“Prime Time” Deion Sanders is without question one of the greatest all-around players in NFL history. And if you don’t believe it, you can usually just ask him.
Deion Sanders will appear on almost any list of the all-time greatest cornerbacks, returners, speedsters, characters and all-around great players. Between 1989 and 2005 with the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens, Sanders made six First-Team All-Pro selections, eight Pro Bowls, won two Super Bowls and was the 1994 Defensive Player of the Year. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
In recent years, Sanders has tried his hand at coaching the Jackson State Tigers. He quickly proved to be more than up to the task, leading them to a conference title and 11-2 season this past year. Sanders has proven to be an elite recruiter too, recently bringing 2022’s top prospect, Travis Hunter, into the fold.
We caught up with Coach Prime ahead of the Super Bowl to discuss his upcoming Pepsi Trash Talk campaign with fellow Hall of Famer, Michael Irvin, as well as his thoughts on the Pro Bowl, his own NFL career and his future at Jackson State.
This interview with Coach Deion Sanders is made possible by Pepsi.
TheSpun: You’ve teamed with Pepsi and the “Playmaker” Michael Irvin as part of their Trash Talk campaign, helping to educate consumers on how best to recycle plastics. What made you want to get on board with this project now?
Deion Sanders: I’ve actually been with Pepsi for a couple decades now. I love the company, the brand. You’re pairing me up with Irvin, who I’ve known since college. We clown so much and now we’re doing Trash Talk – you’re excited, you’re elated. You’re going to talk trash with your former homie in Michael and I’m elated. Me and Mike, we had a wonderful time – we just rehashed some old stories and it was phenomenal.
The Spun: What do you, Michael and Pepsi have planned for the Super Bowl?
DS: This campaign is airing on Pepsi.com where you can see the campaign – the Recycling Challenge. It’s so much fun, it really is. I’m sitting here thinking about some of the things we did – some of the content, some of the dialogue and the messaging was phenomenal. Just to stand around and look each other in the eyes and try to keep from laughing at your boy, it’s tremendous. We’re elated, we’re excited.
(Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for Pepsi)
The Spun: Let’s talk about you and Michael for just a quick second: You’re known as “Prime Time.” Michael Irvin is known as “Playmaker.” Did the two of you ever fight over who had the better nickname?
DS: No, we don’t fight. Fortunately, our nicknames derive from college (mine is from high school). I don’t remember how Michael obtained the moniker “Playmaker,” but he’s definitely one of the best receivers I’ve played and one of the best friends I’ve had for a multitude of years. So I’m excited that we’re working together. We work together all the time, but to get us on camera together for a wonderful cause? It’s phenomenal.
The Spun: Who would you say is the best cornerback in NFL history not named Deion Sanders?
DS: I wouldn’t say that. That answer could provoke a lot of trouble for me. I’m very fond of my predecessors – I really am. I’m very fond of the Mel Blounts and guys like that who started this thing off, who made it possible for me. Very fond of those types of guys.
The Spun: Not a lot of players have made All-Pro at different positions like you did. Do you feel you’re the most versatile player in NFL history?
DS: That’s a loaded question… I would be remiss if I were to say I was the greatest to ever play the game. And when I touched (the ball) I was straight on electric – I gotta say that. I would be crazy if I wouldn’t. That wouldn’t be me. That wouldn’t be Prime, would it?
Credit: Al Bello/Allsport
The Spun: You and many others took some swings at the 2022 Pro Bowl for the lack of effort we saw. What do you think is keeping players from putting in a greater effort in the game?
DS: Other players are keeping players from putting in the real effort. It’s peer pressure. You can put on the peer pressure to shut it down or you can put on the peer pressure to go hard. I put pressure on my peers – I didn’t bow to peer pressure.
I put pressure on my peers to do what was right and I think any time you have the opportunity to play this game you should give it your all. I’ve wanted to give it my all on anything in life – that’s why I’m on this interview with you now. Because I didn’t do anything halfway. I tried to do it with all my heart and all my might and all my soul.
The Spun: You’ve quickly turned Jackson State into a nationally renown program. What would you say is most responsible for turning the program from winning 13 games in three years to going 11-2?
DS: The kids, man. It’s on the kids. Listening to the kids. Learning from the game. Learning from the kids as well. Not only do I love them, I listen to them and I learn from them. And then I’m able to lead in the right directions.
(Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Spun: What would you say your current goal with the program is?
DS: To win – and that word encompasses multiple things, it does not just encompass winning on the field. We’ve done that. We gotta win in regards to getting these guys into the NFL. We gotta win and get these guys into Fortune 500 companies and make sure they have a career after the game is past. 97-percent of my team will not go pro. Pretty much 90-percent of every team do not go pro.
My main focus is not just on those who have the ability to go pro, but on those who won’t go pro. We want to make them assets to our community and to society.
The Spun: Jackson State is your first coaching job at the college level or above. Do you think this will be the final stop on your coaching journey?
DS: I can’t predict tomorrow. I’m gonna dominate today and prepared myself for tomorrow. But I will not predict tomorrow, whatsoever, for me.
(Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
**
Deion Sanders has made a career – multiple careers, in fact – proving the doubters wrong. While Coach Prime might not know what tomorrow will bring, almost everyone who has seen what he’s done in Jackson State is predicting greater and greater heights for his coaching career.
Who knows? Maybe someday we’ll see Deion coaching his beloved Florida State Seminoles or even bringing his talents back to the NFL.
(Photo by Pepsi)
You can read more of our interviews with athletes or media stars here.
The post Q&A With Deion Sanders: Trash Talk With Pepsi, Michael Irvin, Coaching Jackson State appeared first on The Spun.