When Jackson State announced the hiring of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders as the team’s newest head coach back in 2020, it undoubtedly changed the trajectory of Tigers football. Not only did JSU start to become an HBCU power again practically overnight, but college football in general saw the ripple effects of the high-profile hiring.
Sanders, who also goes by “Coach Prime” at JSU, did what only a man of his caliber could pull off and flipped then-Florida State commit Travis Hunter to Jackson State. Hunter was a five-star cornerback regarded by several media outlets as the top prospect in the country.