Coach ‘Prime’ aims for perfect finish

ATLANTA >> It goes without saying that Deion Sanders is eager to win his last game with Jackson State.

The Tigers (12-0) aim to beat North Carolina Central (9-2) in the Celebration Bowl on Saturday and cap an unbeaten season. Sanders will then turn his focus to Colorado, the next stop on his coaching journey, where he will hit the recruiting trail as soon as time allows.

The 55-year-old Sanders will take charge of a program that’s had just one winning season since 2005 and last signed a four-star prospect in 2020. The Pac12 Buffaloes went 1-11 this year, and most of the games weren’t close with 10 losses coming by at least 23 points.

But at least for the next 24 hours, Sanders’ focus is solely on Jackson State, a program that coach “Prime,” as he likes to be called, built into a powerhouse among historically Black colleges and universities. The Tigers went 27-5 under his watch and Sanders was twice named the Southwest Athletic Conference coach of the year.

Sanders thanked the athletic directors at Colorado and Jackson State for allowing him to finish what he started.

“We always talk about finishing and then sometimes as adults we have the audacity to leave prematurely,” he said Friday. “I wanted to finish, and my kids wanted me to finish and yet some fools say he should go. Well, if I go, don’t you think my son going, too? You might want to consider that. Like I’m going to go and leave my son.”

Sanders has two sons that play for Jackson State, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback Shilo Sanders. They are a big part of a team that beat Southern 43-24 on Dec. 3 to win the SWAC for the second straight year.

Shedeur Sanders said the Tigers are eager to make up for last year’s embarrassment.