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With his move to the University of Colorado and the Pac-12, Deion Sanders has once again put himself front and center in the world of college football.
From being a three-sport star at Florida State in the 1980s where he was a two-time consensus All-American cornerback to leading the Jackson State Tigers to a 27-6 record with two Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in the 2020s, Deion Sanders grabs the spotlight wherever he goes.
Rick George, the University of Colorado’s athletic director, told GQ in a new profile of Sanders, “You look at the sales of our merchandise and the enthusiasm of our fan base, it’s just off the charts. And I’d never expected that. I knew that he would attract people and exposure, but not at the level that we’re seeing.”
Deion hasn’t been so successful over the past four decades purely by luck.
“My sense is Deion, like all of us at a young age, we were all chasing something,” said Troy Aikman, Deion Sanders’ former teammate on the Dallas Cowboys. “He’s talked about coming from humble beginnings and taking care of his mom and wanting to buy her a house. In order to do all that, then he had to really make his mark in athletics. Obviously, he did that tenfold.
“Most people don’t catch up to what it is they’re chasing, but he did.”
Aikman also said about Sanders, “I remember going in the locker room before games, and he would be over there, studying film right up until we took the field. This was before the iPad, and no one was doing that. So I think it’s hard to be as great and a transcendent player just purely on talent. As talented as he was, he worked hard at his craft.”
“I gotta succeed,” Sanders told GQ. “As long as they keep putting points on the scoreboard, I gotta win. You take the scoreboard down, I won’t be like that. As long as it’s up there, I gotta win.”
He added, “It’s one of the two, man. Elevation or termination, one of the two. That’s the life of a coach.”