When your dad is Deion Sanders — one of the fastest players to ever set foot in the NFL — it’s only natural to feel the pressure of living up to his legacy. But what happens when that same dad constantly reminds you just how much faster he was, all while joking that you missed out on his genetics? That’s a whole different struggle — and one Shilo knows all too well.
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For Deion, speed isn’t something you train for—it’s something you’re born with. And, according to him, Shilo wasn’t blessed with that particular gift from his side of the family, indirectly implying that the safety’s running genes came from his mother — Pilar Sanders.
Shilo is training hard for Colorado Pro Day after getting snubbed from an NFL Scouting Combine invite. There’s a good chance he goes undrafted too. However, Deion isn’t taking any of the blame, especially when it comes to his son’s lack of speed. The Colorado head coach reminded his son that he didn’t need to train like him before his Combine in 1989 — he just showed up and made history (40-yard dash times of 4.27s).
“I ain’t do all that Combine training. That wasn’t… I just ran. I was playing baseball. I came out of that, I started spring training in February, dog. So, I just dropped the bat, got close, went on, and did my thing. All this little stuff [like training, I didn’t do much],” Deion said.
Shilo, being a true Sanders, wasn’t about to let his father’s jab slide. He fired back, clearly feeling the sting: “So whose fault is it that I got to train speed now?”
However, rather than taking any responsibility, Deion deflected the blame entirely. “I don’t know. It ain’t my genetics… My mama? Did my mama run? My mama was about 50 when she ran.”
By this point, Shilo realized that arguing with his father was a road that wouldn’t have a happy ending. So, he decided to flip the script by pointing out that he had to work hard to get faster—unlike Deion, who was flexing his “natural” and “straight from God”-given ability to fly on the track.
“But what I’m saying is, now I got to do this stuff ’cause of your decisions. You didn’t even have to train!”
Banter aside, Shilo deserves credit for working hard this offseason. Whether it’s his recent battle with injuries or being labeled as unlikely to be drafted, the Buffs safety has struggled to live up to the Sanders name in recent years. But that hasn’t stopped him from grinding.
Though he didn’t make it to Indianapolis, he ensured he brought the Combine to Boulder by partnering up with Zybek Sports—the official Combine equipment manufacturer. With them, Shilo has been working hard to improve his speed and clock a better 40-yard dash time ahead of Colorado’s Pro Day—arguably his best bet to impress NFL Scouts.
Safe to say, all eyes will be on the star safety next month.
