BOULDER, Co. – Deion Sanders has been named the new coach of the University of Colorado football team.
The team made the announcement almost immediately after the Jackson State University football team routed the Southern Jaguars to win their second SWAC championship in the last two years.
“AD Rick George has named COACH PRIME @DeionSanders to be the 28th full-time head football coach at CU. Welcome Coach Prime to Colorado!” wrote the team on their social media accounts.
Coach Prime meeting the team for the first time @DeionSanders pic.twitter.com/PlCPRAkALq
— Barstool Colorado (@CUBarstool) December 4, 2022
Sanders made the announcement to the JSU players immediately after the SWAC title game.
“There were a number of highly qualified and impressive candidates interested in becoming the next head football coach at Colorado, but none of them had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student-athletes like Deion Sanders,” Colorado athletic director Rick George said in a statement.
“Not only will Coach Prime energize our fan base, I’m confident that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a team of high quality and high character.”
Sanders, a two-time SWAC coach of the year revitalized the Jackson State program, leading the Tigers to a record of 27-5 in his three seasons as head coach. His final game as their head coach was a 43-24 win over Southern in the SWAC Championship on Saturday, completing a 12-0 season. It was their second consecutive conference title.
Prior to leading JSU, Sanders was the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian School, in Texas, where he lead the team to three straight Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS) titles.
His son Shedeur Sanders, who plays quarterback and put up an impressive 3,396 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns during the 2022 season was announced as the new quarterback during Sanders press conference held Dec. 4.
“This [Shedeur] is your quarterback,” said Sanders as he pointed to him. “He’s gonna have to earn it though.”
Sanders has kept his children close during his time at JSU with his son Shilo on defense in the safety position, and his daughter Shelomi is a member of the JSU girl’s basketball team. His oldest son Deion Sanders Jr. puts in work behind the scenes as his father’s and teams videographer and social media manager.
It is not known if Shelomi will join their father in Colorado as Shilo was announced as a member of the Colorado team too.
