Deion Sanders has message for Washington State's Marcus Strong after taunting penalty

Tom Gatto

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Deion Sanders has message for Washington State's Marcus Strong after taunting penalty image

Washington State defensive back Marcus Strong made a prime-time play against Iowa State in Friday night's Alamo Bowl. Unfortunately for him, he celebrated the play prematurely and was called for taunting. The penalty turned a pick-six into just a long interception return.

In the end, Strong's penalty didn't cost the Cougars, who scored a touchdown on the ensuing offensive series, and it even gained Strong a fan.

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Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, an authority on celebrating before reaching the end zone, was watching the play. To no one's surprise, he was Team Strong:

Sanders returned nine interceptions for touchdowns during his NFL career, and each of those returns included some type of celebration.

UPDATE: Strong and the Cougars held on for a 28-26 victory.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.