Deion’s Run For Renaissance Man

Deion Sanders is once again changing the face of college football. The difference is, this time he’s left his cleats and jersey behind for a headset and tennis shoes. Throughout the past four years Deion or “Coach Prime” has taken a rather different route into coaching at the collegiate level some would even call mystifying. Coach Prime has now coached two individual collegiate football teams and has had success with both programs. 

Due to this success, Coach Prime has displayed his ability of powerful recruitment which in effect consistently leads to establishing what is known as a winning culture in programs that haven’t been able to find ways to win for some time. When coaches or other high-valued leaders assume their roles in any organization, their goal is to improve on their predecessors’ performance by implementing their own ideas. If the organization has done a lot of losing, the new leaders can make their mark by establishing a “winning culture.” 

Five-time best-selling author, Nathan Jamail via his website defines winning culture as “a culture that sets the stage for positive attitudes, high expectations, and successful performances.”

Recruitment is an essential aspect of achieving the successful performance portion of building a winning culture in college sports. Recruitment contains a few different levels. First and foremost the attraction phase. As the offseason begins universities all across the country will begin to plan and soon execute their shot at signing many of the nation’s highest-rated recruits.

This typically occurs in the form of a letter, a phone call, or even an email to show their interest in the respective recruit. Next, we move to the engagement phase. During this engagement phase coaching staff reach out to the recruits they want on their team. In efforts to secure the recruit coaches would invite them to visit the campus to get their initial sample of what the university has to offer. 

Coach Prime is equipped with one of the best personal recruitment arsenals in all of college football. It’s safe to say he is no stranger to having to evaluate talent effectively due to his successful athletic career where he was drafted fifth overall of the 1989 NFL draft class and flourished during a 14-year NFL career which landed him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It seems as if this ability to evaluate talent has transferred from his athletic career into aiding him now just as much as being a head coach.

Another attribute that aids Coach Prime’s recruitment techniques, which he obtained due to his legendary athletic career is his popularity. Before the Coach Prime Era, Deion “PrimeTime” Sanders was a Hall of Fame athlete as well as a TV personality known across the country. Today, because of his popularity it provides him with the element of celebrity endorsement when recruiting.

In “Celebrity Endorsements: a literature review and research agenda” authors Lars Bergkvist and Kris Qiang Zhao propose the definition, “a celebrity endorsement is an agreement between an indi- vidual who enjoys public recognition (a celebrity) and an entity (e.g., a brand) to use the celebrity for the purpose of promoting the entity.”

Coach Prime’s element of celebrity endorsement essentially sweetens the pot when he aims to attract recruits. Coach Prime always has had the lights on him, and they shine a little more now that he is coaching. Stepping into coaching his light begins to widen also making his players shine within the media significantly more than if they were to go play at another organization. This increased exposure aids players within Coach Prime’s team with many opportunities they may not have the chance to explore if they were to play elsewhere. 

After the engagement phase recruits are to weigh the options and soon enough to be prepared to commit the school for the upcoming school year and football season.

Once the recruits join the program. The following portion falls under the positive attitudes and high expectations category. Essentially setting a standard, which is crucial to establishing a winning culture. Ensuring players know and understand what it takes to reach the goal of significant improvement compared to previous seasons under former leadership. 

“Instilling a winning culture requires changing how people think about the company and altering habitual behaviors.” 

Although it may appear like it doesn’t fall directly into the recruiting category, to change mindsets in efforts to build this winning culture in a team requires the coach to recruit players that are both coachable and receptive and then successfully integrate them with the team they’ve taken leadership over.

Due to poor performance in previous seasons, a team could be lacking in numerous areas, as stated before recruitment could play a huge factor. However, morale within the team plays a key role as well. For a team to consistently want to improve there must be a goal that as a collective they all want to achieve. Whether the motivation is to prove the media wrong or simply change the organization’s public image in and out. Coach Prime has shown his ability to effectively instill this prosperous mindset into the teams he’s coached. In a brief bibliography covering Coach Prime’s time in their organization, Jackson St.’s football page the team states:

“On the eve of his two-year anniversary with the program, Sanders reflected on the changes he’s seen at Jackson State (3-0, 1-0). It’s fitting that two years under Sanders comes after a dominant 66-24 victory over Grambling State on Saturday. The second game of Sanders’ tenure began with a 33-28 victory over Grambling State, JSU’s first victory over their SWAC rival since Nov. 3, 2012.

