ESPN’s “College GameDay” is heading to Jackson for Jackson State’s SWAC rivalry game against Southern, and that means it’s time to speculate on who will join the crew as “guest picker” on Saturday.
It is the first time the popular college football road show has appeared at Jackson State and the first at an HBCU campus since 2008 when “College GameDay” made the trip to Florida A&M.
Celebrity guest pickers predict how Saturday’s college football games will go alongside the show’s hosts. Typically, they have a connection to the host school or the local community.
Here are some potential guest pickers for “GameDay” to consider:
Jackie Slater
Slater is a Jackson native and former JSU standout who was a perennial Pro Bowl player over a 20-year NFL career. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.
Jimmy Smith
Smith played for Jackson State in the early 1990s and was a second-round pick in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys before he carved out a stellar career with the Jacksonville Jaguars. When he retired, Smith was one of three receivers in NFL history to post nine 1,000-yard seasons. He has since been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for induction into the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Mo Williams
Williams, the current men’s basketball coach at Jackson State, was a Jackson high school basketball legend before eventually transitioning to a successful NBA career where he was selected to the 2009 NBA All-Star team and won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
David Banner
Banner has unique ties to both the city and the matchup on Saturday. The award-winning rapper and producer was born in Jackson but attended Southern University, which just so happens to be Jackson State’s opponent. It might get a little interesting when the Boombox Classic pick comes around if he’s invited to join the show.
Other notable Jackson State alumni include former NBA player Lindsey Hunter, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, and Eddie Payton, men’s golf coach, ex-NFL player, and brother of the late Walter Payton.
Like these names? Don’t? Tell us your candidates.
Being that this is the Blackest day in College Gameday history, they should’ve gave it to David Banner.
Dude is Mississippi through and through! He’s a Jackson native and an alumnus and former SGA president of Southern U.