Cowboys legend Deion Sanders dominates in 1st game at Jackson State, after Aikman cameos pre-game
Hall of Famer Deion Sanders coached his first collegiate game on Sunday for Jackson State. The Tigers started their season with a dominant 53-0 win at home against Edward Waters College. Jackson State’s offense was running on all cylinders and the defense came through with a shutout in the former Dallas Cowboys star’s debut.
Jackson State’s season was postponed in the fall after the FCS decided to move their season to the spring and their eight-game slate began on Sunday.
Previously Sanders had been the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian School in Texas before accepting the job at Jackson State as head coach. During his tenure, Sanders was a part of back-to-back state titles, coaching his son, Shedeur Sanders, at quarterback. Sanders’ son is a 4-star recruit and signed his NLI in December to play for his father at Jackson State.
Deion Sanders leads Jackson State to 53-0 win in coaching debut
As head-coaching debuts go, Deion Sanders and Jackson State could not have found a softer opponent, which led to a predictably successful result.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back led the Tigers against NAIA school Edward Waters on Sunday at Mississippi Veteran Memorial Stadium. Jackson State went on to a 53-0 victory over a school that was coming off a 1-10 season.
WE WENT FOR 50
#IBelieve pic.twitter.com/0Ky7W7ZcrA— Jackson State Football (@GoJSUTigersFB) February 21, 2021
Sanders had an unexpected visitor in another Hall of Famer. Former Dallas Cowboys star Troy Aikman was in attendance.
Troy Aikman surprised former Cowboys teammate Deion Sanders for Deion’s coaching debut at Jackson State
(via @TroyAikman’s Instagram) pic.twitter.com/WOsl6vk0Cz
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) February 21, 2021
Aikman and Sanders played together on the Cowboys from 1995-99 and won the 1995 Super Bowl. Aikman received a COVID-19 test before heading down to the field.
JACKSON, Miss. — Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders won his college coaching debut Sunday as Jackson State defeated NAIA opponent Edward Waters 53-0 at Mississippi Veteran Memorial Stadium.
Jackson State is playing a spring season because the Southwestern Athletic Conference moved its fall sports to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanders and the Tigers are slated to play a seven-game season, with potentially an eighth if they make it to the SWAC championship game.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
Jones gets the start: After a preseason of mystery, sophomore Jalon Jones was the first quarterback on the field for Jackson State on Sunday. For most of the day, Jones threw screen passes and short passes. He rarely pushed the ball down the field, but he also didn’t need to.
Jones did throw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Daylen Baldwin with 11 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Freshman quarterback Quincy Casey, the other quarterback in the running to start, entered the game with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Jones and Casey alternated snaps throughout the second half. Casey threw a 23-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
All gas, no brakes: After Jackson State scooped an Edward Waters fumble on a kickoff return with 55 seconds remaining in the first half, the Tigers marched down the field and increased the lead to 31-0 on four plays in 44 seconds.
On the first drive of the second half, Kymani Clarke scored on a 10-yard touchdown run, and the Tigers went for two. Jones rolled out and threw an incomplete pass to Kourtland Hubbard on the two-point conversion.
Cowboy surprise: Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, a former Sanders teammate from their days with the Dallas Cowboys, surprised Sanders on the field during pregame warmups. Sanders and Aikman played together from 1995-1999, and the two were on the Cowboys’ 1995 Super Bowl team.
Shutout: Jackson State’s win was the first program shutout since Sept. 6, 2014, when the Tigers beat Virginia-Lynchburg 59-0. JSU gave up a total of nine yards of offense in the first quarter.
Clarke and Newman show: Running back Kymani Clarke and wide receiver Warren Newman were all over the field as offensive weapons for Jackson State. Newman took a couple of handoffs on reverses.
Troy Aikman Surprises Deion Sanders Before Jackson State Debut
Deion Sanders kicked off his collegiate coaching career on Sunday as Jackson State faced NAIA school Edward Waters, and Sanders had some notable support arrive before the game.
Sanders was greeted by former Cowboys teammate Troy Aikman prior to kickoff at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. The two embraced as Jackson State warmed up on the field, and Aikman noted on Instagram he “wouldn’t have thought of missing [Sanders’s] debut.”
Aikman and Sanders played together in Dallas from 1995–99, winning the Super Bowl in February 1996. The Hall of Fame cornerback and current Jackson State coach then played one season with Washington, taking a three-year hiatus before ending his NFL career with the Ravens in 2005.
Sanders was hired as Jackson State’s head coach in September 2020. He has since landed the highest-ranked recruiting class in history for any HBCU program as Jackson State eyes its first winning season since 2013.
Jackson State jumped out to a 31–0 halftime lead on Sunday afternoon. Quarterback Jalen Jones threw for 132 yards and two touchdowns, adding 34 yards on the ground.
Jackson State gives Deion Sanders shutout in coaching debut
