Jackson State football is hoping its offensive line takes on the personality of its coach
As Jackson State co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Jason Onyebuagu spoke with the media members on Aug. 8, his ebullient personality and passion for the game was immediately evident.
Onyebuagu looks a lot different than during his senior year of college football in 2009. Gone are the dreadlocks and the bulk he carried in a red Northern Illinois jersey with the white No.65 on the front as he got ready to charge off the ball from his left-handed stance. His passion for the game, however, was the same then as now.
That was never more evident than in his senior year. A starting offensive guard, Onyebuagu was injured during a 28-21 win over Big Ten member Purdue. The high ankle sprain was significant, and then-Nothern Illinois coach Jerry Kill said he began to think about whom to move that guard slot.
"He told me that he was playing the last 10 games of the season," Kill said about Onyebuagu, who for the rest of the season practiced only on Thursdays and played on Saturdays. At the end of the season, he was selected to the All-Mid-American Conference team.
“I have never seen a player, especially an offensive lineman, play through an injury like that," Kill said. "Normally, they (players) are done for the season. ... He is one of the toughest offensive linemen mentally and physically that I have ever coached."
That attitude and hunger for the game are what Jackson State coach T.C. Taylor wants Onyebuaga to transfer to the offensive linemen.
With center Evan Henry the only proven returning starter on the line, Onyebuagu hopes to mold a mean and nasty group out of the players with whom he is working..
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Jackson State will be running a new offense when it opens its 2023 season Aug. 26 against S.C. State in the MEAC SWAC Challenge Kickoff in Atlanta (6:30 p.m., ABC). Gone will be the Air Raid offense implemented under former coach Deion Sanders, replaced by a more up-tempo offense that has elements of power football as the run sets up the pass.
Onyebuagu said everything for the JSU offense has to start with the offensive line. And the line has to execute at a high level to make everybody’s job easier. He said practicing against the Tigers' defense, ranked No. 1 in the Southwest Athletic Conference in 2022 and with a strong returning line, has helped mightily.
“Iron sharpens iron,” Onyebuagu said. “The opportunity for us to go out there and fight against one of the better D-lines in the conference and probably one of the better ones in the country, has been making us better.”
The team’s mottos is, “Big Men lead the way.”
“We are trying to establish that here,” Onyebuagu said. “I don’t know if that has been the motto in the past, but Coach Taylor brought me here to make sure that was the way. Everything starts with us up front.”
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State football assistant focused on toughening offensive line
