When did Deion Sanders start coaching at Jackson State? Exploring the collegiate coaching career of the Pro Football Hall of Famer
Deion Sanders is now the head tactician of a resurgent Colorado Buffaloes football team that stunned the nation in their 2023 CFB season opener. The unranked Buffs shocked No.17 TCU 45-42 to leave everyone raving about Sanders and his team.
But before he took his experience and talents to Boulder, Coach Prime was the head coach of a Jackson State program that was also reinvigorated by his presence. But when did Deion Sanders start coaching at Jackson State, exactly?
That's the question we're going to answer here. Read on and learn more about the relatively new college football coaching career of the Pro Football Hall of Famer known as "Prime Time."
When did Deion Sanders start coaching at Jackson State?
Deion Sanders was named the 21st head coach of the Jackson State Jaguars on Sept. 21, 2020. His first official game with the team happened on Feb. 21, 2021, when the Tigers met the Edward Waters College. The Buffs beat the school in a 53-0 shutout win at the Mississippi Veteran Memorial Stadium.
Here are the highlights from Sanders' first game coaching Jackson State:
As we all know, Sanders will eventually leave the school to coach the Colorado Buffaloes. But before moving to Boulder, Coach Prime did some amazing things for the JSU Tigers' program as a whole.
Before Sanders was hired, the Tigers went a meager 4-8 overall, 3-4 in-conference, and were a sorry 1-4 at home in 2019-2020. They also finished the season with a three-game losing skid. That was during the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened lockout season.
However, Jackson State rebounded massively under Coach Prime, cruising to an 11-2 record in 2021 and winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference title. Aside from that, he was also voted the SWAC Coach of the Year in both 2021 and 2022. Not to mention, 12 of his players earned some level of All-SWAC honors.
Why did Deion Sanders leave Jackson State?
Coach Prime posted a 27-6 record at Jackson State before leaving for Colorado. In a recent interview on "The Pivot" podcast, Sanders came clean on the true reason for his departure from JSU. He said:
"It wasn't just the resources. It was the ideology, the thought process and the forward-thinking. It was meeting me at the crossroads. That's what was involved in that. And sooner or later, you have to really look in the mirror and say, 'Are they going to get there? No. Do they even want to get there?' And I had to ask those questions and really be honest with it."
Nevertheless, Deion Sanders, a two-time Super Bowl champion, didn't leave for Boulder all alone. He brought nine of his former players there with him, including his sons Shilo and Shedeur. Highly touted cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter also followed Coach Prime to Colorado from JSU.