Deion Sanders discusses working with Nick Saban during Aflac commercial shoots
By Crissy Froyd
Published:
Deion Sanders who is commonly referred to as “Coach Prime” may be the most interesting man in college football. And even if you don’t fully agree with that assessment, there’s no denying he’s definitely in the top five there.
The Jackson State football coach recently spoke with Kameron Hay of Complex.com on a number of topics, including working with Alabama head coach Nick Saban during Aflac commercial shoots. He shared a lot about his relationship with Saban, though he wouldn’t give a full tell-all because he’s “not going to kiss and tell” because he “might not get any more gems.”
“Well, Coach Saban is actually funny. He’s hilarious, quick-witted, and very concise,” Sanders said. “I like to use these opportunities to not just shoot the commercials, but I get to glean from Coach Saban. He’s the magna cum laude, he’s the guy, he’s the standard. So any chance I get on set to talk to him about the game, recruiting, personnel, anything, I take full advantage of it.”
It’s no secret that Alabama is the team to beat in college football, consistently predicted to win it all just about every year. But Sanders views his team as a big riser itself and said recently he believes Jackson State is only about a year off from being able to play Alabama.
“The progress of the program has been phenomenal, and the expectation and the standard has changed,” Sanders said. “So when I’m talking about playing somebody like Alabama or a Power 5 school, I’m not talking about playing against them to collect a check, what’s normal. I wouldn’t take that game unless I expected to win. Why would I take that game if I didn’t expect to win, what are you playing for? To me, that’s selling the whole program out for a check and that’s absurd to me.”
Sanders specifically pointed to talent in the trenches.
“You take a guy like Travis [Hunter], you don’t see too many guys like that, but they would have a couple of guys who are close to it, and you’ve got to match that or you’re not going to compete. Period. So yes, it’s the trenches, but the level of coaching, don’t take for granted the coaching staff, as well as the scouts, don’t take that for granted because those guys play an important role.”
Sanders and his team are set to open the 2022 college football season against Florida A&M on Sept. 4 at 2 p.m. CT.
Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.
