LAS VEGAS — The Deion Sanders phenomenon began early Wednesday morning at Big 12 Media Days. Before an interview began in the bowels of Allegiant Stadium, Sanders directed a cameraman.
“Turn the screen for me and let me see the picture very quickly, please,” he ordered.
Well satisfied and ensconced in a sports jacket and hoodie on a 116-degree day (outside), Coach Prime then began using his inner voice to make the day his own, even though it wasn’t conference time yet.
You may not have gotten the memo, but until further notice, the face of the new Big 12 is a bankable brand endorser coming off a 4-8 season.
“I love Deion,” said Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire, who coached Sanders’ son, Deion Jr., in high school. “He doesn’t make excuses or take anything back. He says what he believes in and what he thinks.”
When Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy was asked what the new face of the league would be without Texas and Oklahoma, he told CBS Sports: “It would probably be me, right?”
You could say so. Along with Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham, Gundy (19 years with the Cowboys) is the longest-tenured current FBS coach at a single school. Gundy has won 166 games and one Big 12 title.
It was then suggested to Gundy that Sanders might be that face.
“He’s Taco Bell, Aflac, he’s got so many other things going on,” Gundy said of Sanders’ endorsements. “When it comes to just the football aspect, (I) would probably be an accurate answer.”
Gundy responded with irony for half of his answer; coaches admire each other.
But he may be right. Don’t think of Deion as the face of the best team — or even the best program — in the Big 12. Think of Coach Prime in his own category as the best. artist in the Big 12. Maybe in all of college football. A man with more “College GameDay” than game. And in his day – certainly in this conference — it matters at some level.
Considering all he brought to the game, Prime had one of the best Septembers in college football history last season, going 3-0 before losses to Oregon and USC. The ratings were so good that they spanned every demographic and beyond the sport.
“I’m judged on a different scale,” Sanders said during his introductory speech.
This judgment isn’t going to stop; it may just be beginning. The Hall of Fame player and salesman might be the best thing the new Big 12 has to offer. Ratings! Hype! Ads! Entourage! Sunglasses!
“They have the juice, they’re national,” UCF coach Gus Malzahn said of CU.
Sanders may be what the still-emerging Big 12 needs: attention. Commissioner Brett Yormark kicked things off Tuesday by declaring his league the third-best in the FBS — a clear shot at taking over the ACC. He then declared the league open for business again. (Hello, Florida State?)
The two influencers warmly embraced in a hallway before Sanders took the podium Wednesday. It’s safe to say that Yormark wouldn’t have been able to pull off his bold Four Corners expansion without Sanders’ brand — and the coach’s desire to get back into Texas recruiting.
Don’t focus on football. Not yet. Coach Prime’s coaching skills at this level are still under construction. That’s because Colorado enters 2024 on a six-game losing streak. Going 27-6 at FCS Jackson State is one thing; resurrecting a moribund Power Five is another. Sanders is at a school that will tolerate a slow climb to success because, well, he’s Deion. It helps when the program boasts just one non-COVID winning season since 2004.
“My victories are totally different than your victories,” Sanders told a reporter. “Your victories are just judged on football… The expectations are higher. But it’s not just football. It’s been like that forever. I’ve always had higher expectations of myself.”
But someone finally asked the question that needed to be asked: For what Will Colorado be better in 2024? Prime said the offensive line has improved, the defensive line coaches are demanding, the running backs are led by a former walk-on, special teams, etc. He mentioned a record-breaking grade-point average and 150 years of NFL experience on the staff that now includes Hall of Famer Warren Sapp. graduate assistant.
But that should come as no surprise. This is still America, where flash sometimes trumps substance.
Still, Colorado enters the season balancing a dichotomy. Despite last year’s negative record, it returns two of the game’s best players — Sanders’ son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and two-way star Travis Hunter, who was named the Big 12’s preseason defensive player of the year. Both are considered strong candidates to be first-round picks in the NFL draft next spring. Malzahn even went out of his way to mention that he offered Shedeur as a ninth-grader rather than a five-star prospect who had attended an Auburn camp.
“Shedeur was better than this guy in ninth grade,” Malzahn recalled. “I brought him into my office. Of course, I’m a big Deion fan… I suggested Shedeur on the spot. He was better than this big five-star guy.”
As expected, one of the first questions of the day of interviews was about these two players in the Heisman race.
“It’s going to happen,” Sanders said.
It won’t be around much longer if Shedeur can’t stay upright after suffering the most sacks (56) by a Power Five quarterback since 2012. In fact, Prime’s debut exposed a glaring weakness. Despite an initial takeover through the transfer portal, the Buffs were woefully undermanned on both lines. The defense finished second to last in the Pac-12 and 115th nationally in yards allowed per play (6.27).
And now, Coach Prime?
“I don’t care how you see me, how you look at me,” he said. “I’m more inclined to understand how I see myself and how God sees me and how He looks at me. Nothing I do will ever be enough.”
Certainly not four more wins. Take a look at the schedule. FBS killer North Dakota State comes to town for the opener. Then there are road trips to Nebraska and Colorado State, both looking for revenge after last season’s losses. Based on the results to date, it’s hard to imagine the six wins needed to be bowl eligible.
The face of this new, expanded Big 12 has become introspective.
“I’m a brother from Fort Myers, Florida, sitting here in the end zone in Las Vegas and telling the whole country about a kid’s game I played when I was a little kid,” he said. “This is a moment, man, you better make the most of it.”
Mixing in a bowl the appearance would also help.