Since stepping in to replace Coach Prime following his departure to take over at Colorado, Jackson State (FCS - MS) head coach TC Taylor has gone an impressive 28-9 in three seasons as head coach, finishing 7-4 his first year, 12-2 in 2024, and 9-3 last fall.
Now heading into year four with a ton of momentum, Taylor has landed a splash hire for his Jackson State defensive staff, and it's one that should resonate in living rooms all over Mississippi.
Former Ole Miss standout and NFL second-round pick Breeland Speaks has joined the Tigers as a defensive assistant and outside linebackers coach.
Speaks brings the kind of resume that gets a defensive line room's attention the moment he walks in. Kansas City took him 46th overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he was a member of the Chiefs' 2019 Super Bowl championship team, contributing to the defensive line rotation during his time in Kansas City. He went on to play in the UFL before officially retiring from professional football this summer.
The hire also checks the local box in a big way. Speaks is a Jackson native and a Callaway HS (MS) graduate who stayed home to play his college ball at Ole Miss, where he totaled 127 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks across three seasons before making the jump to the league.
For a program that recruits Mississippi as hard as anyone, putting a hometown product with a Super Bowl ring on the road and in the meeting rooms is a smart play. High school coaches in the Jackson metro already know exactly who Breeland Speaks is, and now he'll be sitting in their offices recruiting kids while wearing Jackson State gear.
Taylor, a Jackson State alum himself, has built serious momentum since taking over the program. He delivered the Tigers a Celebration Bowl title following the 2024 season with a 28-7 win over South Carolina Stateand last fall's 9-win campaign included a 7-1 mark in the SWAC East, winning the division on a head-to-head tiebreaker over Alabama State thanks to a 38-34 October win, before falling 23-21 to Prairie View A&M in the SWAC Championship game.
That title game loss stung, and adding a coach like Speaks to the defensive staff is the kind of move a program makes when it fully expects to be back in that game in December.
It's also another example of a trend worth watching at the HBCU level, where programs continue to attract former NFL players fresh off their playing careers into entry-level coaching roles. For guys like Speaks, it's a chance to break into the profession close to home. For programs like Jackson State, it's instant credibility in recruiting and player development.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.