Deion Sanders the best recruiter in CFB.

Deion Sanders the best recruiter in CFB.

Proposal: Deion Sanders has been a big name in football dating all the way back to his high school years to still today. Deion Sanders is a legendary athlete who as of recent is making his case to why he is the best coach in college football. In the past 3-4 years Deion Sanders has completely changed the culture behind not only Colorado now but before this year Jackson St. as well. Sanders is no normal head coach, his success as a NFL athlete has contributed heavily to his ability to flip the culture Jackson St. and University Of Colorado collegiate organizations.

Background: Since the early 90a Deion Sanders has made his mark as a Hall Of Fame NFL Athlete. “Athlete” because in his 14 year career Sanders played and thrived at multiple positions. Over the past 3-4 years and still to this day Sanders has added another accolade to his long list of accomplishments. In 2020, Sanders took role of Head Coach at Jackson St. a HBCU football team that prior to his arrival success was slim to none. In his 3 years with the program he took them to 3 back to back winning seasons.

After his time at Jackson St., Coach Deion Sanders took his talents and a few players with him into the Pac 12 division to the University Of Colorado a more mainstream and “intense” level of college football. A team that again prior to his arrival lacked in recruitment and overall success. Coach Deions arrival and success to this day has quickly changed not only The University Of Colorado’s football team but also has changed the entire culture of college football across all divisions.

Resources:

Background: Sport analyst and American TV Personality Stephen A. Smith goes into depth about why Coach Deion Sander’s move to the University of Colorado is such a pivotal event for the sport of college football.

How I used it: I used Stephen A. Smiths video to educate my readers on the impact that Coach Deion Sanders is having on the game of college football. By using Stephen A. Smith as a resource I am providing readers with a point of view an experienced and well known sports analyst.

Resource: Deion Sanders First 2 Years At Jackson St. Football

Background: This article published to The Clarion Ledger by sports writer Langston Newsome explains how Deion Sanders’s arrival to the Jackson St. Tigers Football team completely changed the teams morals and pushed them into a now more focused game driven winning team.

How I used it: to provide readers with context of the success Coach Deion Sanders brought to the team in his time specifically as Jackson St.’s Head Coach. By using this article I increase credibility of my claim because the article provides stats and quotes from multiple members of Jackson St.’s football team.

Resource: Deion Sanders is hired as the next football coach for the University Of Colorado Football

Background: This article is an initial reaction of “Coach Prime”‘s move to coach The University Of Colorado football team for the 2023 season. The article provides statements from the university’s athletic director on why Coach Prime was the best choice amongst numerous other candidates. The article also dives into the struggles the program faced with their previous coaching staff.

How I used it: This article initial reaction to Coach Prime’s new gig as head coach for The University Of Colorado will help me explain how Coach Prime was able to drastically increase Jackson State’s success during his short time time there and how high expectations are now that he has moved to another struggling organization but this time on a higher playing field.

Resource: Colorado’s Epic Victory Sets New ESPN Prime Time Viewership Record

Background: This article showcases the University Of Colorado vs Colorado State’s game that shattered ESPN’s viewership records. The game took place September 16 at 10:30p Eastern and lasted til about 2:30a Eastern. The game scored an average of 9.3 million views and topped off at 11.1M, not only a team high but a nationally televised sports network’s viewership record.

How I Used it: Prior to Coach Prime’s arrival Colorado could barely even win a game, since his arrival and the teams success under his leadership more people across the nation are tuning into Colorado’s football games. The game’s ability to break the viewership of arguably the top sports network (ESPN) makes Coach Prime’s case for “best coach” even more prevalent. Being able to attract that much attention on such a wide scale put emphasis on how influential Coach Prime is. If the team wasn’t doing good under his leadership it’s hard to think they would’ve even came close to these numbers. Coach Prime’s influence and The Colorado’s football team’s success has also pulled the attraction of many widely known celebrities. During the game Colorado had hosted the likes of rapper Lil Wayne and Actor (among a plethora of other titles) Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Resource: Bell, J. (2023). “Behind the scenes before Deion’s debut.” USA Today https://go-gale-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/ps/i.doid=GALE%7CA762976253&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=07347456&p=AONE&sw=w&aty=ip&enforceAuth=true&oweAuth=true&userGroupName=rowan&u=rowan

Background: Coach Prime’s decision to take on the roll of head coach at Colorado took the world by storm. This article highlights the amount of attention brought to the program since his arrival as well as many impactful moves hat he made within the organization before the start of the 2023 season. Article includes conditioning strategies, Roster moves, and morale building.

How I used it: In my writing I briefly used this article to highlight the increased exposure of The Buffs since Coach Prime’s arrival. I also used this article to highlight Coach Prime’s team building techniques, the article mentions Prime’s ideology of putting the team through intensive training prior to the season to test their will, an early dose of adversity.

