Deion Sanders Jr. reflects on ‘magical’ Jackson State days

In a recent interview, Deion Sanders Jr. reflected on his father’s 2 1/2 years at Jackson State University. Sanders recently sat down with Mr_Organik and broached several topics across the interview, including his family’s tenure at the Mississippi-based HBCU.

“Oh, them Jackson State days was…Bro, that was magical, dog…It’s definitely surreal, and I miss them days, dog. Those, those days were special, for sure.”

Sanders spoke highly of Jackson State’s academic and athletic reputation.

“Football-wise, and even school-wise, they have a very rich tradition. Yeah. So that Jackson State, that Jackson State sh*t is really in their blood. Yeah. Like, it’s… And that’s how it’s supposed to be.  Like, that’s how people rep the Ohio States, the this or that, and Jackson State is up there with them. Jackson State’s a big dog. They- Right…it’s a legendary school. You got some of the greatest NFL players ever came through Jackson State. So…But it was just…it was surreal.”

He then spoke about how Shedeur Sanders grew thanks to the level of play in HBCU football and the players’ mentality.

“It was needed for us to go there. It was needed for Shedeur to go there as part of his journey, ’cause those kids was dogs. As you could see, the kids that we brought to Colorado from Jackson State, they were the best. You know, some of them were All-Conference.  So it’s like, them schools got people- that could do it now…Better than a lot of these schools. They just were overlooked. But it, it shaped the Shedeur’s mentality.”

He then went on to explain how Jackson State and the HBCU football shaped Shedeur Sanders’ mindset, including specific moments from his tenure as starting quarterback at Colorado.

When we play Arizona State and they see Shedeur grab somebody mouthpiece and throw it in the stand, or they just see the dog that Shedeur is… it’s like, don’t get me wrong, his life shaped that, but Jackson State shaped that too. And all them HBCUs, the swag, playing those type of kids where they getting in your face and it’s some real gritty going on. You really gotta become like, ‘Bro, you got me **** up.’ You know, you gotta really become a dog. Like, that was Shedeur mentality. Like, when Travis got hit on the sideline and nobody else stood up for him when we played Colorado State. But Shedeur run all the way down the field and push bro and get in his face. hat’s that Jackson State . Like..that grow you. That mature you and it teaches you how to be a man.

In two and a half seasons, Deion Sanders revitalized Jackson State Tigers football and restored the program to championship form. Under his leadership, the Tigers captured consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in 2021 and 2022 while compiling a 27–6 overall record. Sanders’ tenure also placed Jackson State on college football’s biggest HBCU stage, as the Tigers earned back-to-back appearances in the Cricket Celebration Bowl. Shedeur Sanders was a pivitol part of Jackson State’s success in that tenure.

Sanders put together a remarkable two-year run at Jackson State, establishing himself as one of the top quarterbacks in HBCU football. Across his time with the Tigers, Sanders completed 616 of 901 passes for 6,983 yards while throwing 70 touchdowns compared to just 14 interceptions.

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