Tennessee State and Eddie George enter the week on an emotional high days after the program secured its first win under the former Heisman Trophy winner.
The Tigers (1-2) played a near-perfect game during its 41-7 victory against Kentucky State.
After struggling in his first two outings, transfer senior quarterback Geremy Hickbottom threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns. The ground game led by running back piled up more than 200 yards.
The defense, which has been the Tennessee State’s best and most consistent unit through three games, held the Thorobreds to 56 yards passing and just 84 more on the ground.
Also read: ‘That feels good’: Eddie George earns first win as Tennessee State dominates Kentucky State
But the performance, said George, is “just the beginning” in what the first-year coach hopes is a stepping stone to the consistency sought during this transitional period.
“From a confidence standpoint, it (winning) gives you a jolt, but we understand that this is just the beginning,” George said. “This is not (to say) we haven’t arrived or doesn’t mean we just roll our helmets out and it happens.
“We still have a lot of work to do and improvement in a lot of areas. I told the guys that improvement is a daily commitment.”
The message came Tuesday ahead of the start of Ohio Valley Conference play, which sees the Tigers travel to Southeast Missouri State Saturday.
During the truncated spring season, TSU went 2-5 in the conference-only schedule, including three losses over its last four games under then-coach Rod Reed.
“And this is not something where we improve one week we get the win and relax up,” said George. “I think we double down on everything else in terms of what we do, how we prepare, and how we practice. So, you know that’s kind of where we are with that. I think that helps going into conference plays saying hey, you know we’re improving week to week and that’s what we want to do.”
