College Sports

Prime Time: All The Ways Deion Sanders Is Revolutionizing College Football

Darren Ryding - August 23, 2024

College Sports

Prime Time: All The Ways Deion Sanders Is Revolutionizing College Football

Darren Ryding - August 23, 2024

Deion Sanders was a one-of-a-kind athlete with two Super Bowl wins and a World Series appearance to his name. No other athlete in history has played in them both. Now Prime is a college football coach and he is revolutionizing the sport. His dramatic impact is incredible to behold.

From superstar fans to underdog victories, it’s been an amazing journey. Coach Prime began his journey at Jackson State before taking over the Colorado Buffaloes. Football fans love him and despise him but he’s always box office viewing. Check out how he’s revolutionizing the game now.

Perfect Storm

Colorado was in a horrific place when they decided to hire Sanders as their head coach. They went 1-11 in 2022 and no one wanted to attend their games. However, they deserve credit because they threw caution to the wind. Sanders had an excellent record with Jackson State and promised to draw eyeballs.

But he had never been a top-level FBS coach and no one could have predicted the actual impact he’d have. The program’s directors allowed him unprecedented control over the roster. Furthermore, they’ve tactfully allowed him to remain true to himself. Coach Prime concocted the perfect storm in Boulder right now and the results are amazing (via NPR).

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Unapologetically Black

Just over 10 percent of college head coaches are African-American. Furthermore, there’s never been an African-American head coach of the year. But Sanders is shaking things up by refusing to conform and staying true to himself. He continues to wear his sunglasses and cowboy hat as he reshapes the sport’s landscape.

College football is conservative and full of stuffy rich men who often gatekeep the big jobs. But Sanders is revolutionizing it and proving that there’s an appetite for this. Meanwhile, he’s luring superstars like Shaq, Kahwi Leonard, Lil Wayne, and The Rock to Boulder. It’s an incredible story and he’s at the center of it.

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Jackson State Success

Sanders kicked off his head coaching career at Jackson State and ignited the program. They went 27-6 during his tenure including an unprecedented undefeated season. Coach Prime deserves immense credit for this because it’s not easy for HBCUs to compete with the biggest programs.

But Sanders helped them to win two Southwestern Athletic Conference championships. The Tigers also achieved more national attention than ever before in their history. In the end, money and ambition talked but Sanders had a great stretch in Mississippi (via The Atlantic).

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Colorado State Test

The Buffaloes defeated their rivals, the Colorado State Rams, in one of the most dramatic victories in recent years. In the end, they won 43-35 in double overtime. They overcame an 11-point deficit to beat their state rivals in front of many celebrities. This was a coming-of-age moment for Coach Prime and his Colorado team (via Sporting News).

Fox NFL Sunday commentator Jimmy Johnson said: “What’s impressed me is how he’s working at it. He has worked at recruiting, he’s worked at marketing and he’s worked at publicity. He’s worked at demanding excellence from his players, and so that’s what has impressed me more than anything.”

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Personal Values

Things got personal between Coach Prime and Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell. Norvell made some cryptic comments about parents raising their children correctly. He also commented on Sanders’s garish outfits. After Colorado’s shock victory, Sanders brought his mother into the locker room (via Bleacher Report).

“He didn’t directly say something about my momma,” Sanders said. “But he alluded to the fact that his momma raised him and my momma didn’t raise me right.” Then he allowed his mother to hype the team up in some of the wildest scenes we’ve ever seen. College football is changing and Sanders is at the forefront of the revolution.

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Polarizing Figure

Sanders is arguably the most polarizing head coach since Urban Meyer. This isn’t entirely fair because there’s another element when it comes to Coach Prime. Some people loathe the way he refuses to conform to college football’s conservative expectations (via SBNation).

However, others despise the way he ditched Jackson State and ripped away their best players when he joined Colorado. Furthermore, they don’t appreciate the way he dumped dozens of young men who signed to play college ball in Boulder. Nonetheless, love him or loathe him, the nation can’t stop talking about him.

