Sy'veon Wilkerson making fast impression at Jackson State thanks to transfer portal

Deion Sanders is one win from delivering a second consecutive SWAC East division title to Jackson State (9-0, 6-0). The Tigers travel to Alabama State (3-6, 3-3 SWAC) on Saturday in a position that many in the conference expected.

A few familiar faces have led the Tigers to No. 5 in the FCS Coaches Poll and atop the SWAC. Shedeur Sanders, last season’s Jerry Rice Award winner, leads the conference in passing yards (2,677) and touchdowns (27). Aubrey Miller was a All-SWAC first-team selection in 2021 and leads Jackson State with 48 tackles.

The surprise from has been the arrival of West Virginia transfer Sy’veon Wilkerson. The sophomore had a career-high 214 yards rushing with two TDs as the Tigers cruised to a 41-14 victory against Texas Southern on Saturday.

Wilkerson has scored TDs in three consecutive games and has 903 rushing yards and seven TDs after not starting the season-opener against Florida A&M. He has more than doubled the production of Peytton Pickett, last season's leading rusher, in nine games. Pickett finished with 450 yards and five TDs in 11 games in 2021.

“He’s been that guy,” Deion Sanders said of Wilkerson. “He just didn’t get an opportunity to start early on because we got to give those other guys the opportunity to be who they are, too. Until his talent level just showed us that it was unprecedented, and he just beat everyone out. He’s been that guy since the day he stepped forth on this campus.”

Wilkerson is second in the conference in rushing, eighth in yards per carry (5.7) and tied for fourth in TDs.

Travis Hunter, the nation’s No. 1 recruit, was supposed to garner most of the hype this year. However, the star freshman has appeared in only four games because of injury. Instead, it’s been transfers such as Wilkerson, Miller, Nyles Gaddy and Shane Hooks that have propelled Jackson State to the program's first 9-0 start.

There’s no doubt that the transfer portal has helped Jackson State with Wilkerson’s performances over the past month changing JSU’s rushing attack. However, Deion Sanders wants to use the portal to find the right players. Wilkerson has fit in perfectly.

“We just don’t want to go shopping at this level,” Deion Sanders said. “We want to be able to attract kids that are in the portal. We’ve attracted some, but we want consistency in that. As long as they know they’re gonna get the same opportunity to go to the next level, which is professional, they’ll come."

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Deion Sanders thanks transfer portal for netting breakout running back