Deion “Prime Time” Sanders, former pro football star-turned-college football coach, praised God at his first press conference as the new head coach for the Colorado Buffalos. Sanders had previously coached at Jackson State, where he coached for two winning seasons of 11-2 and 12-0. “Don’t you ever tell me what God aint’,” he said at the conference. “Don’t you ever tell me His limits. Don’t you ever tell me what you’re up against and what you can’t do.” He went on to acknowledge God’s impact in his life, saying, “Out of all the persons in the world, God chose me? For that, I thank you. For that, I love Him. For that, I magnify Him. For that, I glorify Him. For that, I praise Him. For that, I owe Him. Each and every day, I’m trying to please Him.”

Sanders grew up in a Christian home, yet in 1997 he tried to end it all by driving off a cliff. “I was going through the trials and tribulations of life. I was pretty much running on fumes. I was empty, no peace, no joy. Losing hope with the progression of everything,” he recalled, writing about the situation in his autobiography Power, Money & Success: How Success Almost Ruined My Life. Sanders’s personal life was in turmoil with a pending divorce. However, despite falling nearly 30 or 40 feet, he escaped the incident without significant injury. The event brought him to Christ. “I finally just got on my knees and gave it all to the Lord,” he said. His career landed him not only in the NFL but also in the MLB as well, and he is the only player in history to play in both the World Series and Super Bowl. 

He faced more adversity during his stint as a coach at Jackson. In September 2021, he had surgery on his foot. The next month, he was hospitalized for complications and nearly lost his life. Speaking on the YouTube channel “The Pregame Show,” Sanders continued to praise God. “I can’t walk on my own, and people have to help me get in and out of everything, and I say, ‘Lord, I thank you. You say, ‘Prime, how can you say Lord, I thank you, and it’s hard for you to help yourself?’ Because I’m alive,” he said. He also acknowledged God’s plan in all his hardships, saying, “It’s going to be a beautiful thing when you see the story when you see the glory, it’s going to be a beautiful thing when you see how all this plays out.”

Sanders’s spirit and enthusiasm are already shaking up the college football scene. Star prospect Dylan Edwards has pulled out of a commitment to Notre Dame in order to follow Sanders to Colorado. He stated he would not be the only one, saying, “I know a lot of guys are about to come here. I know a lot of guys that are about to flip their commitments. They are all big Power 5 guys with a lot of offers, guys that are four- and five-stars. Nobody is safe in this situation recruiting-wise. Coach Deion’s plan here is worth coming to look at, and recruits are going to want to do that.” Sanders will finish out the year with Jackson State at their final game of the season at the Celebration Bowl.