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Prime Time

Every Sanders fan knows about Prime Time. Now he’s bringing it to college football and changing how fans act. Colorado State’s coach sneered at his sunglasses. So Sanders responded by handing out pairs to the game’s commentators. It was an amazing reaction that went viral (via WCVB).

Sanders defended his actions after the game. He said: “Why would you want to talk about us when we don’t talk about nobody? All we do is go out here, work our butts off, and do our job on Saturday. But when they give us ammunition, they did messed around and made it personal.”

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Devoted Athletes

Sanders successfully lured the top high-school recruit in the nation to Colorado. It’s incredible because Travis Hunter originally committed to Florida State University but Coach Prime changed his thinking. “My kids that play for me,” he said, “they didn’t choose a university. They chose me. That’s a difference.”

This is massive and shows how he is revolutionizing college football. His charisma and personal brand are proving irresistible for the best young players in the country. Meanwhile, it helps that his track record is excellent and he is demonstrating a winning mentality (via Journal-Sentinel).

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New Culture

The Buffaloes had a miserable track record before Sanders arrived. Hunter suffered a lacerated liver before the Oregon game. It was frustrating for the young star to watch his team lose and he wanted an early return. But Coach Prime refused and read his reply to the locker room to show that he cared.

“No, you ain’t ready,” Sanders said. “And I care about you more than I care about this game. You gonna change the game of football one day when you are healthy and ready. Your future is brighter than mine ever will be or ever was. Relax and get healthy. I love you, son (via Fox News).”

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Family Affair

One of the most controversial elements of Coach Prime’s new roster is the arguable nepotism. Their starting quarterback, Shadeur Sanders, is Coach Prime’s son and an elite recruit with Heisman aspirations. Meanwhile, they also signed another of Sanders’s sons, Shilo. Prime’s daughter Shelomi plays basketball for the school too.

Then there’s his other son, Deion Sanders Jr., who runs the team’s most successful YouTube channel. Sanders even ranks his children as he picks his current favorite. It’s wild and some people don’t like it but his family isn’t going anywhere. As long as he continues revolutionizing college football, does it matter?

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Coaching Experience

A head coach is only as good as the staff he surrounds himself with. Sanders’s critics believe that he has a bloated sense of self-importance. But the Super Bowl winner is canny enough to hire a great team. Offensive Coordinator Sean Lewis leads the Buffaloes’ offense (via Sportskeeda).

Meanwhile, Defensive guru Charles Kelly is a veteran of the game with 35 years of experience. He also worked under Nick Saban, arguably the greatest college coach in NCAA history. Several of Sanders’ assistants worked with him at Jackson State. This shows that Coach Prime inspires loyalty in his ranks.

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TCU Win

Colorado shocked the NCAA landscape when they pulled off a victory over TCU in Coach Prime’s debut. It was a fairytale start for the Buffaloes after months of anticipation. Many people called him a fraud and a primadonna. But Sanders proved that he is revolutionizing football.

Their narrow 45-42 victory against a tough TCU outfit showed grit, skill, and determination (via ESPN). QB Shadeur Sanders said: “A lot of you didn’t believe in us. It’s crazy because you just got to understand our coach, Coach Prime, my dad, everywhere he went, he was a winner. Every game, every opportunity, he took advantage of.”

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Massive Brand

Colorado didn’t realize how lucrative the Sanders appointment would be. But he’s a goldmine for the school despite signing a $30 million contract. USA Today estimated that he will bring at least $280 million to Colorado. They sold out their season tickets already because everybody wants a piece of Coach Prime.

Meanwhile, 35 million people across the nation tuned in to watch their first four games. It’s an incredible leap and it’s all because of Sanders. When the President of Nike shows up in Colorado and hugs the head coach, it shows his influence. This is a level we’ve never seen before.

