Jackson State is on the verge of becoming a perennial HBCU power under third-year coach Deion Sanders. However, that does not mean the hall of fame NFL player wants his team to be sacrificed to the Illuminati by playing a team they are not ready for.
The Tigers are coming off a season in which they won a school-record 11 games and won the SWAC championship before ultimately falling to South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl.
Sanders followed up that great season by landing cornerback Travis Hunter, the top player in the 2022 recruiting class.
Despite Jackson State’s success, Sanders doesn’t feel his team is ready to take on the likes of Alabama. He quickly shot down the notion that his team could take on Alabama at SWAC Media Days this week in Birmingham, Ala., saying, “We’re not into sacrificing our kids for a check.”
“We’re not ready for that,” Sanders said. “And we’re not into sacrificing our kids for a check. He got to give me another year.”
“The difference of Power 5 and HBCUs right now is the big guys in the middle. It’s not the quarterbacks, it’s not the receivers, DBs and skilled positions. It’s those big dogs in the middle.
“We’ve got to beef up that (the lines) to be able to compete with something like that.”
Saban at SEC Media Days said he “would be very much in favor” of playing in-state HBCUs such as Alabama State and Alabama A&M.
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“I’ve always been an advocate of playing in-state schools,” Saban said, “because I think it sort of helps them raise their level and their ability to compete, which obviously if you do that, you also contribute to how successful the players in those organizations can be.”
