Deion Sanders made it clear this wasn’t about the opponent or even about Colorado.
The conversation turned deeper during his press conference. Sanders talked about legacy, opportunity, and what it means for two of his mentees to follow the same path he once took.
“It’s very significant to me, first and foremost. These are like two of my little brothers, which I adore. You might not know, you might not feel it, but the ethnicity of it all — to have two young brothers that had tremendous careers in professional football come down and humble themselves and and coach at HBCUs. It has been truly impactful.”
The names were DeSean Jackson and Michael Vick. Both former NFL stars now lead programs of their own.
Sanders smiled as he talked about them. He drifted between humor and pride.
“DeSean just texted me last week about fishing because he beat me last time on my lake and I wasn’t happy about it. He saw me fishing and wondered why he didn’t get the invite. I told him he was busy winning games.”
Then his voice turned firm.
“I love it because they’re paving the way and opening the doors for so many other athletes that desire. You have no idea how many phone calls I get with former NFL players that wanna coach. Unfortunately, it’s like a system that has been implemented, and they didn’t tell nobody that we had to start here, start here, and start here until we make it there — withholding our accomplishments and our tenure in the NFL.”
He paused, leaning into the message.
“I would love someone to do a study of how many NFL years of playing count as coaching. If I played five years in the NFL, what is that equivalent to? Because I know when I played the game, I was impactful in helping come up with some of the defenses that we came up with. And you know, Mike Vick played quarterback and DeSean was one of the best ever at taking a roof off defenses. To catch that many balls and do the things that he accomplished, you’ve got to know the game.”
The pride in his voice never wavered.
“I’m so happy just with who they are…and what they presented to college football, man. They’re both successful in so many ways that you wouldn’t even fathom.”
That message now takes on an even larger stage. Michael Vick’s Norfolk State Spartans will face DeSean Jackson’s Delaware State Hornets this week at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
It’s a prime-time nationally televised HBCU showdown between two men Sanders called “brothers” and trailblazers.
