With Deion Sanders taking the job at Colorado, many believed someone else should coach Jackson State in the Celebration Bowl. Sanders isn’t having any of it, and he let it be known that he will finish his breakfast with JSU before heading to Boulder, Colorado.
During his final weekly sit-down with JSU in-house reporter Rob Jay, Sanders addressed whether would coach JSU’s final game on Dec. 17 against North Carolina Central in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Yes, I will,” Sanders insisted. “And I’m happy. I would have it no other way. I wouldn’t allow anyone to tell me I couldn’t finish with my team. We’ve got to finish.”
Deion Sanders Will Coach Celebration Bowl
Sanders was candid as to his plans for his final week as the head coach of the Tigers. And he seemed upbeat about the whole situation.
Coach Prime will be looking to complete a perfect 13-0 season before he heads to lead the Colorado Buffaloes of the Pac-12. The Buffaloes are a sputtering Power Five program seeking a return to relevance.
Since announcing his intentions to leave JSU after the Celebration Bowl, Sanders has been seen in both Boulder and Jackson. From the looks of it, he’s currently handling two programs, or is he? Most of the videos we’ve seen have shown Coach Prime in Boulder prepping to lead the Buffaloes. He even skipped Thursday’s Celebration Bowl presser, where running backs coach Gary Harrell acted in his place, as he did last season while Coach Prime battled foot and ankle complications.
Deion Sanders on HBCU Game Day said after Jackson State is dominant in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17, “I’m going to get back on a plane and go and have the biggest recruiting weekend they’ve ever had in the history of Colorado. That’s how it’s gonna go down.” #cubuffs
— Brian Howell (@BrianHowell33) December 8, 2022
During the presser, Harrell reiterated that Deion is involved in the entire process of preparing JSU for Saturday’s big game.
“He’s there. He’s there every day. He went today,” Harrell told reporters. “All this week he’s at practice. That’s why I’m here to fill in. It’s very important for him to finish this to the very end. Last year really bothered him as far as not completing the Celebration Bowl. So this is really important to him. He’s going to put his all into it.”
Jackson State Lost Celebration Bowl In 2021
Last year’s 31-10 loss to the South Carolina State Bulldogs still stings. In retrospect, the Tigers looked overconfident and unprepared, and that led to them being dominated by the MEAC champions.
Deion won’t be the only coach wearing the JSU colors for the final time. The aforementioned Harrell is heading to Colorado with him. As is defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman, linebackers coach Andre Hart, cornerbacks coach Kevin Mathis and tight ends coach Tim Brewster.
Deion Sanders tells his team that he’s leaving for Colorado but mentions that he has a job to finish there. He tells team he’ll coach in the Celebration Bowl (December 17).#CoachPrime #cubuffs #9sports pic.twitter.com/9eij7tw5RU
— Arielle Orsuto (@ArielleOrsuto) December 4, 2022
So, while Saturday will be bittersweet, winning a de facto Black college football national championship on the way out could soften the blow for the coaches, players and fans. Then it’ll be up to the administration to find someone to replace Sanders, which could be much harder than it was before he arrived in 2020.
