It wasn’t about the opponent. It wasn’t even about Colorado.
For a few minutes, Deion Sanders’ press conference turned into something deeper, a conversation about legacy, opportunity, and what it means for two of his mentees to walk the same path he once did.
“It’s very significant to me, first and foremost. These are like two of my little brothers, which I adore,” Sanders said. “You might not know, you might not feel it, but the ethnicity of it all — to have two young brothers that had tremendous careers in professional football come down and humble themselves and and coach at HBCUs. It has been truly impactful.”
The names were familiar: DeSean Jackson and Michael Vick, two former NFL stars now leading programs of their own. Sanders smiled as he talked about them, drifting between humor and pride.
More: Travis Hunter’s first NFL touchdown
“DeSean just texted me last week about fishing because he beat me last time on my lake and I wasn’t happy about it,” he said, laughing. “He saw me fishing and wondered why he didn’t get the invite. I told him he was busy winning games.”
Then his voice turned firm. “I love it because they’re paving the way and opening the doors for so many other athletes that desire. You have no idea how many phone calls I get with former NFL players that wanna coach. Unfortunately, it’s like a system that has been implemented, and they didn’t tell nobody that we had to start here, start here, and start here until we make it there — withholding our accomplishments and our tenure in the NFL.”
He paused, leaning into the message. “I would love someone to do a study of how many NFL years of playing count as coaching. If I played five years in the NFL, what is that equivalent to? Because I know when I played the game, I was impactful in helping come up with some of the defenses that we came up with. And you know, Mike Vick played quarterback and DeSean was one of the best ever at taking a roof off defenses. To catch that many balls and do the things that he accomplished, you’ve got to know the game.”
More: Alex Mortensen leads UAB to victory
The pride in his voice never wavered. “I’m so happy just with who they are…and what they presented to college football, man. They’re both successful in so many ways that you wouldn’t even fathom.”
Now, that message takes on an even larger stage. Michael Vick’s Norfolk State Spartans will face DeSean Jackson’s Delaware State Hornets this week at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, a prime-time nationally televised HBCU showdown between two men Sanders called “brothers” and trailblazrs.
More college football news:
- Carson Beck takes the blame for Miami loss
- Mortensen leads UAB to victory
- Coaches hot seat rankings
- Bill O’Brien says he’s not a ‘quitter’
- Bill Belichick buyout, contract details as North Carolina Tar Heels coach