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The Swagger

Even when Sanders and the Buffaloes lose, he maintains his swagger. Oregon’s head coach Dan Lanning dismissed his opposite number before their September game. He said that Colorado was ‘playing for clicks, we’re playing for wins.’ It was a great line and the Ducks justified it by winning handily.

However, Sanders deflected the blame away from his team. He took responsibility and acknowledged that he had a target on his back. “Teams are trying to beat me,” he told The Athletic. “They aren’t trying to beat our team. That’s what it really is. It is what it is. I signed up for it.”

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Ruthless Operator

Everybone is focusing on how Sanders took advantage of the transfer portal. They’re saying that the Buffalos are buying success but that’s not entirely accurate. One of the reasons why he’s revolutionizing college football is because he’s ruthless. He dumped more than 50 players as he overhauled the roster.

Coach Prime explained: “You take a team that’s won one game, and you fire the whole coaching staff. So, who did the coaching staff recruit? The kids. So, the kids are just as much to blame as the coaching staff. And I came up to the conclusion that a multitude of them couldn’t help us get to where we wanted to go.”

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National Attention

It’s insane that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is hanging out in Boulder because of Coach Prime. The Rock is one of the most famous men on the planet but he’s casually become a member of Sanders’ entourage. This shows the level of attention that Coach Prime and CU are achieving right now (via Fox Sports).

Colorado is responsible for five of the eight most-watched games in 2023. Even if people didn’t want Sanders to win, they couldn’t resist watching. When The Rock is almost reducing Sanders to tears with incredible speeches things are going right. This is drama not just college football.

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Business Model

We spoke about the contentious way that Sanders used the transfer portal to rebuild his roster. This won national attention and criticism, including from Connecticut State Senator Chris Murphy. The influential politician said this was bad for the sport because they treated scholarship athletes like employees.

Murphy said: “The NCAA says players aren’t employees except for their coaches all treat players like employees. Sanders is in the process of firing half of his team, kicking them off their scholarships because they aren’t performing. That’s employment (via The Ringer).”

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Trailblazer

Make no mistake, Sanders is a trailblazer. It says a lot that some people are putting him in the conversation to win National Coach of the Year. This is unlikely but not impossible if turns Colorado into a nine-win program after going 1-11 in 2022. However, his long-term impact on the sport’s culture is more important.

Black high school coaches say that Sanders gives them hope that they have a place in the sport. Meanwhile, young athletes also love it because they feel like Sanders understands them better than other coaches would. It’s amazing and one of the greatest ways he’s revolutionizing football (via Andscape).

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Taking Action

Coach Prime is also forcing the NCAA to address some of the flaws in the NIL system. None of the other head coaches in college football bring the same levels of fame or personality. He is using this to maximum effect by using photoshoots to promote Louis Vuitton and Lamborghini.

Now the NCAA wants to shut him down by only allowing photoshoots on official visits. They don’t want schools exploiting loopholes and making money out of their potential recruits by flirting with luxury brands. It may not be easy to enforce but it’s something they never considered before (via Sports Illustrated).

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Breath Of Fresh Air

Let’s be real for a moment: everybody loves to jump onto a bandwagon. Sanders is catnip for journalists and media members because he is revolutionizing football through his cult of personality. He is making the sport interesting again and that’s such an underrated quality.

Some people love him while others hate everything that he represents. But they’re all tuning in and watching the Buffaloes play their games. It’s a remarkable story but the weirdest part is that it has never happened before. Sanders is here to stay and college football is better for it overall (via CBS News).

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Prime Time: All The Ways Deion Sanders Is Revolutionizing College Football

Prime Time: All The Ways Deion Sanders Is Revolutionizing College Football

Perfect Storm

Unapologetically Black

Jackson State Success

Colorado State Test

Personal Values

Polarizing Figure

Prime Time

Devoted Athletes

New Culture

Family Affair

Coaching Experience

TCU Win

Massive Brand

The Swagger

Ruthless Operator

National Attention

Business Model

Trailblazer

Taking Action

Breath Of Fresh Air

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