"It was so wonderful" - Hall of Famer Deion Sanders finally reveals his true emotions about getting back to Colorado with kids
Hall of Famer Deion Sanders began his debut as coach of the Colorado Buffaloes with an upset 45-42 win over the TCU Horned Frogs. The Buffs entered the game as underdogs after finishing 1-11 the previous season, which prompted the team to fire coach Karl Dorrell.
Now, with Deion Sanders, the football program has gone through a massive revamp, with an entirely new roster at play than the one they had in 2022.
As a coach, Deion Sanders has been enjoying quite the success ever since his first stint with the Jackson State Tigers. In three seasons, he amassed an impressive 27-6 record with the Tigers. Now Coach Prime is looking forward to working the same magic to revive the lost glory of the Colorado football program.
Sanders appeared in an episode of "UNDISPUTED" after the season premiere alongside Skip Bayless and Michael Irving. In that episode, Irving asked Coach Prime what it was like returning to Texas, this time with his children Shilo and Shedeur Sanders, both of whom play for the Buffaloes.
Texas is the place where his kids were born. And now, they accompanied their dad as a part of the Colorado team that pulled off an upset against TCU, who was ranked No.17 in the AP preseason rankings. Sanders said that it took him back in time to his own teenage days and that it felt like life had come to a "full circle".
"I try to suppress it because you got to understand I went way back to when I played youth football against Zim and some of my other guys from the footwork teams. That youth baseball against those teams in Fort Worth, and high school football. And now, it's full circle , and a couple of my coaches, you know, Coach Mathis, Coach Heart, they was right with me all the way along the way."
"Coach Ray came in late and Coach Calhoun and was just seeing this thing come full circle and I was like hey man, come on that he said about you baby this about these kids get out the way you don't play no more. But it was so wonderful Mike and I didn't really feel it unitl we really got on the field and I saw everybody in full unifiorm and the recruits around the perimeter and it was time to play ball", Sanders said.
Deion Sanders has his priorities set straight for Colorado. His mission is to turn the football program into a powerhouse of talent. Following his arrival, more than 50 players entered the transfer portal. And there were 86 new players on the roster, including his sons Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, and Jackson State cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter.
Deion Sanders silenced his critics by winning against TCU
When Sanders initially began his massive overhaul of the Colorado team, many coaches strongly criticized him for his methods and the way he used the transfer portal. Even Pittsburgh Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi came forward to call out Deion Sanders for the way he flushed out players from the team in order to completely revamp it.
"That's not the way it's meant to be. That's not what the rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We'll see how it works out, but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country."
"The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall- those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life- I don't know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave, or they were kicked in the b**t to get out", Narduzzi said during an interview with 247Sports.
But after securing his first win with Colorado, Deion Sanders came forward to talk about how he is keeping a check on all the haters and critics of his methods. In a post-game interview with FOX Sports, Sanders said,
"Man, this is a blessing. Everybody, Buff nation, who supported us, and all the hood that had my back. I thank y'all. God, this is good. We told you we was coming. You thought we were joking? Guess what, we keep the receipts", Coach Prime stated.
Deion Sanders still has a lot of work to do if he wants to make the Colorado Buffaloes a contender for the national championship and make it to the college football playoff. But securing a win to begin his debut is exactly the way that may fulfill this dream of his.