Jackson State Football Gets Savage!

The dynamic wide receiver from Prairie View will join the national champions from Jackson, Mississippi, in hopes that the Tigers repeat for the 2025 season.

Shemar Savage | Credit: JSU Athletics

After winning the 2024 HBCU National Championship, Jackson State football's recruiting efforts have been outright SAVAGE. And this past weekend, TC Taylor took it a step further by landing former Prairie View A&M standout wide receiver Shemar Savage.

He participated in the 2025 HBCU Legacy Bowl. Instead of entering the 2025 NFL Draft, Savage returned to HBCU football with another season of NCAA eligibility remaining.

"Why not Jackson State," Savage posted on his social media account. He stands 6-4 and 220 pounds, has great size, length, and excellent separation capability as a wideout. Jackson State recently lost Isaiah Spencer to Virginia Tech via the NCAA transfer portal.

Why not Jackson state @CoachMarshall @CoachTaylor010 @Coach_Magana @jacksonstatefb #committed pic.twitter.com/F88kmMjwjI

— $hemar $avage (@takeoff_savage2) May 4, 2025

"That's really good for him," former Panther head coach Bubba McDowell told HBCU Legends. "A change should work out better for Shemar."

Pairing Shemar Savage with All-SWAC receiver Nate Rembert, who transferred from Mississippi Valley State, should give quarterback JaCobian Morgan a formidable tandem to target this season. One of the tenets of the JSU offensive strategy is to "LOAD, RELOAD, AND KEEP RELOADING UNTIL WE WIN!"

Savage, a senior receiver out of Lompoc, California, had 22 game appearances in two seasons while notching 47 receptions for 913 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns at Prairie View A&M.

Last season, his biggest games were in the season opener against Texas Southern, where he caught six passes for 105 yards. The following week, he had a career performance versus Northwestern State, where he posted six catches for 133 yards and one touchdown. His longest reception of the season, 47 yards, was caught in that game.

Shemar Savage - Transfers from PV to Jackson State | Credit: PVAMU Athletics

His play was sporadic, mainly because the Panthers suffered from inconsistency at the quarterback position throughout the season.

Coach TC Taylor will have an arsenal of intermediate and deep threats with their current wideouts on the roster. Word on the streets of Jackson has it that more offensive weaponry will hit JSU's campus in time for summer practice.

For the moment, Jackson State is well-positioned to repeat. However, the SWAC East will continue to be very competitive, with Florida A&M, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, and Bethune-Cookman subtly enhancing their rosters. Football in the SWAC East looks to flex its muscle in 2025.

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Jackson State's Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Crowned Back-To-Back FCS Champ

It's Back-To-Back Championships for The Vet! Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium has once again been voted the champion in the final round of the 'Best FCS Stadium Invitational' featured by College Football Campus Tour.

The Vet triumphed in the online voting, securing 62.1% of the total votes. Second place went to the Kibbie Dome, home of Idaho football, which has a seating capacity of 15,250 since its opening in 1975.

Best FCS Stadium: Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium | Credit: College Football Campus Tour

This marks the second consecutive year that both venues have competed for the top spot in the College Football Campus Tour poll.

Opened in 1950, Mississippi Memorial Stadium has a seating capacity of 60,492 spectators and continues to lead in FCS attendance, averaging 27,213 fans during the 2024 season. Montana ranks second, averaging 25,845 per game, followed by Montana State with an average of 21,899.

In 2023, Jackson State averaged an impressive 30,060 fans per game, though this is still short of the 42,000 attendance during the 2022 regular season.

2025 championship certificate | Credit: College Football Campus Tour

Despite this, The Vet remains the premier venue for FCS football in terms of attendance over the past decade.

The Vet serves as the home stadium for the 2024 HBCU National Champions, the Jackson State Tigers football team, led by head coach T.C. Taylor. Last season JSU was undefeated in its six home games in Jackson, Mississippi, including the Southwestern Athletic Conference Football Championship Game against Southern University.

Jackson State University will set out to defend its title with a season opener at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium against Hampton University on Saturday, Aug. 30.   

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