Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders is ready to get back into football again and move past the health scare that he dealt with this offseason.
In recent weeks, ‘Coach Prime’ revealed to the world that he had dealt with bladder cancer which he received treatment for.
Doctors revealed at a press conference that he is now ‘cancer free’ and the coach is not focusing back on the sport he loves once again.
‘I’m healthy, I’m vibrant,’ he told reporters on Friday at the school’s media day. ‘I’m my old self.’
With only a few weeks remaining until the season opener against Georgia Tech, Sanders has a lot of catching up to do.
That includes determining a starting quarterback amid a battle between Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter and incoming freshman star Julian ‘JuJu’ Lewis.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders says he feels like his ‘old self’ after a major health scare
Sanders revealed last month that he underwent successful treatment for bladder cancer
Now, Sanders is ready to get back to work to prepare for the quickly arriving college season
Whoever earns the job will be taking over for Deion’s son, Shedeur Sanders. It’s the first time in a long time that ‘Coach Prime’ will be without his son at quarterback.
Shedeur is now a member of the Cleveland Browns and made his NFL debut in a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers.
On Friday night, he passed for two touchdowns and guided Cleveland to a 30-10 victory.
But as for this upcoming season, ‘Coach Prime’ is expecting change for the Buffaloes.
‘We’re going to win differently, but we’re going to win,’ said Sanders, whose team went 9-4 last season and earned a spot in the Alamo Bowl.
‘I don’t know if it’s going to be the Hail Marys at the end of the game, but it’s going to be hell during the game. Because we want to be visible.
‘We want to run the heck out of the football. So it’s going to be a little different, but it’s going to be fun.’
For Sanders, there’s no particular time crunch to pick a QB. He’s content evaluating one practice at a time as longtime NFL quarterback Byron Leftwich works with them.
This year will be the first in a long time that Deion isn’t coaching his son, Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur is now with the Cleveland Browns, who he led to victory in his preseason debut
‘Cream of the crop will rise,’ said Sanders, who signed a high school student with leukemia as an honorary member of the team Friday.
‘It’s not urgency that we’ve got to name this or name that. Both these guys can play. I think we can play well with either one of them.’
As for his health, Sanders said he’s walking at least a mile around campus every day after practice. Sanders, who turns 58 on Saturday, was away from the team over the summer for personal reasons.
Last month, he disclosed he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer. But after surgery his oncologist considered him cured.
‘I’m loving life right now,’ said Sanders, who’s drawn headlines for his health in the past, but with the focus largely on two toes he’s had amputated and concerns over blood clots. ‘I’m trying my best to live it to the fullest, considering what transpired.’
His coach’s determination inspired left tackle Jordan Seaton.
‘It’s like, ‘OK, my health, I can possibly die from this but I’m going to fight this to get back to you all,’ Seaton said. ‘He’s the most selfless person I know. So for me, it’s just take it and do what I can on the field and pay it forward.’
One thing Sanders has learned heading into his third year with the Buffaloes is to trust his instincts.
Sanders, 58, spent most of the summer away from the team as he battled cancer
‘Year one, I would be on the sideline and I would feel something, and I didn’t go with my instincts,’ Sanders said.
‘Year two, I went with my instincts, and now I’m going to even go more with with my instincts.
‘But I feel like our staff gets better and better and better every year. I feel like the roster gets better and better and better every year.’
