"Godfather of Recruiting" flips after Deion Sanders makes a walk-on athlete the star of the show
Mike Farrell, the Godfather of college football recruiting, seems to have changed his original opinion of Deion Sanders and his work at Colorado. Farrell, who was the national director of recruiting at rivals.com for two decades, posted a video of a recent statement from Deion Sanders about allowing walk-on Cleveland Cash to play during last week's victory over Texas Tech.
“What it shows is that, we don’t care if you’re a five-star, a four-star or a walk-on, which he was, and he’s out there playing. Valuable time, not garbage time. He is out there and putting in some real production for us. So, I’m proud of Cash. He’s one of my favorites as well,” Coach Prime said.
The video was accompanied by Mike Farrell's tweet:
"This man has earned my respect as a coach. Flat out proved me wrong."
The offensive lineman was also endorsed by Shedeur Sanders, who said this about him after the 41–27 victory over Texas Tech:
“He handled his business. Cash is a funny guy out there. He’s super funny because he’s not, never like really mad out there. He’s laughing, he is smiling, he is always the same guy always. It’s always fun when Cash is out there.”
While Deion Sanders has sometimes been accused of valuing style over substance, there's no denying that the program has greatly improved in 2024. the Buffs are the No. 18 school in the land, and with a 7-2 overall record, they seem in prime position to take a shot at the Big 12 Championship Game this year.
Coach Prime still has to answer the accusations of bullying and hazing in his program. However, despite some stumbles, no one can deny Sanders prioritizes his players' well-being.
Could Deion Sanders replace Mike Norvell?
A recent article in Mike Farrell Sports named Sanders a prime candidate to replace Florida State's Mike Norvell in 2025. The Seminoles are in the middle of a debacle, with nine losses and one win this season. What was supposed to be a follow-up on the impressive Atlantic Coast Conference title-winning 2023 season has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for the Tallahassee school.
Norvell did clean house this week, following an embarrassing 3–52 defeat to Notre Dame, and it seems that the Florida State brass is willing to give the embattled coach another season. However, according to Mike Farrell Sports' Sean Labar, a source at ESPN believes there's one scenario where Norvell is fired and replaced by Sanders.
The move would make sense, considering Coach Prime spent his college career as a Nole. He was even interviewed for the job before Norvell took it but was allegedly rejected due to his lack of credentials (and apparently because he hadn't earned his bachelor's at the time).