# 2021 Tennessee State Tigers football team

The 2021 Tennessee State Tigers football team represented Tennessee State University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They were led by first-year head coach Eddie George and played their games at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
On April 12, 2021, Tennessee State University announced that Rod Reed would not return as head coach. The following day, Tennessee State hired George to replace him. It was revealed by The Tennessean that George's deal was a five-year deal with an annual salary of US$400,000.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 3:00 p.m. | vs. Grambling State* | Tom Benson Hall of Fame StadiumCanton, OH (Black College Football Hall of Fame Classic) | NFLN | L 10–16 | 14,682 |
| September 11 | 6:00 p.m. | vs. Jackson State* | Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis, TN (Southern Heritage Classic) | ESPN3/ESPNU | L 16–38 | 46,171 |
| September 18 | 4:00 p.m. | Kentucky State* | Nissan StadiumNashville, TN | ESPN+ | W 41–7 | 2,513 |
| September 25 | 2:00 p.m. | at Southeast Missouri State | Houck StadiumCape Girardeau, MO | ESPN+ | L 14–47 | 3,896 |
| October 2 | 7:00 p.m. | at Austin Peay* | Fortera StadiumClarksville, TN | ESPN+ | W 24–22 | 7,211 |
| October 16 | 2:00 p.m. | Tennessee Tech | Nissan StadiumNashville, TN (Sgt. York Trophy) | ESPN+ | W 20–13 $^{OT}$ | 2,420 |
| October 23 | 2:00 p.m. | at Eastern Illinois | O'Brien FieldCharleston, IL | ESPN+ | W 28–0 | 6,300 |
| October 30 | 5:00 p.m. | Murray State | Nissan StadiumNashville, TN | ESPN+ | W 27–21 | 8,627 |
| November 6 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 15 UT Martin | Graham StadiumMartin, TN (Sgt. York Trophy) | ESPN3 | L 20–41 | 3,712 |
| November 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Austin Peay | Nissan StadiumNashville, TN (Sgt. York Trophy) | ESPN+ | L 7–36 | 2,531 |
| November 20 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 25 (FBS) Mississippi State* | Davis Wade StadiumStarkville, MS | ESPN+/SECN+ | L 10–55 | 46,770 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
Source:

## Game summaries
### At Grambling State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tennessee State | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Grambling State | 0 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
at Pro Football Hall of Fame Fieldhouse, Canton, OH
* Date: September 5, 2021
* Game time: 3:00 P.M. MST
* Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: 3 mph
* Game attendance: 14,682
* Referee:
* TV announcers (NFL Network):
| Statistics | TSU Tigers | GRAM Tigers |
| First downs | | |
| Plays–yards | – | – |
| Rushes–yards | – | – |
| Passing yards | | |
| Passing: comp–att–int | –– | –– |
| Time of possession | | |
| Team | Category |
| TSU Tigers | Passing |
| TSU Tigers | Rushing |
| TSU Tigers | Receiving |
| GRAM Tigers | Passing |
| GRAM Tigers | Rushing |
| GRAM Tigers | Receiving |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | TSU | GRAM |
| 1 | 5:00 | 7 | 21 | 4:05 | TENN | 39-yard field goal by Antonio Zita | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 12:41 | 15 | 79 | 7:14 | GRAM | Jaye Patrick 18-yard touchdown reception from Elijah Walker, Garrett Urban kick good | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | 7:03 | 12 | 58 | 6:08 | TENN | Devon Starling 3-yard touchdown run, Antonio Zita kick good | 10 | 7 |
| 3 | 2:22 | 3 | 15 | 1:25 | GRAM | Elijah Walker 15-yard touchdown run, Antonio Zita kick no good | 10 | 13 |
| 4 | 9:48 | 10 | 44 | 5:05 | GRAM | 24-yard field goal by Garrett Urban | 10 | 16 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 10 | 16 |

### Vs. Jackson State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| TSU Tigers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 16 |
| • JSU Tigers | 7 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 38 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TSU -2.5 | 50 |
| Statistics | Tennessee State | Jackson State |
| First downs | 19 | 19 |
| Total yards | 264 | 404 |
| Rushing yards | 70 | 42 |
| Passing yards | 194 | 362 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 31:52 | 28:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tennessee State | Passing | Geremy Hickbottom | 9/15, 138 yards, 1 TD |
| Tennessee State | Rushing | Devon Starling | 11 carries, 35 yards |
| Tennessee State | Receiving | Rodell Rahmaan | 4 receptions, 94 yards, 1 TD |
| Jackson State | Passing | Shedeur Sanders | 30/40, 362 yards, 3 TD |
| Jackson State | Rushing | Peytton Pickett | 11 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD |
| Jackson State | Receiving | Trevonte Rucker | 5 receptions, 72 yards |

### At No. 25 (FBS) Mississippi State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tennessee State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| • No. 25 (FBS) Mississippi State | 21 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 55 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| +44.0 | 56 |
| Statistics | Tenn State | MSU |
| First downs | 14 | 23 |
| Total yards | 205 | 600 |
| Rushing yards | 35 | 107 |
| Passing yards | 170 | 493 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 35:20 | 24:40 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tennessee State | Passing | Deveon Bryant | 9/11, 128 yards |
| Tennessee State | Rushing | Devon Starling | 11 carries, 33 yards |
| Tennessee State | Receiving | Cam Wyche | 4 receptions, 88 yards |
| Mississippi State | Passing | Will Rogers | 28/34, 391 yards, 5 TD |
| Mississippi State | Rushing | Dillon Johnson | 5 carries, 56 yards, 1 TD |
| Mississippi State | Receiving | Makai Polk | 9 receptions, 110 yards, 1 TD |

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Seasons at Tennessee State | Alma Mater |
| Eddie George | Head coach | 1st | Ohio State |
| Hue Jackson | Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach | 1st | Pacific |
| Brandon Fisher | Defensive coordinator | 1st | Montana |
| Joe Bowden | Linebackers coach | 1st | Alcorn State |
| Keith Burns | Special teams coordinator & defensive specialist | 1st | Oklahoma State |
| Cory Harkey | Tight ends coach | 1st | UCLA |
| Mark Hutson | Offensive line coach | 1st | Oklahoma |
| Richard McNutt | Defensive backs coach | 1st | Ohio State |
| Pepe Pearson | Running backs coach | 1st | Ohio State |
| Clyde Simmons | Defensive line coach | 1st | Western Carolina |
| Kenan Smith | Wide receivers coach | 1st | Sacramento State |