How defensive backs coach Torenzo Quinn has turned Jackson State football into Ball Hawk University
Jackson State University football has won three consecutive games and is feeling good as it goes into an open week ahead of The Soul Bowl against Alcorn State.
One of the biggest additions to the Tigers (7-3, 5-2 SWAC) has been defensive backs coach Torenzo Quinn, hired away from Alcorn State. Quinn has instilled a new attitude in the defensive backs.
Quinn has playing experience and was a two-year starter as a nickelback at Memphis. He coached with Jackson State coach T.C. Taylor at North Carolina Central in 2016. Quinn knows SWAC football, having coached at Arkansas-Pine Bluff as well as Alcorn State.
If not for safety Tim Steward’s interception of a two-point conversion pass this past Saturday against Texas Southern, the game would've gone into overtime and possibly turned into a loss instead of a 21-19 victory.
The defensive backs have sent out warnings to opposing quarterbacks and receivers that they are entering a “no fly zone” when they step on the field against them during games. Not only that, but when Jackson State recruits defensive backs, it is selling them on the secondary's reputation as Ball Hawk University.
It's not just hype. The Tigers' defensive backfield leads the Southwestern Athletic Conference with 16 interceptions, and the bounty is shared. Steward and cornerback Jaheem Hazel each have three interceptions, and safety Ke’Vric Wiggins Jr. and cornerback John Huggins both have two.
Then, there are a bunch of players who seem to be in the right place at the right time and have one interception: defensive backs B. J. Washington, Keydrain Calligan and Anthony Petty and defensive tackle Tru Thompson, just to name a few .
“It all starts with Torenzo Quinn back there,“ Taylor said. “He is a guy that we brought in from Alcorn to coach that secondary and be the defensive backfield coordinator. He really gets a lot out of those guys, and he motivates them.”
In 2022, Jackson State ranked fifth in the SWAC with 12 interceptions and had two players, Tayvion Beasley and Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, led the team with two. Jackson State has already tied last year's interception team leader, Texas Southern with 16.
JACKSON STATE SURVIVES SECOND-HALF SCARE Jackson State football survived a second-half snooze vs. Texas Southern. That should be a wake-up call.
Taylor said the secondary has a lot of new faces back and are starting to jell. Taylor said the defensive backs are inspired to play, communicate well, are very athletic and can run.
“They go after the football," Taylor said. "They challenge each other each, and every week as far as intercepting the ball, that is what you have been seeing. A good group. The chemistry has gotten good with those guys, and I am very excited about what they bring to the table.”
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Jackson State football has become Ball Hawk University
