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NFL legend Deion Sanders has been stealing the spotlight this month and for good reason, after he led HBCU Jackson State to a SWAC championship and flipped the nation’s top recruit’s decision to de-commit from Florida State and sign with JSU.
Since being a hot topic, he’s earned plenty of high praise across social media and in interviews, including one from a legend himself and former San Francisco 49ers teammate, Jerry Rice.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson over at Bally Sports Network recently spoke with Rice about Sanders’ recent accomplishments and what he’s done for Jackson State’s program.
“I think that he’s doing a fantastic job and that he’s bringing so much recognition and Deion is that type of coach, you know? Prime Time,” he told Scoop B., while reminiscing about his own HBCU playing days at Mississippi Valley State. “I remember way back in the day when we beat Jackson State University; we had never beat Jackson State University [laughs] in about 30 years? I remember winning that game and it was like over 100,000 people in that stadium and we were able to get that win. So I think that he’s bringing so much recognition to the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) and what he’s doing at Jackson State is really incredible.”
The Jackson State Tigers (11-1) were crowned SWAC Championship after beating the Prairie View A&M Panthers, 27-10, on December 4. This is a huge accomplishment both for Sanders and the Tigers, who were just a 4-8 team before Sanders took over as head coach during the COVID-plagued 2020 season.
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Rice Recalls Playing Against Deion Sanders
Before teaming up in San Francisco, Sanders and Rice were NFC rivals. Rice shared with Scoop B. the first moment they faced each other, while Sanders was still playing in Atlanta.
“I recall one (game) in Atlanta, and it was right before the snap of the ball,” he said. “He’s reaching out — he wants to shake my hand and I’m smacking his hand away like, “Are you serious right now? OK, we can talk after the game, but right now we’re enemies!” This is mano-a-mano. And so, I’m slapping his hand away and stuff like that, but we built a great relationship and it’s something that we still talk about to this day, you know?
Going against the best. Those sleepless nights. You’re up processing the game in your head over and over and over, and I was telling Deion that and he was like, “Well Jerry, you know what? I was also up playing the game over and over and over in my head because I knew that I was going up against the best.” That’s what we live for — those types of challenges — and it was a lot of fun and it’s something that I’ll never forget.”
Sanders was taken fifth overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1989 NFL Draft. He spent five seasons with the Falcons facing Rice and the 49ers, before spending a single season with Rice and the Niners in 1994.
Sanders Son Become First HBCU Player to Win Jerry Rice Award
Not only following in the footsteps of his father but also Jerry Rice, Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, became the first HBCU player to win the 2021 Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award.
The award is given annually to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship, some former recipients include, Arizona Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds (Fordham), Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp (Eastern Washington) and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance (North Dakota State).
As the Tigers’ starting freshman quarterback, younger Sanders completed 248 of 361 passes (68.7 percent) for 2,971 yards and 28 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions to finish the 2021 regular season.
“I’m proud of him the way he’s played,” Deion Sanders told The Undefeated, “the way he sees the field, the way he’s encouraged his teammates, the way he approaches practice daily, the way he gets on their butts when they not doing what they need to do. I’m just proud of his maturity and who he is on and off the field.”
Shedeur Sanders will be honored on Jan. 7 at the FCS National Awards Banquet in Frisco, Texas. It will air on Jan. 8 on Bally Sports Regional Networks.
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