T.C. Taylor has plenty of Celebration Bowl experience as an assistant coach, so Saturday’s Black College championship game against South Carolina State will be nothing new to him.
With that in mind, the Jackson State head coach started preparations for the game on Sunday with a simple message for his players.
“I’m thinking what am I going to go in here and tell this team because we have a quick turnaround,” Taylor said of the team meeting following the Tigers’ 41-13 victory over Southern in the SWAC championship game. “Right before I went in, I thought about it, and I said, ‘I want them to enjoy this.’ I don’t want them to be all tight about this game. Just enjoy the experience.”
When JSU arrived in Atlanta, Taylor ran into popular hip-hop stars T.I. and Young Dro. The players toured the College Football Hall of Fame and enjoyed the Celebration Bowl-sponsored events around the city.
Big S/O to @Tip and Young Dro for showing us love! 🫡#GuardTheeYard #TheeILove pic.twitter.com/kOGPXNJ3YR
— Jackson State Football (@gojsutigersfb) December 11, 2024
Jackson State (11-2, 8-0 SWAC) will be looking for their first Celebration Bowl win ever and first HBCU national championship since 1996. They’ll face South Carolina State (9-2, 5-0 MEAC), the team that upset the Deion Sanders-led Tigers in the 2021 Celebration Bowl. Taylor was the offensive coordinator for both of those appearances, as well as co-offensive coordinator for North Carolina Central in the 2016 Celebration Bowl.
Thee Tigers take a trip through the @cfbhall 🏈#GuardTheeYard #GoTigers pic.twitter.com/9f8ObN9Ngh
— Jackson State Football (@gojsutigersfb) December 12, 2024
Winning the game is important, but Taylor also wanted his team to take everything in once they arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday.
“A lot of these guys have never been to Atlanta, so I want them to enjoy the week and enjoy the festivities,” he said before adding, “But don’t forget why we’re here. We’ve worked our butts off to get here.”
Taylor also alluded to JSU’s short turnaround time but was confident his reminders about the game’s importance would stick when kickoff rolls around at 12 p.m. EST.
“We’ve got a good team we’re going up against (on Saturday) tomorrow,” he said. “So we’ve prepared that way. We have a short week, but I told the guys to enjoy the experience and take it all in, but don’t forget about the game.”
