Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders spoke for nearly an hour on Wednesday at a virtual pep rally, hosted by BLK and Bold Co-Founders Pernell Cezar and Rod Johnson, discussing various topics.
One that got Coach Prime talking was the topic of leadership.
Sanders, perhaps predictably as the proudest parent of any pro athlete we’ve ever seen, revealed he saw that quality in all three of his sons, Shedeur, Shilo, and Deion Jr., aka Bucky.
“I saw leadership ability in my kids. Let's start with (Deion Jr.). First, wasn't the biggest, one of all other things, Junior's 5-foot-8, five-foot-9, five-foot-seven, something like that. But he's always been a guy with the ability to lead, to influence, to encourage, to elevate people to the next level, because he had tremendous vision. He has tremendous vision, and he could see,” Deion said of his oldest son.
“And Shilo, Shedeur, has done the same thing. I mean, Shilo has always been like a physical leader. Through his physicality, through his toughness, through his mannerisms, through his candor. He's always been able to lead.
“And Shedeur. I nicknamed him 'Grown,' when I think he was four or five years old. That means he's always had the presence of a grown man. So he's always, I don't even remember a time he wasn't a leader.”
Coach Prime referenced his Buffs’ “leaders” and “dawgs” in the locker room. Deion explained why Colorado doesn’t have “captains,” and explained the role a “leader” and “dog” have to play.
“See, what we have, we don't have captains. I don't believe in that. I believe captains to be militaristic, or policemen, or something that we really, they really are captain … I believe captains are that. I have leaders and I have dogs,” Sanders said.
“Okay. Every dog ain't a leader and every leader ain't a dog. So leaders are that. I don't think you could pull, you could teach some attributes of that, but you got to be that.. Either you lead or you ain't, you know, you ain't. It ain't no, let me teach you how to be a leader. No, dog, that's in you. That's something innately inside of you that provokes you to just when all hell breaks loose, you know what to do.
“You know that person is going to take over, and they’re gonna make sure we straight. That's the leader. He won't talk. That's just who he is. He was taught, maybe, how to articulate certain things. But that's just, that's just who he is. And we have leaders and we have dogs, and I choose those carefully. I just want the dog to be the dog.. The leader to be the leader. Everyone has a role on the team. Everybody got a role. Play your role.”
Shilo has carved out his niche in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ secondary. Shedeur is proving undeniable in the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition. Bucky has been running social media for his father’s “Prime Time” program in Boulder.
There’s tangible leadership from all three of Deion’s sons.
After a 9-3 2024 season and multiple double-digit win seasons back during his Jackson State Tigers tenure, there’s no denying Coach Prime is an expert on the subject.