The first draft pick by the new Minnesota Vikings regime has a legend in his corner.
Lewis Cine, selected 32nd overall out of Georgia, has been under the direction of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders since the age of 16. Cine received a shoutout from his mentor on social media after a prophecy Sanders made when he first “discovered” Cine.
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‘NFL First Rounder’
Cine, like many Vikings fans, was up late waiting for his name to be called as the final pick of the first round.
He woke up the next morning to a shoutout from Sanders on Twitter.
“God bless @LewisCine he flat out earned EVERYTHING he has and gonna receive,” Sanders tweeted on April 29. “Great young man that has a bright future ahead of him. Be frugal my brother but take care of you. #CoachPrime.”
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God bless @LewisCine he flat out earned EVERYTHING he has and gonna receive. Great young man that has a bright bright future ahead of him. Be frugal my brother but take care of you. #CoachPrime
Cine realizing his first-round potential was a dream long in the making.
Sanders scouted Cine at the Under Armour Future 50 camp, an invitational development camp extended to the top 50 underclassmen in high school football, in 2017. Sanders penned Cine as an “NFL first rounder,” according to The Underclassman Report. Approaching the draft, an anonymous scout told NFL insider Bob McGinn credited Sanders with discovering Cine.
Cine replied to a photo of him and Sanders at the Future 50 camp with a photo of him with his Vikings jersey — the results of a five-year climb for the Haitian-born immigrant.
@DeionSanders said “NFL first rounder” after seeing @Lewiscine run through Future50 drills at 16 years old. @UANextFootball
Cine’s Remarkable Journey to the NFL
While Cine’s ascension to becoming a first-round pick was realized after he met Sanders, his journey was more than a five-year climb.
Cine was born in Haiti in 1999 to his mother, who was 16 (the reason he wore No. 16 through college).
“My mom had me when she was 16,” Cine told Dawg Nation. “So when she did, she struggled early on to raise me. Those times weren’t easy for her. I keep that time she took care of me when it was hard back then very close to my heart.”
Cine moved to the United States when he was 4 years old, splitting time between Florida and Haiti before settling in Everett, Massachusetts, with his father. Cine emerged as a star at Everett High School, earning USA Today Defensive Player of the Year honors for Massachusetts. He helped Everett go 12-0 en route to winning a state title.
Cine garnered national recognition and was on a path to playing college football. But after Everett’s coach retired, Cine took flight again, moving to Cedar Hill, Texas, to live with his uncle.
He enrolled at Trinity Christian High School where he reconnected with Sanders, who was the offensive coordinator, for his senior year.
New state. Same results.
Trinity went 14-0, winning a state title that year with the help of Cine who, under Sanders, ended the season with 85 tackles, 13 (TFL), 2 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles.
Cine received 36 scholarship offers and committed to the Bulldogs. By 2021, he was a full-time starter and capped his college career as Georgia’s defensive MVP in their national championship win over Alabama.
Cine has spoken several times on his relationship with Sanders, calling his mentor “God’s gift to me.”
“Deion Sanders is really God’s gift to me,” Cine told the Boston Herald after committing to Georgia in 2018. “He has taught me a lot about life and the journey that we have to take to be successful and be great in any aspect in what I do. Overall he is a great teacher and mentor for me and I’m grateful for him.”
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Deion Sanders Sounds Off on Vikings Rookie: ‘He Flat Out Earned Everything’