Deion Sanders has undoubtedly changed the landscape of collegiate football. Despite the brutal loss against the Arizona Cardinal, the Prime effect can’t be negated. Coach Prime has not only transformed the team, but he has brought more eyeballs to college football than ever before.
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So what inspired him to become the confident, swanky mentor he is today? Sanders credits it all to his upbringing. He revealed that one woman sculpted him into the man he is today, and that’s his mother.
Deion Sanders Credits His Mother For His Leadership Qualities
One can’t deny the impact Coach Prime has had on the Buffs with his incredible mentoring. He likes to instill confidence in his players and pushes them and himself to be their absolute best selves. All this, he has learned from his mother. Speaking at a press conference of his childhood, he said,
“It comes from my mother. We always had someone else beside my friend or my sister to live with us. She always extended a helping hand, and she was always gracious to the multitudes.”
Deion Sanders’ mom is amazing pic.twitter.com/2Noe6ZYdHr
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) September 18, 2023
It seems that Sanders had the urge to be a mentor to those who needed it even before he became a coach. He reflected on how he always felt the desire to mentor young people even when he was very young. Talking about when this started for him, he said,
“Developing a desire to mentor young people probably started when I was playing high school sports. I always took it upon myself to target several young men and help develop them, not just as athletes but as men.”
Deion Sanders stands on the precipice of greatness, right alongside his Buffs. He is an incredible father and an incredible coach and nobody can shake his confidence in his team and himself. He is not soft by any means, but he is gracious just like his mother. And he is not overconfident.
Before the Buffs went down against Stanford in the most upsetting loss for the Colorado team, Sanders had pointed out the holes in his team. Even though the Buffs won against ASU two weeks ago, Coach Prime was not happy. He could tell that his time played “like garbage” and he was not afraid to call them out for it.
Coach Sanders Questioned His Team’s Love for the Game
Hopes were running high for the Buffs halfway into the Stanford game on home turf. Star CB Travis Hunter was back after recovering from a harrowing injury and the Colorado team had a 29-0 lead. But it all went to ruins in the second half and Stanford emerged victorious 46-43, in the most iconic comeback in college football history.
Coach Sanders was understandably livid, and even questioned his team’s love for the sport. Speaking at the post-game conference, the coach said,
“I am truly upset, truly disturbed. Started off the game wonderfully, finally put it together in the first half. You surrender three touchdowns unanswered, I can’t fathom it right now. I felt complacency going into the half. I just didn’t like how I felt going in at half-time.”
It seems the Buffs got too cocky by their halftime lead, and Sanders recognized that. However, he could not combat it, ultimately leading to his team handing the struggling Cardinal a comeback for the ages. The complacency he spotted had the coach wondering if his team even loves the sport as he does.
“They gotta make up in their mind are they in love with this game or in like with it, asked Sanders. “I’m truly 100% in love with this thing and I just want people to match me.”
As the Buffs head into their bye week, they need to take stock of what went wrong and how to iron out the kinks, especially the penalty runs. Their bye has surely been marred by a 4-3 record and doubts about bowl eligibility. Hopefully, the team will be back in full form in two weeks as they face UCLA.
