Deion Sanders aka Coach Prime’s transformation of the Colorado Buffalo’s football team with its opening day upset win over national champion runner up Texas Christian University (”TCU”) is the biggest story in college football. Colorado’s first home game against Nebraska this weekend will attract a massive TV audience to see if Coach Prime and his team can continue their miraculous ways.
FT. WORTH, TX – SEPTEMBER 02: Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders leaves the field after … [+]
The simple story is that Coach Prime came to Colorado to turn around a dismal program that had only 1 win against 11 losses last season. In order to do that he brought in via high school or the transfer portal 68 new players, the most in college football history.
Coach Prime said the team would win now. He said the time was now and his mission was to go from the worst team in college football to national champions. Coach Prime’s favorite word is “believe” and he instilled a belief in each of his players that they could win now against any team in college football.
Everyone thought he was entertaining but more amusing than to be taken seriously. Everyone thought it would take time for all these new players to adjust. Everyone thought the progress would be slow particularly at the beginning of the season. Everyone said it would be a win for Coach Prime and his program if he didn’t get blown out by TCU, if they just kept the game close.
What happened is nothing short of amazing. Colorado beat TCU and the Colorado quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, Coach Prime’s son, set a school record throwing for a 510 yards in the win with an 81% completion average. In the post game press conference Coach Prime scolded the press as “non believers” and continued his bold predictions about the future of Colorado football. College football may never be the same.
Coach Prime is quickly becoming a cultural icon of such epic proportion. There is a documentary being filmed of his transformation of the Colorado program which could have simply culminated in the TCU upset. But not so fast, as Coach Prime tells us the journey has just begun. And there is no shortage of Coach Prime “sermons” on social media, whether to his players, the media or whoever will listen. He is an inspirational speaker on the fly who delivers his message to anyone that will listen— and it is all being recorded for posterity.
FT. WORTH, TX – SEPTEMBER 02: Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2), right, celebrates … [+]
The last sports and cultural icon that captured our imagination with such a commanding and charismatic presence was Mohamed Ali, with his brash and boastful predictions delivered in an entertaining and lovable way. We were often pleasantly surprised and delighted that he was often able to make good on his prognostications. Looking back on some of the interviews of Ali in his prime, they are a master class on how an athlete should communicate effectively and handle the media.
Coach Prime works tirelessly to instill belief in his players and exerts nearly as much energy in coaching as they do on the field. He seems sincerely concerned about delivering on his promise to transform boys to men in the time he coaches them at Colorado University.
The world will be watching when Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffalo’s face off against Nebraska in their first home game tomorrow. Anyone tuning in can expect the atmosphere to be electric and if Coach Prime is proven right again his legacy will continue to grow it will be another defining moment in the legend of Coach Prime. Get ready to for the next chapter of the greatest story in college football this year.