(NEW YORK) — “Coach Prime” Deion Sanders has led the Colorado Buffaloes to a winning start this season — ranked 19th in the nation — and with it comes a new level of excitement for college football fans.
The head coach for the University of Colorado Boulder joined ABC News’ Good Morning America on Wednesday and credited God, first and foremost, who he said is “at the helm of this thing.”
“We’re just enjoying life. We’re getting smart, tough, fast, disciplined like-minded young men, like-minded coaches who love kids and who enjoy the company of kids, and we’ve created something that is hard to identify and it’s hard to really articulate,” Sanders said. “It’s a beautiful thing from our alumni, from the student body and everyone. It’s just pandemonium and we love it.”
Sanders has made his new home turf a family affair, coaching two of his sons, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, 21, and defensive back Shilo Sanders, 23.
“His nickname is ‘Grown’ because he’s been grown ever since he was a young man — he’s always been mature,” Sanders said of Shedeur.
He added, “We differ so much, but he really thinks he’s me right now and that’s the problem.”
“Coach Prime” said that being surrounded by his family, and team that feels like family, there is “no way that I can even have a remotely bad day.”
“I’m here with 120 athletes that I love them to life, I treat them like they’re my sons,” he said. “But I am here with my sons, three of my sons, two play on the team, one runs social media, and my daughter plays for the CU [women’s] basketball team. I am loving life and I love the life I live.”
Even Sanders’ mother Connie Knight has gotten involved with the fanfare, addressing comments from Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell to fire up the team last game day.
“There was controversy last week because a gentleman we coached against said his mother didn’t raise him a certain way — not to wear a hat and shades in an interview,” Sanders — who has worn both during interviews — recalled. “That was insinuating that my mother raised me the wrong way. And that rubbed my mother wrong. She wanted to have her say. She said, ‘I raised him the right way and also I raised you to be true to who you are. Also, I raised you, if somebody bothers you, to kick some you-know-what.”
Sanders and the Buffs have garnered a serious fandom and spurred on Colorado pride early this season, even attracting A-listers like Lil Wayne and The Rock to the sidelines to catch a CU game in person.
For the NFL veteran and eight-time Pro Bowler, Sanders said the biggest challenge of having a dream season is “consistency.”
“Everyone’s not used to success — some of the coaches have been coaching with me for 20 years, so we understand this. We understand this and we expect this,” he said. “So, getting everybody on the right page to understand that this is real, this is authentic, and when you work your butt off, you study and you prepare, these are the results that you can have.”
He added, “We want everybody in the country to start believing in themselves.”
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