Tennessee State defensive coordinator Cedric Thornton didn’t need a microphone to make his message clear.
He wants to beat Jackson State.
Tennessee State and Jackson State will renew their longtime rivalry in the season opener on Aug. 29 in Nashville. It is a game Thornton has been thinking about all offseason. And it is a personal one, considering he is a Jackson native and has family ties to the SWAC school.
While appearing as a guest on The Uproar Radio Show, a Tennessee State-centric broadcast, Thornton explained why the game matters so much.
“I’m like, ‘Man, guys, come on,’” Thornton said, laughing as he recalled an offseason interaction with family members. With deep family ties in Jackson, Mississippi, he knows exactly what’s coming. “I got uncles trying to bring RVs down here… I’m trying, man, will y’all please ride in the same RV? No, they want to bring their own.”
That’s when the jokes turned into a warning.
“They like, ‘we bringing 25,000 there.’ TSU, please do not let them people have more folks in that stadium than us.’”
Beating Jackson State is ‘non-negotiable’
For Thornton, the message hit home. The stakes aren’t just about football — it’s about pride, presence, and protecting home turf in Nashville.
“They done made it known,” he said. “They coming.”
Weeks before kickoff, his message to the team was direct and non-negotiable.
“It is non-negotiable that we going to lose this game,” he said. “We are not losing this game. I don’t care what I got to do.”
Jackson State, the defending SWAC East champions and 2024 HBCU national champions, have won three straight over Tennessee State, including a 16-3 victory in 2022 the last time the programs met as part of the Southern Heritage Classic.
Tennessee State leads the all-time series 19-12.
At this point in the summer, Thornton admits there are still plenty of unknowns. Tennessee State hasn’t even hit full stride in camp yet.
“I don’t know how it’s going to play out yet,” he said. “We ain’t even practiced. I don’t know nothing.”
But certainty, at least in mindset, is already locked in.
“We will not lose this game,” Thornton continued. “I told the whole team that. Get it out your feelings — whatever you think, whatever you thought. We will not lose this game.”
Scouting report on Jackson State QB
That edge extends beyond emotion and into preparation. Thornton has already started evaluating opposing personnel, including a quarterback Jared Lockhardt who presents both opportunity and concern.
“He about 205 now… big kid,” Thornton said of the preseason All-SWAC signal-caller. “He like throwing the deep ball. He ain’t as accurate all the time, but he got a big arm.”
A possible advantage for Tennessee State?
“He don’t like to slide,” Thornton added. “He don’t like to get down… that might not be good.”
It’s the kind of detail that hints at how Tennessee State plans to approach the matchup — physical, disciplined, and ready to capitalize.
For Thornton, though, this game is bigger than scheme. It’s personal. It’s family.
