Deion Sanders: More Focused on Awards Than Building a Winning Program

By Jay Berry

Deion's comments this week are just more proof that he's building a mediocre, self-centered program.

Late in the game against North Dakota State, instead of running down the clock, Colorado chose to throw the ball, seemingly trying to pad Shedeur Sanders ' stats.

This week, Deion remarked that Shedeur didn't win any Week 1 awards despite his passing yards. He also mentioned that Travis Hunter was overlooked.

Joking on his Thursday show, Deion said Travis, Shedeur, and Hunter didn’t get recognition because he’s their coach.

"You've got a guy who threw for the most yards in college football, you've got a guy who's proved he's the most spectacular player in college football," Sanders said. "Shouldn't those two be talked about all week about the two leading Heisman guys or the weekly award that was given out should have gone to those two guys? But it's almost like, 'No, we can't do that, their coach is Deion Sanders, we're not going to do that. We're not going to let him get away with that.'"

Instead of focusing on how they struggled against FCS North Dakota State, Deion is talking about things that don’t matter if the goal is to win a championship.

If they were focused on winning and building a championship culture, Nebraska would be their only priority this week.

This isn’t new, of course, but it is laughable. For a team that talks so much trash and thrives on flash, they can’t handle it when they don’t get the recognition they want or when reporters ask tough questions.

Once again, Colorado is proving to be a ME! ME! ME! program.

Heading into a Week 2 matchup against a much- improved Nebraska team , Sanders is focused on awards and appearances.

To build a winning culture, they need more than hype, clicks, and social media stunts. They act like a four-win team full of selfish players.

Nebraska is a 6-point favorite, and it would be great for the Husker fanbase and college football if Nebraska’s defense shuts down the overhyped Colorado offense, and the Nebraska offense dominates the FCS-caliber Buffaloes defense.

Unfortunately for the Colorado football program, there might not be enough humble pie to quiet down the Sanders crew in Boulder.

If they end up with another four-win season this year, they'll just talk about the haters. If they somehow manage, with that mediocre defense, to silence the critics, they’ll be even louder.

But what happens if the program doesn’t improve this year on the field? What does it look like next year when Sanders and Hunter are gone?

Given the direction the program is heading, Deion's tenure at the University of Colorado might be short-lived.

Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska will be fired up Saturday night!