Deion Sanders – Source: Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images / Getty
Deion Sanders has done the unthinkable beating last years College Football Championship finalist TCU in his Colorado coaching debut.
The College Football debut of Deion Sanders as Head Coach of Colorado went down yesterday and went exactly like most of us knew it would. Only 7 months ago TCU was competing in the National Championship game which they lost 65-7 to Georgia. For their 2023 season debut they were favorited to beat Colorado by three touchdowns. However, from the start of the game you could see that wouldn’t be the case. Shedeur Sanders son of Coach Prime led the team to a 45-43 victory with Travis Hunter playing both offense and defense. Hunter played for over 100 snaps and never slowed down at any point during the game. Shedeur broke a school record in his first game becoming the first QB in Colorado history to throw for more than 500 yards.
Since Deion’s departure from Jackson State University critics claimed his debut would be a wake-up call and Colorado wouldn’t have much luck. Last year Colorado went 1-11, yesterday’s win is already a vast improvement. Additionally, Deion didn’t forget the critics and addressed their harsh words in the post-game press conference.
“I got receipts, I know who they are,” Sanders said of his critics. “I tried to tell you [about Travis Hunter] but you didn’t want to believe me, because I’m just a lofty old young coach. I don’t know nothing about football. I just played in the NFL for 14. Played at a high level in college for four. And been coaching youth all the way up for a long time. How do you think we got Dylan Edwards? I coached him when he was 4-7 years old. That’s why we got Dylan Edwards.”
“When you see a confident Black man, sitting up here talking his talk, walking his walk, coaching 75% of African Americans in the locker room, that’s kind of threatening,” Sanders said. “Oh, they don’t like that! But guess what? We’re gonna consistently do what we do because I’m here and ain’t going nowhere. And I’m about to get comfortable in a minute.”
Perhaps the most surprising part of the victory is it happened on the road in game 1 of the prime era. Furthermore, it drowns out the noise from critics and anyone who doubts Colorado.
“I deflect a lot of things, but I’m human, so I feel some things,” Sanders said after the game. “And I’m a natural giver. I give, I give, I give. And every once in a while, I have one of those empty moments that I gotta reflect on … and what we accomplished out there today, ain’t none of y’all believed that. Maybe a couple of y’all that knew me and knew how I got down. They know I’m a winner. I’m going to end up winning. Ain’t none of y’all thought you were going to be sitting up here. You thought you were supposed to be on the other side, interviewing them. Or coming and asking me, ‘What happened? You said this and you said that.’ Yeah, now what? Now what? Everybody quiet now.”
“What’s up, boss?” Sanders said. “Do you believe now? Hold on, hold on! … Oh no no no! I read through that bull-junk you wrote! I sifted through all that. Oh no, come on! Do you believe? You don’t believe. You just answered it. You don’t believe. Next question.” The coach added, “I’m not vindictive like that. I just want them to know that I know that you really ain’t with me, you really ain’t with us. You don’t wanna see me win. You don’t wanna see me in victory, or at peace, and have joy. But I love that.”
Make no mistake Sanders journey is just getting started and Colorado’s schedule isn’t an easy one. However, yesterday proved everyone who overlooked Colorado will have to adjust their planning for that game on their schedule. For now all eyes will be set on Sept. 30 when Colorado plays reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams and USC.
