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Head football coach Deion Sanders will teach his first class this semester at the University of Colorado, taking on the role of “Prime Professor” and teaching undergraduate students about life, personal branding, and even in today’s chaotic college football environment. He talked about building a football roster.
The class recently debuted in Boulder and is named “Prime Time: Public Performance and Leadership” after his nickname. It was the first time “Coach Prime” appeared with an entourage of cameras and security details in a session recorded on YouTube by his son Dion Jr. The class will feature a variety of speakers and topics, with Sanders reportedly scheduled to speak again. Boulder Daily Camera.
As a visiting faculty member, Sanders fielded questions from students Thursday and explained why the team doesn’t recruit many freshmen, and two of his players could be the first two selected in next year’s NFL Draft. He said there is. He also talked about why he believes so few college football players have true sponsorship deals for their name, image and likeness (NIL).
What did Deion Sanders say about roster construction?
Sanders said he likes to recruit incoming sophomores rather than bring in a ton of freshmen. His 2024 freshman class includes just six freshmen and nearly 25 transfers.
“If you inherit a roster like we inherited a roster, you can’t really deal with high school kids because they probably take a few years to develop (and) you get fired in a few years. ” he told Sanders and the students. “I don’t have time for that.”
That’s why he became the king of the transfer portal last year, bringing in 47 scholarship players from other four-year colleges. Only a few freshmen played in Sanders’ first season at Colorado last year, when the Buffaloes finished 4-8. Sanders noted that if scouted freshmen don’t play right away, those players could hit the transfer portal and play elsewhere.
“So what we would rather have is to get sophomores in college… who understand the bus stops, who know what time classes start… and then introduce themselves to the college game. There’s no need to worry about that,” Sanders said. “Because if you put a bunch of freshmen on the roster, you’re going to have a hell of a season…that’s not good. And when you have a quarterback who’s like a pro, you can’t give him young guys to work with. It’s a mess. I will.”
Deion Sanders says Colorado could have top pick in 2025 NFL Draft
Sanders also noted that many NFL scouts will be visiting Boulder this year, and that quarterback son Shedeur and two-way player Travis Hunter could be the top two overall picks in next year’s draft. Stated.
“As per the proposal, we got the No. 1 and No. 2 overall draft picks, Sheduar and Travis, so all the NFL scouts are going to come, but they’re not just going to come for that. , because we want them to see the group of players that we have.” There’s also a strategy that we have going on,” Sanders said.
Social branding seminar
Sanders is frequently followed by cameras recording his shows on three major YouTube channels, including Well Off Media, run by his son Dion Jr. But the people who edit these videos know to be careful and not include footage that could be seen by Mr. Sanders. bad. As an example, he recently told a story about how he used the word “wife beater” to describe a tank top shirt and didn’t want it included in one of his videos.
He also talked about freshman offensive lineman Jordan Seaton recently posting a video in which “the whole rap song was blasphemous.”
“I said, ‘Hey, not today,'” Sanders said.
“Coach, I’m sorry. According to Sanders, that won’t happen again,” Seaton reportedly responded.
Sanders’ son Dion Jr. calls his father the “Instagram police.”
“They don’t know any better than that, so you have to teach them,” Sanders said. “I said, ‘Jordan, you’re trying to brand yourself.’ The first thing people do is go through social media.”
NIL school education
NIL became legal in 2021, but the NIL issue is currently roiling college sports. Sanders said he wouldn’t even call it a NIL because he believes it’s not actually a NIL, he said he thinks it’s an endorsement deal between a company and a player. Instead, he said, NIL organizations are stepping in to pay players by handing out fundraising plates to school boosters and splitting the pot between them.
“I have some time today, so I want you to tell me how many college football players you’ve seen in commercials,” Sanders said to the students.
The students came up with five names, including sons Shedur and Shiloh Sanders.
“So many college athletes, and you named five,” he said. “This is not NIL. Today is not NIL day. That’s what it should be, but it’s collective, and that’s what went wrong.”
Saunders said major companies generally wouldn’t be interested in sponsoring large numbers of college students because sponsorships aren’t proven and companies don’t want to risk damaging their brands. said.
“I’m tired of everyone in the country talking about NIL,” Sanders said. “That’s not NIL.”
Seize the moment at CU Boulder
Sanders also offered this advice:
“The reason you know (NBA great) Michael Jordan is because when it came down to it, he grabbed it,” Sanders told the students. “The reason we know Taylor Swift and everyone you love and admire in this world right now is because of what she does when she picks up a microphone. . She delivers.
“You have time to make something happen, go and take it, and catapult yourself to another level. What are you going to do at this moment? The only reason I’m standing in front of you today is , because I captured so many moments. And I’m still captured.”
Editor’s note: Brent Schrotenboer of USA TODAY Sports will also be speaking to the class this semester.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer on X: @Schrotenbohr. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
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