“These guys that we have in the locker room now have a burning desire to make it to the next level,” Sanders said. “They take this game seriously. They know this game can rescue generations and give wealth to generations. They’re serious about it, unlike when we first got here.“

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what Coach Prime’s amazing recruiting skills have done for not only the teams he’s coached but also how he’s changed the game of Collegiate Football.

Taking a closer look into Coach Prime’s time with The Jackson St. Tigers (2020-22) and The Colorado Buffs (current). Two collegiate football teams that have undergone successful changes in leadership and in turn established a winning culture. It’s apparent that not only building but maintaining a “winning culture” is a high priority in just about any level of athletics. Proper coaching is a big part of building this culture. 

NFL legend and current Head Coach of the Colorado Buffs Football Team, Deion Sanders seems to understand the formula to a science. Coach Deion Sanders throughout the past 4 years has displayed his understanding of building a winning culture with emphasis on recruiting. Deion Sanders to this date has now been head coach of both of the teams who before his arrival had little to no success in just about any area of football.

From one organization to the next, one steady element of Coach Prime’s success is his ability to attract and secure some of the highest-rated recruits. Coach Prime started his coaching career at the high school level before moving onto the collegiate level where he coached Jackson St. University, a NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision team. Before Coach Prime’s arrival, the team had finished their previous season with a record of 5-5 and the year prior a record of 8-12.

Now those numbers aren’t necessarily abysmal however in comparison to the seasons Coach Prime was able to produce with the program he built compared to the seasons before his arrival it may begin to provide a better understanding of what his impact amounted to.  Later in the aforementioned passage from Jackson St. Football the team states:

“In Fall 2021, Sanders led Jackson State back to championship glory with a school-record 11-win season and the first Southwestern Athletic Conference football championship since 2007. JSU went undefeated in conference play (8-0) and won nine consecutive games to complete the regular season en route to the SWAC Championship and the program’s first-ever berth in the Celebration Bowl.”  

Coach Prime’s impact was displayed on and off the field. So much so that, even just as much as the fact that his name was attached to a subdivision DI college football team their viewership per game drastically improved. The Jackson State Football Team also states:

“With viewership for the first two games surpassing more than 200,000 online views on ESPN3, the power of Coach Prime and JSU transformed the network and led to the final four contested games of the spring season televised on linear television on ESPN or ESPN2 as JSU posted a 4-3 record.” 

Another article, this time by Micheal McCarthy of the Front Office Sports page side notes “Colorado vs. CSU grudge match draws ESPN’s biggest late prime-time audience.” These numbers wouldn’t come anywhere near as high without the involvement of Coach Prime.

Coach Prime’s reputation which dates back to his legendary football career to as a far as a sports analyst is a heavy benefit for overlooked teams when his name is attached to them. This increased viewership and the team’s success eventually leads to more players wanting to play under Coach Prime and also setting up his players with more exposure to get them to the next level.

Due to his quick success and ability to change the culture of the program of The Jackson St. Football from an “underground” level program to a now more exposed, winning, and respected program Coach Prime was presented with many awards. Some of these include “SWAC Coach of the Year” and “Black College Hall of Fame Coach Of the Year in 2021” amongst many other awards he received during his time with the program. Coach Prime’s achievements within his short tenure with the team was heavily admired by the sports world. Coach Primes’ understanding of flipping the culture of an organization was in full effect and he and his team were feeding the world with as much evidence as they could bear.

After 3 years with Jackson St. Coach Prime decided to take his skillset to the next level of collegiate football. Sanders was hired at The University of Colorado which at the time raised many eyebrows and even infuriated some. The world’s initial reaction consisted of questions such as “If he intended to provide HBCU football programs with more exposure why would he leave?” and “Why would he choose Colorado, they have been one of the worst teams in college football for years.” Coach Prime’s decision to take the role at The University of Colorado truly took the world by storm.

