JACKSON, Miss. – The 2019 version of the Jackson State football hit the practice fields for the first time at the Water Payton Recreation & Wellness Center Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers worked out in shorts and helmets for two hours and focused on individual position drills and finished with special teams.
JSU head coach John Hendrick served as defensive coordinator for the previous three seasons and coached a unit that was among the best at the FCS level. Hendrick enters year four at JSU as head coach and was excited to see the squad in action.
“For the first day it was really good,” Hendrick said. “You can definitely see the guys put the work in this summer with our Strength and Conditioning Coach, Medgar Harrison. We now need to get into football shape and take it rep-by-rep and practice-by-practice.”
Hendrick stressed that each position is to be earned. The most visible position battle will be at quarterback with junior Derrick Ponder (Bells, Texas), freshman Jalon Jones (Henrico, Fla.), sophomore Matt Little (Evanston, Illinois), freshman Quincy Casey (Memphis, Tenn.) and freshman Brandon Mallory (Plano, Texas) all battling for playing time.
“We have a group of quarterbacks and believe we can win with any of them and I sincerely believe that,” Hendrick added. “The person who wins the job will take charge. To see who the kids gravitate towards and who can orchestrate and run the offense the best without making mistakes and protects the ball.”
Courtesy: JSU Athletics
