Jackson State’s T.C. Taylor is very familiar with the Celebration Bowl. He’s been three times as an assistant coach, once with North Carolina Central in 2016 and twice with Jackson State, in 2021 and 2022.
A former quarterback and wide receiver at Jackson State, Taylor on Saturday will return to the game for the first time as the head coach of his alma mater. Jackson State, champion of the SWAC, is preparing to face MEAC champion South Carolina State (9-2) at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the bowl game that has become the HBCU national championship.
The Celebration Bowl, debuted in 2015, kicks off college football bowl season and puts a spotlight on HBCU football, which received a lot of mainstream coverage during Deion Sanders’ coaching stint at Jackson State from 2020-22. Taylor took over head coaching duties after the 2022 season when Sanders left for Colorado.
Getting Jackson State back to the game so quickly after Sanders’ departure was not a given, but Taylor has put his imprint on the program. The Tigers were 7-4 last season and made the necessary adjustments to finish the 2024 regular season 11-2 and become the Celebration Bowl’s SWAC representative. Jackson State dominated Southern 41-13 last week in the SWAC Championship Game.
“It just lets me know we’re doing things the right way, and I’ve got this program on track for continued success,” Taylor said. “In my first year (as head coach), we lost coaches, lost some players, but we were still blessed to be 7-4. I knew if I continued to bring in elite recruiting classes, great players, great coaches, great people in the building, we’d have an opportunity to be here. That’s what we’ve done this year.”
Taylor has the Tigers not only back in the Celebration Bowl for the third time in four years but also currently on a nine-game winning streak. Taylor is looking to do something Sanders didn’t at Jackson State — get a bowl win as head coach. The Tigers lost to South Carolina State 31-10 in 2021 and dropped the 2022 game to North Carolina Central 41-34.
Jackson State became something of a media darling during Sanders’ time in Mississippi. The team then included stars like Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, both of whom are projected to be high first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. ESPN covered the Tigers’ 2022 spring football game, and “College GameDay” was broadcast live from Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in October 2022 for the Tigers’ game against Southern. Multiple celebrities publicly supported Jackson State during the Deion Sanders era, including Snoop Dogg.
Travis Hunter making an immediate impact in Jackson State’s spring game 👀🔥 @TravisHunterJr pic.twitter.com/AOT41faMCC
— 247Sports (@247Sports) April 24, 2022
When Sanders left for Colorado, some of the fanfare followed him and left Jackson State. The national media didn’t appear as interested in the Tigers without Sanders.
But what Taylor saw was Jackson State cementing itself as a national brand. There were fans beyond the devoted alumni who still supported the program. Part of that involved the talent he had to work with.
Running back Irv Mulligan, a graduate student, was named SWAC Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,174 yards and 11 touchdowns while playing 11 of 13 games. Travis Terrell Jr., another reliable option in the backfield, was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year. Quarterback Jacobian Morgan completed 63 percent of his passes and threw for 2,003 yards and 19 touchdowns. Defensively, linebacker Reid Pulliam leads the Tigers with 62 tackles (35 solo), and defensive lineman Joshua Nobles has 56 tackles and leads the team in sacks (10), tackles for loss (12) and forced fumbles (3). Taylor, additionally, was named Coach of the Year.
Jackson State will face a South Carolina State team led by MEAC Coach of the Year Chennis Berry and features seven first-team MEAC offensive players — including Offensive Lineman of the Year Nick Taiste — and five first-team MEAC defensive players. Quarterback Eric Phoenix has thrown for 2,469 yards and 20 touchdowns. Wide receivers Caden High and Justin Smith-Brown and tight end Keshawn Toney have combined for 133 receptions and 14 touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, defensive lineman Ashaad Hall has 31 tackles (23 solo), 11 sacks and three forced fumbles, and defensive back Jarod Washington has recorded 28 tackles with 10 pass deflections and two interceptions.
Taylor said the Celebration Bowl is not just a showcase for the teams in the game. It’s an opportunity to put HBCU football on a national pedestal. The game will be televised on ABC. It not only highlights the players and coaches but also attracts more recruiting talent to HBCUs. Players entering the transfer portal learn more about the programs, as do high school recruits.
Taylor said part of his responsibility for Saturday is to represent the HBCU football brand for the good of the other schools not participating in the game.
“It’s given these guys, these players and coaches and everybody, these universities, something to play for,” Taylor said. “Any time you label something as a national championship, that’s the end goal.”
Taylor continued: “A lot of these guys, with the layout of the land with this transfer portal, some really good players are going in there and they decided, ‘I’ve seen the brand. I just watched this team play on TV. I want to go be a part of it.’ You’re getting some really talented guys, as well as some talented coaches. … The landscape is changing. We just have to keep our foot on the gas with everything and continue to build it the right way.”
The MEAC is 6-2 in the Celebration Bowl series against the SWAC. Florida A&M last year and Grambling State in 2016 are the only SWAC schools to win the championship. South Carolina State has not played since Nov. 23, as the MEAC does not have a conference title game.
Given recent history, the rivalry between Jackson State and South Carolina State is budding. Taylor and Berry are good friends off the field, but Taylor expects the Bulldogs to bring a tough, physical style to the field Saturday. This is not the same South Carolina State team that Jackson State beat 37-7 last season, as the Bulldogs are on an eight-game winning streak.
Taylor also expects the Bulldogs to bring plenty of fans to Atlanta. But bringing the first Celebration Bowl trophy to Jackson State is plenty of motivation for Taylor — particularly with the multiple changes made in the program in the last couple of years.
“It’s going to be a great football game. I know the country is going to enjoy seeing it on a national TV stage,” he said.
(Top photo: Lauren Witte / Clarion Ledger via Imagn Images)
