Jackson State football coach T.C. Taylor did not realize by moving one seat over and putting on the "head coach" headset that the pressure would be different.

It would have been hard to take over as the head coach at Jackson State with its rich history. But in replacing Deion Sanders, the pressure escalates dramatically.

With a week off before the Tigers' season finale, Taylor welcomes the breather the schedule makers have given his team. He concedes he did not know what a whirlwind the season would be and how playing seven games on the road with all of the decisions he would have to make would affect the trajectory of Jackson State football.

Taylor said he has learned a lot this season, particularly about managing from top to bottom. He had to make sure the players, including 60 newcomers, had what they need to be successful. He had to be sure the coaches understood how important recruiting is. He had to keep the team, which went undefeated in the 2022 regular season, motivated to play hard and to do things the right way after losing three times in its first seven games under him. Oh, and don't overlook training equipment.

“The challenge was to get this many players in here and get them to come together,” Taylor said. “And we wanted to get the chemistry right, as well as the coaches and go out here and have a competitive team.”

Taylor wanted his Tigers to be right there in the SWAC championship game in the end, but things didn't work out that way. But his Tigers put it behind them and kept playing football.

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“It has been a huge blessing to be 7-3,” Taylor said. “I thought about it a little bit. It has been a great learning experience, but right now I am very appreciative as a first-year coach. I am very pleased with where we are as a football team right now. I am looking forward to the future.”

With one game remaining this season against rival Alcorn State in the Soul Bowl at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium on Nov. 18, the finish line of the marathon is in sight. Taylor knows nothing could have prepared him for the expectations of the rabid fan base he helped build as a player more than 20 years before. He can't take even a moment to unwind yet.

“We are expecting a great atmosphere, “Taylor said of the game. “We are looking forward to it. Coach (Fred) McNair, I think a lot of him. He has had a lot of success in this league, and he has the football team playing great football. Those guys are really moving and playing at a high level.”

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: TC Taylor on first year replacing Deion Sanders at Jackson State