By Mia Berry
Winning a conference championship and earning a postseason berth were top goals for coachĀ Eddie GeorgeĀ when he took over Tennessee State Universityās football program in April 2021. Four seasons later, the Tigers are the sole representative from a historically Black college or university to compete in this yearāsĀ FCS playoffs.
Tennessee State will faceĀ No. 14 MontanaĀ on Saturday night in the opening round of the playoffs in the Tigersā first postseason appearanceĀ since 2013. The program won a share of the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference championship for the first time sinceĀ 1999. Tennessee State shared the titleĀ withĀ Tennessee Tech University, the University of Tennessee at Martin and Southeast Missouri State University.
āI feel Coach George has done a remarkable job during his tenure here. Heās had a great season this year,ā Tennessee State director of athleticsĀ Mikki AllenĀ said. āItās really been a joy to see him really mature as a coach and really take this program to new heights. ā¦ Itās just been a really good feel for our entire university.ā
On Tuesday, George was namedĀ Big South-OVC Coach of the YearĀ for the first time in his career. He also is aĀ finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, which is given to the Division I FCS national coach of the year. Tennessee State linebackerĀ Sanders EllisĀ was named conference Defensive Freshman of the Year and is aĀ finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, which honors the top freshman in FCS football. Senior defensive backĀ Jalen McClendonĀ was namedĀ a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the defensive player of the year in Division I FCS football.
Andscape spoke with George about his preparations for the teamās playoff game and the impact of the Tigersā conference championship.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Describe the emotions after you and your players found out you won the conference championship.
Oh, man. I still get giddy. I was just thinking about it, because it was all the work, the prayers, the focus that you pour into these young men. And when they finally get it, watching them take over was gratifying. They were not going to leave their stadium without a victory, and they played for each other. That was a beautiful thing to witness. ā¦ To see the looks on their faces, the walk into a locker room filled with cigar smoke, [it] was incredible, man. It was awesome.
What type of culture did you and your coaching staff want to instill in this program?
I would say a positive and optimistic culture. That requires discipline. We rely on our faith, and I use it as an acronym.
āFā is our focus on a continuous basis. What is our focus on? The positive things, protecting our thoughts, how we approach our day from the time that we wake up to when we go to class and study hall, and taking care of our business off the field, being a good person in the community, being a good son and brother, all the roles that you play. And then it extends to on the field.
The āAā is for attitude, having a positive, optimistic attitude that you bring every day. The āIā is for its intentions. What is your intention to get better, to help others get better? The āTā is for trusting the process and trusting each other, and the āHā is to help.
How have you seen the culture shift at Tennessee State during your four seasons as head coach?Ā
Itās a complete 180 from the time I took over till now. ā¦ We had to learn to change a few bad habits, a lot of bad habits, just really starting with how we approach the day. From being excited about ball, for one, and two, finding the right people to get in the building. A lot has changed, from staff to players to external staff. It really changed the culture to find the right fit for that, not just on the field, but off the field.
A standard has been set, and weāre raising that standard every day. It has just been a true buy-in by the players. ā¦ It took a lot for us to get to this place. Weāre not where we want to be [but] weāre certainly not where we used to be, so weāre really excited about the future.
Most of your players havenāt played postseason football. How are you and your staff getting them ready mentally for this matchup?
For one, by not making it bigger than what it is. Realistically, we played a playoff game last week to get in [againstĀ Southeast Missouri], and that game had playoff implications wrapped around it. If we lose that game, weāre sitting at home eating turkey, and we told them that. So weāre going to go with the same approach. ā¦ Just focus on our task, our work to get better ā really simplify things.
Weāre going to probably change up our schedule a little bit more to allow them to get their rest and get through the distractions of the holidays. Weāre thinking of leaving a little earlier to get acclimated, to get focused, because itās going to be a night game. Itās going to be more of a mental approach than physical. Weāve got to understand that, hey, weāre going to be playing in 21-degree weather. How do you manage the cold? You canāt allow the cold to beat you, because our opponent is going to be tough enough.
How do you think the adversity your team faced throughout the season has helped prepare you for the postseason?Ā
You got to learn to win those one-possession games because it comes down to that. It comes down to situational football. I see it all the time, that middle eight minutes ā you know, the four minutes before halftime, the four minutes you come out of halftime. Then thereās four minutes when you end the game. You want to be in that situation, whether you have a chance to win it or close it out within those four minutes. ā¦ You got to learn how to win those games and be comfortable being uncomfortable.
Those games where you can pull away, get a touchdown here or there in the end and not feel that pressure, thatās great. But itās those moments where youāve got to find a way to get a stop or find a way to get that big third-down conversion ā thatās where the confidence is built, within those pressure moments. Youāre comfortable being in those moments because youāve lived it ā¦ youāve experienced it. You got to execute it when it comes up again in a championship game.
What are the challenges in preparing for Montanaās defense?
Iām looking at it now, and the challenges are [that] they throw bodies everywhere. It is a defense where they are very tough physically, they plug gaps. They be in one spot one minute, in the next spot the other. So the best way to describe it is likeĀ Star WarsĀ ā you know, itās a blitzkrieg. They do a good job of it.
It will be a challenge for us from a protection standpoint [and] a run game standpoint. We have to stay patient. We canāt necessarily do too much in the run game, where we can get tackles for loss. ā¦ They have a great deal of experience on that defense. They got some playmakers as well, so we want to have our hands full. Itās gonna be a great challenge for our offense.