Against the Grain II

Deion Sanders is winning more as a mentor than as a coach

By now everyone knows the multi-billion dollar industry of college football has been turned on its ears by the emergence of Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders.  The Pro Football Hall of Famer who began coaching in late 2020 at Jackson State University has moved on and is now the head coach of the Colorado Buffalos.

With him in Colorado are his sons Shedeur and Shilo, and one of the most dynamic players in the country in Travis Hunter. Additionally, one of the best players in the SWAC, Sy’Veon Wilkerson also left JSU to play for Sanders.

Sanders took over the team in December of 2022 and used the latest tool offered by the NCAA to take a team that had only one win in each of the last two seasons to now a legitimate contender. He relieved several of the players who were on the team when he arrived and utilized the NCAA transfer portal to bring in talent from teams across the country.

To this point the rebuild has been a major success. The team is 2-0 after big wins over Texas Christian University (TCU) and the University of Nebraska.  Shedeur Sanders and Hunter are not only being considered Heisman Trophy candidates, but their stock as NFL draft picks has risen to first round status.

What some may not understand is that Sanders is not coaching with just your traditional coaching tools…he’s coaching with love.  Having been both in the shoes of the players when he played college football at Florida State University and where they desire to be, playing in the NFL, it’s easy for Sanders to command attention. But, Sanders’ best weapon is his ability to mentor and love these young men.

Sanders is like a second father, a surrogate father for those who don’t have fathers in their lives, and the ultimate counselor. He is winning because in the era of youth who are easily distracted, he is the ultimate encourager and challenger. Young men, especially the Black ones who statistically are devoid of the love of a father in their homes, now have a walking, breathing embodiment of the authoritarian much needed in their lives. It doesn’t hurt at all that he shows affection to his two sons and virtually his third in Hunter. To those that are non-Black, he represents a nurturer of young men who are more like family than members of a football team.

Hunter was a big story coming out of high school.  He was ranked as the top defensive back in the country.  Originally committed to Florida State, he decided to go to JSU with Sanders.  His reasoning was to learn under Sanders who is regarded as the best defensive back to ever play in the NFL.  Sanders was also a two-way player, which Hunter is as well.

Coach Prime is coaching with love.  It’s not in anyone’s playbook. It’s not a normal way to coach.  Coaches depend on strategies, analytics and the top players in the country to succeed. They often depend on using matchups inside the game to get the advantage.  But, Sanders has bottled up the hearts of these young men and has their full attention.  He shows public affection to his sons, something so rare in America that these other young men desire to be a part of that culture. 

Already, top players on other college teams are inquiring about transferring to play in Colorado. The top-rated quarterback in high school has just added Colorado to the list of schools he is interested in. The list of stars who’ve visited Colorado since Sanders took over is incredible.

The top college football show in the country, ESPN College GameDay broadcast from Boulder, Co., last Saturday ahead of the Buffalos’ game against Colorado State. It was the first time since 1996 that ESPN College GameDay has been to Boulder. On top of that, Fox Sports who owns the rights to broadcast Colorado games, kept their Saturday Kickoff show in Boulder for another week. The virtual eyes of the college football world is out West with Sanders and the Buffalos show.

The immediate success of the Buffalos has brought an energy to college football that is transitioning. In the post-COVID lockdown era, players have emerged with authority to control much of what they do. Players have been granted the ability to make money while in college from their likeness and they have been allowed to dictate where they play with the implementation of the NCAA transfer portal. These measures were unheard of just five years ago.

For now the recent juggernauts of the college football world Alabama and Clemson, each have one loss already this season.  Two-time defending champion Georgia is looking strong and the resurgent Florida State Seminoles are looking stronger every week.  However, right now the eyes of the college football world are watching Coach Prime and his team sell out Folsom Field and continue to write the story of one of the most unlikely rebirths of a once proud college football program in history.

Much credit needs to go to Colorado athletics director Rick George. Sanders was a risk. With just two years of coaching while rebuilding JSU to a national championship contender, he was on his own in making the case to hire Sanders.  Miraculously, he admitted that the school didn’t even have the resources at the time to honor the terms of the contract he offered Sanders, but he was confident that his plan would entice boosters to assist. George has already struck gold in them mountains.