ATLANTA — The next time we see Deion Sanders on the sideline, Colorado will be playing in its most-hyped season opener since, what, Rick Neuheisel’s debut in 1995? Gary Barnett in 1999? Whatever it is, it has been a long time.
And Saturday’s Celebration Bowl will only heighten the hype.
The game ended with confetti flying, but it was not for Sanders’ Jackson State Tigers. North Carolina Central survived a 41-34 overtime thriller, leaving Sanders the task of trying to gather his team one last time to hear the Jackson State fight song together. At least a half-dozen players were in tears on the field, but Sanders tried to gather each and lead them over to the band.
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“I wanted to have a last opportunity to speak to my team as a unit and comfort them, too,” he said later.
His son Shedeur, whom he boldly named Colorado’s next starting quarterback less than two weeks ago, put together a dazzling performance that included a 19-yard touchdown on the final play of regulation to Travis Hunter, the former No. 1 player in the nation whom Sanders stole from Florida State. (It is looking like Hunter, who played defensive back and wide receiver on Saturday, will also be heading to Boulder.)
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Shedeur Sanders finished 30 for 40 for 349 yards, four touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. He looked disciplined and fundamentally sound with a strong arm. He was savvy enough to navigate the rush and fast enough to scramble for yardage. Any Colorado fan watching that game had to walk away excited.
The Tigers had a chance to send the game to a second overtime, but a dropped touchdown pass on third-and-goal from the 1 set up a do-or-die fourth down. The play came in late, there was confusion on the JSU offense, and Shadeur Sanders took the blame when the play fizzled.
"The clock got real low and we got confused," said the younger Sanders, who didn’t have any timeouts. "I should have taken the penalty instead of rushing the play."
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Coach Prime’s pregame theme was "now" with his players; after the game, he said he was "still dealing with the now. I miss these guys already."
Sanders' next "now" will be to rebuild the Buffs. You can be sure he will be out in the public eye plenty between now and Colorado's first game of 2023 against TCU, selling and promising and prophesying from his pulpit. Expect to hear from him on Signing Day next week and before CU’s spring game. He will be working the transfer portal hard and letting folks know over and over, "I'm coming," like he told the current Colorado players in his celebrated first team meeting.
The excitement in Boulder, predictably, is off the charts. Applications for season tickets are flowing in at rates unseen in the last two decades. Seven thousand applications came in the first 10 days after the hire. How crazy is that? There have been two sellouts in the past 17 years at Folsom Field. With a home slate consisting of Nebraska, Colorado State, USC, Arizona, Oregon State and Stanford, there could be that many just in September.
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The opening game will surely steal national attention on the always-busy Labor Day opening weekend when Coach Prime takes his Buffs to TCU, which will be fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance. Sanders will return to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where he starred for the Cowboys and where Shedeur and Shilo Sanders, Shedeur’s brother and a future CU defensive back, grew up. We will get a quick read on just how different these Buffaloes are from the team that finished 1-11 in 2022.
Sanders wants to build his team through the transfer portal. Colorado has 12 high school players lined up for next week’s early signing period, including four-star running back Dylan Edwards. The Kansas native was committed to Notre Dame but flipped to CU shortly after Sanders was hired. Sanders may add to that number, but expect his focus to be on the portal. He has seen Mel Tucker at Michigan State, Lincoln Riley at USC and others lean on the portal for a quick turnaround, and we know Coach Prime isn’t one for waiting.
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But as eager as he is to fulfill his grandiose promises in Boulder, he said at his press conference Friday that he didn’t even consider skipping the Celebration Bowl and working on Colorado roster building full time right after he was hired.
"It wasn't even a conversation," Sanders said. "I think they knew how I felt. They knew my heart and they knew you’ve got to finish. I think (Colorado) admires finishing what you started. It is admirable. And (CU athletic director) Rick (George) never brought it up to me. I can't tell a child to finish what he started and I'm not."
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Sanders called his circumstance unique.
"Most of the coaches do what? They take the bag and run," he said. "They don’t have a kiss goodbye."
Friday’s press conference offered a taste of the Prime Experience – part preacher, part motivator, always cocky and in command. He said several times he accomplished all he set out to do at Jackson State and more. He said he’s been able to handle the Colorado and Jackson State duties simultaneously without an issue thanks to the staffs in place at both schools. He sprinkled in his conversations with the Lord, talked of his top memories at Jackson State and reminded everyone he’s a winner.
"Everyone knows that," he said.
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His ability to win at Colorado will be one of the top storylines of the 2023 season. With Bronco Mendenhahl, Gary Patterson and other established coaches on the market, George went with the Pro Football Hall of Famer with big dreams and a bigger personality, but only three years of college head coaching experience.
First-year coaches Riley and Sonny Dykes took teams with losing records into the top 10 this season. Brian Kelly took over a dysfunctional situation at LSU and landed in the SEC championship game. The bar has been raised for first-year coaches, and Sanders will be expected to clear it. Observers understand, of course, that CU might be in the worst shape of any Power 5 program.
As he closed his press conference, Sanders thanked the media ("good and bad," in his words), for helping to shine a light on HBCUs. He thanked his pastor, thanked the school, and then walked off the stage. A bigger stage awaits, and it is clear that is where he intends to thrive.
