Dr. Jessica A. Johnson

As the college football season has come to an end this year, two stories have grabbed lots of headlines. First, the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams next season has drawn mixed emotions from fans across the country. An obvious benefit of expansion is that most likely all Power 5 conference champions will make the playoffs if they don't have two losses. The downside is that the regular season will lose some of its luster with the possibility of rivalry games not meaning as much to players, especially if they are projected first-round NFL picks.

The second big story that turned heads and shocked many who follow HBCU (historically Black colleges and universities) football is former Jackson State University coach Deion Sanders leaving the Tiger program he elevated in Mississippi to accept a reportedly $6 million annual deal to take the helm at the University of Colorado, currently a Pac-12 bottom feeder. Sanders, known as Coach Prime, the catchy moniker modified from his popular NFL nickname Prime Time, has been harshly criticized for leaving JSU since many viewed him as the savior of not just the Tigers but all of Black college football. Sanders coached at JSU, which is in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, for three seasons. He signed a four-year deal for a salary of $300,000, considerably less than the roughly $2 million top assistant coaches are getting paid at Power 5 schools; yet, he donated half of his pay toward JSU's football facility upgrades. For Sanders' game against Southern University on Oct. 29, ESPN's College Gameday crew rolled up into Jackson, which brought even more attention to HBCU culture, his players and the extraordinary brand he was building. Now, many JSU alums are extremely disappointed with Sanders' departure after he pledged to "do what's right by (his) kids" and stated that God called him to the work he was doing in Mississippi's capital city.

When thinking about how state HBCUs like Jackson State have been severely underfunded for decades, Sanders did indeed seem like "the one" to push Black college football to new heights. Sanders was attracting four- and five-star recruits to JSU, players who had offers from Southern blue blood powerhouses such as Alabama, Georgia and Clemson. When Sanders flipped Travis Hunter, a five-star cornerback from his alma mater Florida State, this was the major boss move that showed Sanders could recruit with any FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) school in the nation. He hasn't been at Colorado for two weeks yet and he has already landed his first five-star player, wide receiver Winston Watkins out of IMG Academy in Fort Myers, Florida. Watkins heads Sanders' 2025 class and chose to take his talents to Boulder instead of Tuscaloosa with Alabama's Nick Saban. Watkins tweeted his excitement to join Colorado's Buffalo squad with the following hashtag: #WeComingCoachPrime. With more top talent sure to follow, Sanders will most likely have Colorado bowl eligible by his second season.

As an HBCU alumna, I understand the disappointment of JSU fans in losing Sanders. Sanders will face my alma mater, North Carolina Central University, in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17, which will determine the Black college national football champion. However, considering all that Sanders has done for Jackson State, I don't believe he was hoodwinking them. He did say that he would entertain other offers if they came his way. It's no surprise that a Power 5 school would come calling given what Sanders accomplished at JSU in such a short time. I also believe that Sanders was sincere in saying that God led him to Jackson. Mine isn't a popular take because many view Sanders as pretentious and self-centered, but one significant part of Sanders' life that isn't mentioned a lot is that he almost committed suicide in 1997. He was the star cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys at this time, but he was going through a divorce from his first wife. He miraculously survived after driving his car off a cliff. In a 2018 interview with Andscape's Kelley D. Evans, Sanders said that he "felt empty" with "no joy" (and) "no peace." It was at this point that he surrendered his life to Christ.

Sanders spoke openly of his faith with his JSU players, and I'm sure he instilled important life lessons in them that will take them far beyond football. I have no doubt that Sanders can be the same influential mentor and coach to Colorado players, both Black and White, that he was at JSU. I'll be rooting for him to succeed.

Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JjSmojc.

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