On 4th-and-2 from the South Carolina State 21-yard line and already holding a comfortable 17-point third-quarter lead, Jackson State coach T.C. Taylor put the ball in the hands of Jason Brown.
The graduate transfer quarterback took the shotgun snap, quickly sprinted to his left, and uncorked a crossbody pass before being crunched by Bulldogs linebacker Adonis Davis to a wide-open DJ Stevens for a touchdown to essentially put the MEAC/SWAC Challenge away.
While an ESPN TV shot followed Brown to the sideline after the score, play-by-play announcer Tiffany Greene remarked, “Jason Brown looks mighty comfortable running this offense.”
Indeed.
Brown had a record-setting performance, completing 86% of his passes for 361 yards — both MEAC/SWAC Challenge records — to go along with three touchdowns in the 37-7 win on Saturday night.
“I’m very comfortable running this offense. It’s something I’ve been a part of since the spring,” he said. “My confidence level with the offense is through the roof because I have playmakers around me, and I know if I get them the ball, they will make me look good.”
The mastery of the offense was not only reflected in the statistics, however. It was likely a product of Brown being named the starter leading up to the MEAC/SWAC Challenge season opener.
After experiencing the highs of being an FCS All-American at St. Francis (PA) and the lows of losing quarterback competitions at South Carolina and Virginia Tech, he was now QB1. Brown would earn something he worked hard to capture: Trust.
“When I was told the news (of starting), it was a relief,” a glowing Brown said after the game. “I’ve been in multiple quarterback battles and lost them. I just don’t want to make the same mistakes. I knew that I would have another opportunity to go prove to the world what I can do.”
Brown didn’t commit to Jackson State to play out the final string of his career. He wanted to win. More importantly, he wanted to be a reason why the team was successful, too. Taylor and the offensive coach staff relayed that message to Brown during a visit to the campus this past winter.
“I just wanted to come here and ultimately compete for a championship because that’s what Jackson State does,” he said. “I felt like this would be the perfect spot to end my career.”
