Courtesy of Jackson State Athletics:
Jackson State football took home three major national honors on the BOXTOROW HBCU All-American Team.
QB Shedeur Sanders was named National Offensive Player of the Year, LB Aubrey Miller Jr. was named National Defensive Player of the Year, and Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders was named National Coach of the Year.
S. Sanders set single-season school records for touchdown passes (36) and completions (314) while throwing for 3,409 yards and rushing for a career-high five touchdowns. He set a career with 438 passing yards against Miss. Valley St. on September 24 and threw a career-high 5 TDs twice in games against Florida A&M (Sept. 4) and Bethune-Cookman (Oct. 15). Sanders has eight games with 3+ TD passes this season (2 3-TD games, 4 4-TD games, 2 5-TD games), and five 300-yard passing games this season.
Miller made 103 tackles (56 solo) with two sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, four quarterback hits, five pass breakups, and one touchdown. Miller, a Buck Buchanan Award finalist as FCS Defensive Player of the Year, recorded eight+ tackles in a game seven times, including four 10+ tackle games. Miller tied a career-high with 19 tackles against Texas Southern (Nov. 5), made 17 tackles against Alabama A&M (Nov. 12), and 11 tackles at Alcorn (Nov. 19).
Coach Prime was named SWAC Coach of the Year for the second straight year after leading JSU football to its first 12-0 season in program history. The Tigers have the nation’s top-ranked defense in five categories and have held 10 teams to 14 points or less. In the last two seasons, Jackson State football is 23-2 overall, with consecutive undefeated seasons in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
The two-time defending SWAC Champion Tigers (12-0) will face North Carolina Central (9-2) in the Cricket Celebration Bowl Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ABC.