Similar questions and viewpoints swirled through the media for some time. However, as the season came closer to beginning fans and media critics quickly shifted attention from “What he could’ve done if he did stay at Jackson St.” to “What will he do now that he’s at Colorado?”

With his move to Boulder, CO Coach Prime brought some more luggage other than his belongings. Prime also recruited his two sons who played for him at Jackson St. and got them to play for him at Colorado. Along with his children, Prime convinced athlete Travis Hunter to follow and play for him at Colorado, which can be seen as a sign of trust and loyalty between Prime and his most notable signing. Amongst those three, Coach Prime also signed high-rated recruits going into the 2023 season. According to an article posted to Bleacher Report by author Timothy App: 

Colorado is getting a major boost in the secondary with Hunter and McClain. But the Buffaloes are also getting a bunch of skill-position talent, including 4-star running back Dylan Edwards and 4-star wideouts Adam Hopkins and Omarion Miller. After that trio, Colorado will have 24 incoming 3-star freshmen. Colorado’s transfer class also ranks No. 5 in the nation, led by Hunter’s defection from Jackson State. The Buffaloes are also getting Sanders’ son, 4-star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and four other 4-star transfers: linebacker Demouy Kennedy, interior offensive lineman Yousef Mugharbil, tight end Seydou Traore and wideout Jimmy Horn Jr.

The ability to consistently attract and secure top rated recruits remains the main ingredient of Coach Prime’s recipe to establish a winning culture within his team. Prime’s evaluation of talent has once again pushed his legacy to new heights.

Many critics have Coach Prime’s recruiting and roster management techniques under significant ridicule due to his harsh delivery and what some perceive as a diva attitude. However, I’d like to point out that those same attributes many are against and criticizing may not be as bizarre as the world sees them and in fact may be what attracts the likes of high-level or star recruits in the first place.

As the season concluded Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffs finished with an overall record of 4-8. Now that isn’t the greatest show out for a team that had the anticipation of Colorado before the season due to their acquisition of Coach Prime. However, it is still an improvement compared to their overall record from the previous year, where they finished 1-11 under head coach Karl Dorrell. Due to this improvement in their win-loss record, it would be a sign of ignorance to declare that Coach Prime hasn’t proved himself worthy of the position but also displayed his knowledge of the game itself.

Ari Wasserman, a senior writer for The Athletic published an article titled “Deion Sanders’ poor recruiting results major issue for Colorado’s build.” In this article, Wasserman makes a claim in regards to Coach Prime’s blunt honesty with his players and their value within the team,  “That’s treating players like commodities, and it’s a tough sell for future recruiting efforts, both in the high school ranks and in the portal.” Even though there may be some truth to this statement, it seems Wasserman may have a small amount of bias when it comes to Coach Prime and his team.

“Treating players like commodities.” In this statement, Wasserman neglects to acknowledge the amount of pressure Coach Prime is enduring as the world waits for him to turn yet another struggling program into a more feared and winning one. As stated earlier in my writing it only took Coach Prime roughly a year to turn Jackson St. into a winning football program who maintained this winning culture throughout his time there. To do this, Coach Prime bolstered his roster with many high-rated recruits and as the season began, based on his judgment of their performance put better players in starting positions.

 Now, on a nationally televised Division I level the world awaits Coach Prime’s triumph yet again. It is ridiculous to think that he would take his foot off the pedal, viewers must realize that Coach Prime’s main focus is to build his team and put them in the best position for them to succeed. This means that if he feels as though the players on his roster aren’t meeting expectations he has the right to sit them or even suggest a transfer to another program with a system they may fit better in.

In the article, Wasserman also brings into question the physical aspects of Prime’s recruiting. Wasserman states “Then it got me thinking: When was the last time you saw a picture of Sanders at a high school? Or doing an in-home visit?” As we read we find that during the recruitment of arguably Coach Prime’s best signing in his coaching career Travis Hunter who played for him at both Jackson State and now Colorado did not include Prime visiting the High School for which Hunter played. Instead, this 5-star player’s recruitment consisted of something as minimal as a Facetime call.

When diving into Coach Prime’s recruiting techniques it’s evident that his reputation plays a huge factor in that not too many think of when commenting on the efficiency of his recruiting itself. 

