Darrius Barron
Sports Editor
Droves of people packed into M-Bar Sports
Grill on Ridgewood Court Drive for a nationwide day of excitement for college football fans— signing day.
The event took place on Wednesday, Feb. 6, as JSU Tiger football fans, alumni, and current students alike were granted an opportunity to see what the future holds in store for the team.
Signing day highlights scouted football talents and reveals which institution those athletes are committed to. This was the first signing day as a JSU Tiger for head coach, John Hendrick.
The Tiger audience enjoyed catered food and drinks as Ashley Robinson, JSU’s director of athletics prepared to take the stage.
After receiving a round of applause, Robinson soon got the crowd to stand and glow with Tiger pride as he delivered a speech filled with information for the upcoming season, and promises of success.
Robinson began with scheduling for the football team. The Tigers are expected to have home field advantage for the season with eight home games including Grambling, Alabama State, Alabama A&M, and Prairie View A&M.
The upcoming season begins with a huge game that has everyone talking. The JSU Tigers will compete against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in Atlanta, Ga., during Labor Day weekend.
In addition to the Bethune-Cookman game, JSU is poised to play two more classic games. One being the Southern Heritage Classic against Tennessee State University on Sept. 14, and the other against Kentucky State University on Sept. 28.
Robinson made it clear that he worked hard to have so many games in Jackson. He also mentioned how important it is for the alumni to fill the seats at each home game, so that he can guarantee more seasons with home field advantage.
After requesting for alumni to purchase season tickets, Robinson placed the crowd in a state of eagerness by promising a SWAC championship.
Once finished providing the schedule information for the upcoming season, Robinson left the crowd in the hands of Coach Hendrick who then lead a quick prayer before he began speaking.
Hendrick was named the interim head coach towards the end of the 2018 season after previous head coach Tony Hughes was fired.
During the short time of being the interim head coach, Hendrick lead the team to a 2-1 record to finish the season.
Among all of the scouted talent that signed with Jackson State, Hendrick noted that a lot of the players are products of Mississippi.
Part of Hendrick’s plan is to not to just recruit new players, but implement new strategies to win and even assemble a quality staff.
“The first thing we did was hire a new strength coach who can bring some mental toughness and a different level of conditioning to our football program. We think we have put together a really good offensive staff, led by coach Ron Dickerson…We went into recruiting looking for the opportunity to improve our athleticism along the offensive line because we think we need to do that to make us better, and then obviously increase our overall team speed. The thing we are doing differently is we are meeting a little bit differently, we have taken some of the early morning stuff away, but we are still putting a big burden on them to be the best they can athletically by really working them hard in the weight room and then doing a great job during winter conditioning. In terms of anything else, practice time will be a little bit different, meeting time will be a little bit different, and hopefully we will gain big dividends from what we are doing,” said Hendrick.
It seems as if fans are excited to see if JSU football can return to the heritage it once had.
Carla Palmer, a JSU alumna from Jackson, Miss., said “Great games and action, that’s what I’m looking for. I’m looking for the heritage Jackson State used to have when it came to football.”
With all of the team spirit, and the vision of Coach Hendrick, the Tigers of Jackson State have the full support of the fans, and a way to execute the promise of a SWAC championship made by Robinson.
