"Deion Sanders has always been larger than life": Adam Breneman speaks about how Coach Prime transformed college football

Deion Sanders transformed college football to a whole new level, providing new business opportunities and limelight to the teams he has coached. Former college football player Adam Breneman, who runs his own podcast, recapped the journey of the Hall of Famer from being the coach of an HBCU, Jackson State, to taking over the Colorado Buffaloes job.

Breneman mentioned that when Sanders arrived at Jackson State in 2020, nobody knew what kind of impact he would have. Jackson State didn't even have high school level facilities in some aspects, but Sanders’s arrival changed that.

He brought in sponsors like Pepsi and other corporate organisations to support the program. The stadium that used to be vacant during game days was filled with fans and supporters.

“Deion Sanders has always been larger than life, whether he was locking down receivers in the NFL, stealing bases in Major League Baseball, or dancing into the end zone with a slider no one else could match,” Breneman said on his show on Friday.

“He was never just another athlete," the analyst said. "He was a phenomenon. The man wasn't just playing the game. He has been redefining it his entire life. Now, he's doing the same thing from the sidelines. When Sanders took the head coaching job at Jackson State in 2020, plenty of people rolled their eyes."

“He didn't just take the job," Breneman added. "He flipped the script on college football. Jackson State, a historically black college or HBCU, wasn't exactly a powerhouse. When he arrived, they hadn't had a player drafted to the NFL in 12 years. The facilities were below high school standards in some areas."

The analyst then went on to explain how Sanders helped change the fortunes at Jackson State and even managed to sign a top recruit like Travis Hunter. Coach Prime also ensured that players from his program had more eyeballs on them, resulting in some getting drafted into the NFL.

Deion Sanders spearheaded a major revamp at Colorado

After a brief stint at Jackson State, Coach Prime jumped to Boulder to make an impact in a Power 5 conference. He was given a clean slate to take the direction he needed to transform the program, according to analyst Adam Breneman. In his first year, over 57 players were brought in, and almost half of the existing players in the program were shown the door.

His ideology was pretty straightforward, the analyst stated. Only those who were passionate about the game and wanted to win stayed at the university. With a 4-8 record in the first season and a 9-4 record in 2024, the Buffs have now become a new powerhouse in college football.

Players and athletes from all across the country are willing to join the program only for one prime attraction — Deion Sanders. The popularity is further expected to grow when the program potentially makes the college football playoff in the coming years.