The Black College Football Hall of Fame named Jackson State University’s head coach, T.C. Taylor, the Black College Football Coach of the Year after he guided his team to a 12-2 record and the longest winning streak in the country at 10.
Taylor, who is entering his third year in charge of his alma mater, was honored on Saturday following the 2024 national championship season.
Before the Tigers won their first Cricket Celebration Bowl on their road to a national championship, Taylor coached them to the SWAC East Division title and the SWAC Championship.
RELATED STORIES
According to Jackson State’s website, the second-year head coach was also named to the 2024 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year list as the top FCS coach. On Saturday, the Tigers were also named the HBCU National Team of the Year following the national title season.
READ ALSO: 17-year-old football prodigy gunned down days after graduating high school
To wrap up the 2024 season, Jackson State won ten consecutive games against conference opponents. Over 14 games, the Tigers scored 36.4 points per game while holding opponents to only 17.1 points per game.
By the end of the season, Jackson State had 15 All-American selections from various publications and 37 players chosen All-Conference by the SWAC and Phil Steele.
Taylor is the Tigers’ 22nd head coach of the Tigers. After winning the 2022 Celebration Bowl, the former JSU quarterback and record-setting wide out formally assumed leadership of the program and has since established his reputation as a game-changing leader.
Since joining the staff in 2019, Taylor has played a crucial role in Jackson State’s football comeback. During his tenure as a tight ends and wide receivers coach, the Tigers had a stellar 23-3 record from 2021–2022, including consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) titles and undefeated regular seasons.
Taylor was instrumental as an assistant coach in building one of the conference’s strongest wide receiver groupings. He coached stars like Dallas Daniels, Shane Hooks, Keith Corbin, and Malachi Wideman from 2021 to 2022; several of them were named All-SWAC and All-American. Taylor was chosen to participate in the Tennessee Titans’ prestigious NFL Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship prior to the 2022 campaign.
READ ALSO: Marcus Freeman: Meet the first Black coach to reach college football finals
Taylor, who was born in McComb, Mississippi, had a highly successful sporting career at Jackson State between 1998 and 2001. He started out as a quarterback before switching to wide receiver, where in 2001 he set the JSU single-season record with 84 receptions for 1,234 yards and 11 runs. He earned NCAA Division I-AA Third-Team All-America honors from The Sports Network and First-Team Black College All-America recognition from Sheridan Broadcasting. He also finished second to Eli Manning for the 2001 Conerly Trophy, which goes to Mississippi’s best college football player.
Taylor joined the New England Patriots as a rookie free agent in 2002 after finishing his playing career at JSU. He later won a World Bowl championship with the Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL Europe and participated in the 2003 preseason with the Detroit Lions before suffering an injury that ended his professional playing career.
Taylor graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health, physical education, and recreation from Jackson State in 2005. Before returning to Jackson State, Taylor, a husband and father, had successful stints at North Carolina Central (2014–2018) as Offensive Coordinator/QBs Coach; Texas Southern (2012–2013) as Wide Receivers Coach and Recruiting Coordinator; and Coahoma Community College (2005–2011) as Offensive Coordinator.
READ ALSO: Quentin Johnston: Rising Star in Football – Career, Stats, and Highlights
