The Tennessee State Tigers opened the season for the first time in the Eddie George era with a victory, defeating Mississippi Valley in the 25th John A. Merritt Classic 41-21. Saturday night. As the Tigers prepare for a major step up in competition, facing the Bison of North Dakota State this Saturday, here are a few takeaways from Saturday evening.
TSU appears to have their QB1
Last season Coach Eddie George and the Tigers implemented a two-quarterback system. The oscillating between signal callers Daveon Bryant and Draylen Ellis swayed back and forth not only from game-to-game, but from half to another within a game and even series to series. The frequency of this quarterback swapping had a deleterious effect on the offense as well as each quarterback, as neither could ever get into a rhythm to consistently and positively impact the offense and thus the game at large.
Ellis, with his work in camp and his play in the first game, appears to have a firm grasp on the starting quarterback. In the season opener, he put up a career-best 356 yards to go along with 3 touchdowns, completing 21-of-33 passes in the 41-21 win over Mississippi Valley State. While the numbers Ellis put up were impressive Ellis’s passes looked to have more zip on them than previously seen, he showed poise within the pocket and appeared to have a better command of the offense than at any other point during his time as a Tiger.
This did not escape the notice of his head coach, who noted in his postgame comments that offensive player of the John Merritt Classic, Ellis, “led the offense…..[and he] made big plays.
Hopefully no longer having to play while looking over his shoulder will free Draylen Ellis to look like a more mature and polished version of the player who was named OVC Co-Freshman of the Year, 2021 Preseason OVC Player of the Year, and a 2021 All OVC-Second team performer.
Eriq George will be a force to be reckoned with
In our preview of the 25th John A. Merritt Classic, Eriq George was a player who would be one of the players that would be looked upon to fill the sizeable Monroe Beard and Terrell Allen-sized holes on the Tennessee State defense. He showed flashes during his freshman year, even getting the attention of Notre Dame, whom he and the Tigers faced in the first game of last season. Coach Eddie George recounted the impression (comments begin at the 9:13 mark) that he made on his adversaries on the Fighting Irish offensive line:
“This boy played against two first-round picks in the NFL Draft off that [Notre Dame’s] offensive line [and] created havoc for that first quarter and after the game, every offensive lineman came up to him and shook his hand. At the combine this past year, I ran into a couple of guys from Notre Dame and they said ‘Hey, we kept up with you guys after we played y’all.”
George appeared in 9 games as a true freshman, recording 25 tackles ( 13 solo, 12 assisted), 6 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery, and was named to the FCS Football Central Freshman All-American Team.
Heading into his sophomore campaign he was one of 12 Tigers named to the Big South-OVC Preseason Player to Watch List.
The Nashville native got off to a strong start in the season opener against Mississippi Valley State, posting 6 tackles, ( 3 solo, 3 assisted), and forcing a fumble on a sack that led to Micah Gay’s 54-yard scoop-and-score.
The running game will have to pick it up
Last season the Tigers had the third most proficient run game in the Big South-OVC, averaging 148.5 yards per game, with the 3.9 yards per carry the team averaged tied for the second most in the conference. A productive power running game is one of the pillars of Coach Eddie George’s team and it was largely absent in the season opener against Mississippi Valley State.
Though the Tigers ended up running for 138 yards, the TSU rushing attack, with help from the MVSU defense, was largely held in check for the first three quarters, running for just 69 yards on 21 attempts. It was only in the fourth quarter that the run game seemed to find its footing, accounting for 76 yards on 9 carries, with runs of 20, 30, and 14 yards in the final frame. Jaden McGill led the Tigers with 41 yards on 7 attempts. Jordan Gant produced 37 yards on 9 carries. Jalen Rouse, the Tigers’ second-leading rusher last season, curiously did not see action until the fourth quarter, had 2 carries for 23 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Tevin Carter produced 22 yards on 3 carries; no other TSU ball carrier ran for more than 9 yards.
Facing FCS powerhouse North Dakota State next week, Tennessee State will not be in a position for their run game to proverbially stumble in the dark for three-quarters of the contest. Success for the Tigers will start up front and it will be up to the offensive line to create space for TSU ball carriers. The Tigers have their work cut out for them as NDSU allowed just 59 yards on 20 carries to Colorado in their season opener.