Resource: Bergkvsit, L., Qiang Zhao, K. (2015, December 26). Celebrity Endorsements: a literature review and research agenda. Routledge https://web-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.rowan.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=a0fc7d40-2ca9-4a11-89be-c42e99e8d354%40redis

Background: Resource provided is a Literature review and Research agenda of the term “Celebrity Endorsement”

How I used it: Due to their extensive research, authors Bergkvist and Zhao have presented their own definition of the term “Celebrity Endorsement.” Which can be used to describe an element of Coach Prime’s recruitment technique because of his legendary athletic career that differs him from non celebrity recruiters.

Resource: Deion Sanders (2011) – Hall of Fame . National Football Foundation. (2011). https://footballfoundation.org/hof_search.aspx?hof=2313#:~:text=Selected%20fifth%20overall%20in%20the,Washington%20Redskins%20and%20Baltimore%20Ravens. 

Background: This resource from The Football Foundation provides a Collegiate Hall Of Fame profile of Athlete Deion Sanders. The profile includes some of Sanders’ accolades as well as the teams he’s played for during his 14 year NFL career.

How I used it: In my writing I used the info provided from Deion’s Hall of Fame profile to assist me in providing my possibly less sport knowledgeable readers with context of what makes Coach Prime’s legacy such a notable asset for himself and the university in recruitment.

Resource: Jackson State University. (n.d.). https://gojsutigers.com/sports/football/roster/coaches/deion-sanders/219 

Background: Resource used provides a coaching profile of Coach Prime as well as accolades and achievements he obtained during his tenure with the Jackson State Tigers.

How I used it: I used this resource to provide my readers with direct evidence of Coach Prime’s ability to establish a winning culture with emphasis of his powerful recruiting as well as his ability to provide Jackson State with an increased exposure due to his reputation he earned as an athlete.

Resource: Meehan, P., Rigby, D., & Rogerss, P. (2014, August 7). Creating and sustaining a winning culture. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2008/02/creating-and-sustaining-a-winn-1 

Background: The resource used is from the Harvard Business Review, it provides a definition as well as a formula to build and maintain a “Winning Culture” from a business perspective rather than sports.

How I used it: Although the resource appears to approach from a business standpoint I thought it correlated closely with what it takes to build a winning culture within sports. Coach Prime’s actions within both organizations has aligned with many of the “ingredients” from the formula provided from Harvard Business Review .

Resource: Rapp, T. (2023, February 1). Examining Deion Sanders’ 2023 recruiting class in 1st year as Colorado HC. Bleacher Report. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10063834-examining-deion-sanders-2023-recruiting-class-in-1st-year-as-colorado-hc 

Background: This article from Bleacher Report reflects on Coach Prime’s powerful recruitment ahead of the 2023 season for The Colorado Buffs.

How I used it: I used this resource to highlight Coach Primes consistent ability to pull top rated recruits to yet another struggling low exposure collegiate team in efforts to bring winning to the organization as he did with Jackson State in the previous 3 years.

Resource: VanHaaren, T. (2023, October 4). What it’s like to be recruited by Deion Sanders. ESPN. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38555810/how-deion-sanders-recruits 

Background: This resource reflects on what recruits have experienced as they were being recruited by Coach Prime. The article provides direct quotes from athletes that were actively being recruited as well as athletes that have already signed with the buffs. The article also reflects on Coach Prime’s recruiting results during his time at Jackson State.

How I used it: I used this article to persuade readers that what’s perceived as Coach Prime’s “diva attitude” is what draws and secures many recruits contrary to what some may see as a red flag for the program’s recruiting results.

Resource: Wasserman, A. (2023, November 29). Wasserman: Deion Sanders’ poor recruiting results major issue for Colorado’s build. The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/5094370/2023/11/28/deion-sanders-colorado-recruiting-decommitment/# 

Background: This article critiques Coach Prime’s recruiting ahead of the 2024 season. The article suggests that Coach Prime isn’t invested enough as a coach and stuck in his ways as a celebrity.

How I used it: The author makes claims that Coach Prime’s recruiting techniques will be what stalls the university from further prosperity. The article’s negative view of Coach Prime’s techniques allowed me to provide a rebuttal of why they are more in favor of gaining recruits rather than driving them away.

Resource: Whitley, D. (2023, April 28). Deion Sanders’ football purge at Colorado could use a touch of humanity. Gainesville Sun. https://www.gainesville.com/story/sports/columns/2023/04/28/deion-sanders-guilty-of-unnecessary-roughness-with-colorado-housecleaning/70147949007/ 

Background: This article heavily ridicules Coach Prime’s attitude , recruiting techniques, and roster management.

How I used it: The author’s negative look at how Coach Prime manages his team allowed me to provide a rebuttal for why the author’s analysis of Coach Prime’s actions as head coach of the team may be biased and far too critical.