie Robinson Stadium.

Jackson State’s prior drive resulted in a fumble near the end zone that resulted in a Grambling State recovery on a drive that could have put the game away.

Deion Sanders’ wallet, cell phone robbed out of locker room

What was stolen from the locker room of Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders during his coaching debut?

The joy of victory Sunday did not last long for Deion Sanders and Jackson State.

After a 53-0 victory over Edward Waters in Sanders’ coaching debut, “Prime Time” discovered belongings had been robbed from his locker.

Sanders said credit cards, a cell phone and a wallet had been taken.

“I have mixed emotions,” Sanders said after the romp. “The kids played really well. While the game was going on somebody came in stole every darn thing I had in the locker room, in the coach’s office. …

“How do you think it feels? Coming back, teary-eyed because the guys had presented me with the game ball. One of the best moments I had in my professional sports career emotionally. And then you go into your locker room and you notice you don’t even have a phone to call your momma, your girl, your kids, because it’s been stolen. You don’t even have the Scutlly hat that you wore here. We’re gonna find out who did it.”

“We’re going to find out who did it,” Sanders said before slamming his hand against a table.