The ever-evolving Tennessee State football program had a chance to showcase itself in its annual spring game on Saturday. Fans and supporters filed into vulnerable Hale Stadium, TSU’s rarely-used on-campus facility, and provided an atmosphere that left head coach Eddie George impressed.
“If this is what the Hole is like on Saturdays – what it can be – I’m all in,” George said after the game. “I really felt the energy. The love. You can get the sense of the culture at Tennessee State.”
That sense of culture was especially critical this weekend as TSU hosted several talented prospects on its campus across several days. The Class of 2023 prospects included three-stars like Elijah Douglas, Tyson Evans (Nashville) and Jordyn Potts as well as Kamal Bonner, a four-star safety in that class. TSU also hosted a pair of four-stars in the 2024 class in Markeis Barrett, Brandon Barrett in addition to Tayvion Galloway.
Galloway, a four-star tight end from Ohio, spoke glowingly of his trip to Nashville.
“Just can’t thank the staff at Tennessee State enough for yesterday. Getting to see an HBCU up close and personal on a great day and the environment was great. That place is special.”
Those visits came on the heels of a commitment from a former four-star wide receiver to the program on Friday.
Jeremiah Holloman committed to TSU on Friday ahead of the spring game.
Holloman played his high school ball at Newton High School in Covington, GA. He spent a few seasons at UGA and was expected to become a top target for UGA in 2019 but was eventually cut from the team. He resurfaced at FIU where he caught eight passes during the 2020 season. He planned to transfer to Liberty in 2021 but that never worked out and now he’ll be competing in Nashville.
One player who appeared to be above the competition on Saturday was running back Mike Mitchell. The Temple transfer had an impressive game in front of the fans at Hale Stadium as he appears to have recovered from a knee injury.
“The thing with Mike, I wanted to see more consistency,” George said. “Clearly today – he can break a long one at any point in time. Given how much we’re going to run the football, we’re going to need his skill set and his leadership to really move along this offense.”
All-in-all, it was a good weekend for George and Tennessee State. This followed a week when it was announced it would become the first HBCU and first FCS team to play Notre Dame next fall. George, a few days from the one-year anniversary of his hire, seems to be pretty optimistic about where the program is heading.
“Every setback is an opportunity for me to learn and grow, and I’ve done just that. I love these boys, I love this university, I love President (Glenda) Glover for giving me this opportunity. I thank her for her persistence. And certainly Mikki Allen – his vision. It’s a lot of work to do, of course, but I think all boats are steering in the right direction and I’m really excited about it.”