Shedeur Sanders enjoyed his greatest game as a Jackson State football player, tossing for five touchdowns in a near-perfect effort to kick off the 2022 season. No less than NBA superstar LeBron James took notice of how well Shedeur, son of NFL great Deion Sanders, performed.
Shedeur Sanders completed 29-of-33 passes for 323 yards as the Tigers defeated Florida A&M 59-3 in Miami Gardens.
The victory marked the start of Year 3 of Deion Sanders' coaching tenure at Jackson State. His son Shedeur was named SWAC freshman of the year at JSU, but he hit a new level of awesome on Sunday.
Sanders completed his first 17 passes and took command of a very deep Tigers offense. Twelve different players caught passes versus FAMU, with Dallas Daniels (5 receptions, 59 yards, 1 touchdown) and Shane Hooks (6 receptions, 55 yards, 2 touchdowns) leading the charge.
A total of ten players caught Sanders' passes, underscoring a balanced attack. And when his protection broke down against a strong FAMU defensive front, Sanders found ways to prolong plays with his legs. He rolled out to find open receivers or tip-toed towards the sideline.
The sophomore made it look really simple. JSU's sole setback actually came from a handful of dropped passes in the first half, which resulted in Sanders' first two incompletions.
Not surprisingly, Sanders was all the rage on Twitter. No less than LeBron James was among those who praised the young Sanders.
All the praise was obviously for good reason since he completely overwhelmed a defenseless FAMU.
The performance on Sunday comes as no surprise, though. Remember that as a rookie, Sanders passed for 3,231 yards, 30 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also completed 65.9 percent of his passes. He also carried for three touchdowns as Jackson State went 11-2 and won the Southwestern Athletic Conference title.
This earned them a spot in the Celebration Bowl. Sadly, they lost, 31-10, to South Carolina State.
Even after this win, nobody really knows how far Jackson State will advance this season. Having said that, the Tigers have gotten off to a great start, powered by their star quarterback.