Wasserman claims “You may call that powerful recruiting, and it is. But that isn’t going to cut it when you’re trying to build a Power 5 program.”  The issue with this statement is that if Coach Prime was able to attract and sign who was said to be the nation’s highest ranking recruit in the class of 2022 among other notable recruits to low exposure and struggling program via a series of video calls and have success with the program. How could we possibly dismiss the idea of him having the same impact going into this next year after Colorado showed an improvement compared to previous seasons under other leadership?

Later in the article, Wasserman makes the claim “Eventually, though, Sanders is going to have to stop being a celebrity and start being a Power 5 football coach.” This statement stood out more than anything else mentioned previously in the article. For this statement, I want to divert our attention to Deion Sanders’ legacy before coaching. Deion Sanders was a Hall of Fame, multi-sport, multi-positional athlete whose impact as well as success earned him the nickname “PrimeTime.”

As stated previously Deion Sanders’ legacy as an athlete is what makes him the iconic coach everybody has their eyes on as he entered his stint with The Buffs.

Due to Deion’s success as an athlete under his leadership, his players gain more exposure for playing under his leadership and even are presented with the opportunity of meeting and possibly making connections with some of the world’s most popular celebrities. This interaction is described in “What it’s like to be recruited by Deion Sanders” an ESPN article by Staff Writer, Tom Vanhaaren. Vanhaaren recalls Colorado’s game against Colorado in early October. 

“WHEN ADRIAN WALKER scheduled his unofficial visit to Colorado for the Week 3 game against Colorado State, he had no idea he’d be there with Lil Wayne, Master P, Offset, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. But that’s exactly where Walker and the other recruits on campus found themselves, in what is now the new norm with Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes. It’s not just locker room tours and meetings with coaches, recruits are seeing a whole different pitch from Sanders and his staff.”

In a YouTube segment titled “Deion Sanders is pulling off something INCREDIBLE right now in Colorado” Sports Analyst and TV Personality Stephen A. Smith mentions a statement made from The Buffs’ in-state school rival’s Head Coach Jay Norvell, who just as many others attempted to shame Coach Prime for his alleged diva antics ahead of their week 3 game. This time in in regards to Coach Prime’s hat and signature sunglasses he wears in interviews and press conferences. Coach Jay Norvell states, “When I talk to grown-ups I take my hat and my glasses off.”

In light of this statement from Norvell, Coach Prime retaliated by insisting his team, staff members, and fans show up to the game in their hats and sunglasses to display the irrelevancy of Coach Norvell’s statement. Coach Prime’s Buffs went on to win the game, posting record breaking viewership numbers for ESPN. Later in the video, Stephen A. commemorates Coach Prime’s ability to shift the culture and face of college football.

As a leader, as a recruiter, as a leader of men, as a football mind, as a talent evaluator, the opportunities that he’s opened up for coaches and players from “HBCU’s”. That’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities… is pivotal. It’s big because seeing what he sees, there’s only one, he’s one of one there’s only one “Primetime” Deion Sanders. But because of the talent that he’s brought with him, everybody knows that he isn’t succeeding by himself. He doesn’t fail to give his players credit, he doesn’t fail to give his coaching staff credit and if you’re getting them from HBCU’s and they’re succeeding it’s going to put ample pressure on College programs and NFL franchises to recognize what HBCU’s may indeed have to offer. That is culture changing, that is what Deion Sanders has pulled off . Every college football program gonna ask now “where’s my Deion Sanders?”

Despite what opposers may believe, Coach Prime and all he brings to the table benefit not only the teams he’s coached but also game of College Football as a whole. His achievements are nothing short of remarkable.

References

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

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

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. 

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

McCarthy, M. (2023, September 25). Colorado’s epic win sets new ESPN prime time viewership mark. Front Office Sports. https://frontofficesports.com/colorados-epic-victory-sets-new-espn-prime-time-viewership-record/ 

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 

Newsome, L. (2022, September 20). How Deion Sanders changed Jackson State from “pickup football” to “burning desire” to make NFL. Clarion Ledger. https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/jackson-state/2022/09/20/deion-sanders-first-two-years-jackson-state-football/69503378007/ 

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 

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 

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/# 

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/