T.C. Taylor’s impressive staff rebuilding at Jackson State is poised for another key offensive addition.
Sources tell FootballScoop that Taylor, a former Jackson State star named last month as the Tigers’ heir apparent to the departed Deion Sanders, has tabbed Jason Onyebuagu into an offensive leadership role and to work with the offensive line.
A former standout-lineman at Northern Illinois, where he spent the past two seasons on staff, Onyebuagu is regarded as something of a rising star in the profession; he’s a former AFCA 30-under-30 selection and also has participated in the NFL’s prestigious Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Onyebuagu has additional coaching experience from stops at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Southeast Missouri State and North Carolina Central – where he first crossed paths with Taylor.
In recent seasons, Onyebuagu has added special teams coordinator duties to his work with offensive linemen, and he’s expected to slot into a “co-offensive coordinator” type of role with the Tigers, sources told FootballScoop.
With the program coming off back-to-back seasons of unprecedented success under Deion ‘Coach Prime’ Sanders, JSU is seeing Taylor work swiftly to rebuild both a coaching staff that saw several members exit with Sanders to Colorado and also a football roster that’s been hard hit by players entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Last month, more than 25 JSU players entered their names into the Portal, and nearly double-digit players have pledged to follow Coach Prime to Colorado.
Though much of Jackson State’s 2023 schedule has yet to be released, the Tigers are slated to make their debut under Taylor in a showcase game Aug. 26 in Atlanta against South Carolina State.