Jackson State enters what is likely a much-needed bye coming off a relatively uneven offensive performance against Bethune-Cookman in the home opener last Saturday.
While Jackson State did roll up 260 yards on the ground to a 178-yard output by transfer running back Irv Mulligan in the 22-16 win over the Wildcats, the Tigers’ passing attack wasn’t sharp.
Quarterback Jason Brown went 13 of 24 for 90 yards and a touchdown in the outing. The stat line marked the second start over the first five games in which the former FBS quarterback failed to throw for at least 100 yards.
JSU head coach T.C. Taylor described Brown’s performance against B-CU as “disappointing.”
“It was disappointing to me. I thought they gave us the opportunity for us to take advantage of some things. They played a lot of cloud coverage on the back end,” he said. “We gotta be better there. With Irv [Mulligan] running the ball like he did and guys stacking the box, we got to exploit the back end. We have some guys that can fly, but we gotta be better there. We gotta be able to throw the ball around the yard. On third down, that is when you usually get your throws in, and looking back, we were 4 of 15. So we gotta work on that as well.”
Though Brown is ranked second among SWAC quarterbacks with 921 total passing yards, he is only averaging 182.4 yards per game, fifth in the conference behind the likes of Harold Blood at Southern and former JSU QB Quincy Casey at Alabama A&M.
Because of his Power Five experience and even All-American level play at the FCS previously, Brown was targeted to be an ideal replacement for ex-Jackson State QB Shedeur Sanders, now at Colorado.
But the transition has been anything but smooth through the first quarter of the regular season. So where is the Tigers’ offense under Brown at this point in the schedule compared to how it functioned under Sanders through five games a year ago?
Like Sanders in 2022 against Florida A&M, Brown began the season hot, completing a stagging 83.9 percent of his passes to go along with three TDs and throwing for a MEAC/SWAC Challenge record 356 yards against South Carolina State.
But since then, Brown has not thrown for more than 209 yards or more than one TD in any start.
Sanders, lighting up FBS defenses in his first season at that level, played similarly through five games as a sophomore with the Tigers.
Against the Rattlers, Sanders completed his first 22 passes in a 5-touchdown, 323-yard effort in 2022. He followed that up with passing totals of 276, 357, 438, and 332 yards over the next four weeks.
Sanders threw for 1,726 yards, 19 TDs, and a 72.8 completion percentage during the stretch.
However, the differences in performance aren’t necessarily measured strictly on individual quarterback stats. The current Jackson State offense- with a different cast this season- isn’t scoring at the same clip in 2023.
The Tigers are averaging 26 points per game through 20 quarters, down from the 37.7 points the unit averaged a year ago.
Jackson State is posting 390 yards per game, which is fewer than the 445 yards it averaged all of last season.
The Tigers’ slight drop-off in offense production isn’t all because Sanders is no longer on the team or Brown isn’t capable.
JSU still has a solid offense. It has scored 130 total points, second-most in the SWAC. Jackson State has gone through a lot of changes on its roster. There is a new offensive coordinator in Maurice Harris. The team is working through all the growing pains that come with change.
The operation has simply functioned differently than in previous seasons.
At 3-2, the Tigers have an upcoming stretch following a week off where it plays Alabama State, Alabama A&M, and Mississippi Valley State, which carry a combined 3-7 record and whose defenses have allowed an average of 369 yards per game. There is time for Brown and the offense not to be the unit it was against Bethune-Cookman.
Can it be done? Sure. After all, the offense features All-SWAC preseason tight end D.J. Stevens, emerging No.1 receiver Rico Powers, and Mulligan, who has established himself as the best running back in the SWAC. Taylor described being encouraged that Brown could move the offense effectively two weeks ago against FBS Texas State before the game got out of hand.
Brown and the Tigers just have to put it all together.
