VALDOSTA, Ga. (WCTV) – Valdosta State football lost the 2021 national championship 58-17 and which left the program wondering; what was next and how they could get back on top. The Blazers last won a NCAA title in 2018, while averaging a whopping and unsustainable 52 points per game. Defense was another story.
“We couldn’t stop anybody,” said current Blazers head coach Tremaine Jackson.
Aside from 2019, Valdosta State had given up at least 20 points a game, on average, dating back six seasons. Enter Coach Jackson.
“We hadn’t played great defense a lot, we’ve always been known for our offense,” said Jackson. “But when we got here we felt like we could be good at both.”
That’s what Jackson had done during two seasons at Colorado Mesa and that’s what he was hired to do at Valdosta State.
“We brought a mission and a vision on what we wanted this to look like. It’s starting to look like that more and more,” he said. “But there [were] a lot of nights when we sat in the office trying to get this thing figured out.”
After a rocky first season and a solid sophomore campaign, everything has clicked in 2024. The Blazers have 19 defenders who are of senior senior status or older, powering the team to hold the opposition to just over nine points per game.
“We just love playing defense,” said Larry Elder, a defensive back. “They’ve always said that Valdosta State is not known for their defense and I kind of feel like we all took that and put it on our shoulder and go to work everyday.”
The Blazers’ offense has been happy to compliment. Quarterback Sammy Edwards, one of just six players left from 2021, set the Gulf South Conference (GSC) record for most pass attempts without an interception this season; he only threw two total. The senior helped the Blazers average 43 points a game on offense.
But stats don’t tell the whole story.
“I’ve never been a part of a team that loves each other so much,” said Edwards, who was named the Offensive Player of the Year for the GSC.
“Anytime you have guys that are executing for one another and play for one another, then I think you have a pretty good recipe for a good football team,” said Jackson, the conference’s co-Coach of the Year.
Good may be an understatement. Valdosta State enters the NCAA tournament with an unblemished 10-0 record. The team is confident 2024 is the year they will hoist their fifth national championship trophy.
“I think going into the year, that was the plan,” said Edwards. “That’s why me and a lot of other guys came back.”
“We haven’t played our full game yet,” said Elder, who was named the GSC co-Defensive Player of the Year. “When you see us play a full game, it’s going to be really, really dangerous.”
Reflecting back on the long process to get to this point, Jackson said, “What started out as an idea, is now a collective and our collective’s time as come.”
Valdosta State kicks off their NCAA tournament run at home on Saturday at 1pm against four-seeded Miles.
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