SWAC Football: Deion Sanders gets ACC transfer Antwan Owens from GT
By Dante Pryor
Antwan Owens got his degree this spring and is immediately eligible to play this fall for the Tigers after transferring to play SWAC football at Jackson State.
Deion Sanders and the Jackson State Tigers have been active in the portal and in recruiting. The Tigers have signed 16 transfers, all from FBS programs. Of those 16, ten are from Power Five schools.
Sanders has said that to change the culture; you have to change the people. So far, he has done that with this roster. That includes signing two four-star recruits that will play this fall; one of them is Shedur Sanders, his son.
Some signees, like JUCO transfer cornerback De’Jahn Warren, spurned the likes of Alabama and Georgia to sign with Jackson State.
Sanders wants to build the trenches, signing 12 linemen (7 high school signees, five transfers). However, the way the trenches looked this spring, they will need all the help they can get.
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The 16th portal signee is Georgia Tech transfer defensive tackle Antwan Owens. As a graduate transfer, Owens is eligible to play immediately. That gives Jackson State depth along their defensive line.
This spring, the Tigers struggled in the trenches. The offensive line struggled in pass protection, and the defensive line struggled to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks and against the run.
What’s scary about the way Sanders is recruiting is the Tigers amassing talent all over the field; they are also collecting depth. It is one thing to be talented one through 22, but Sanders wants talent from 23 to 35, especially to make noise in the SWAC.
The Tigers have also lost players to the portal. Quarterbacks Jalon Jones and Quincy Carter are in the portal, but JSU has Sanders waiting in the wings and signed North Texas transfer Greyson Thompson.
Owens, a three-star from Florida, gives the Tigers size and athleticism in the trenches. With how the Tigers have recruited, the defense can even rotate linemen this fall.