Coach Prime not losing focus of SWAC Championship, despite job offer

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Coach Prime confirmed he’s been offered a head coaching position at the University of Colorado, but he’s not letting that fact distract him or his team from the upcoming SWAC Championship.

Jackson State University head coach Deion Sanders was speaking during the “Thee Pregame Show,” where he gave a preview of the upcoming championship matchup between the Tigers and the Southern University Jaguars.

Sanders, who has led JSU (11-0, 8-0) to back-to-back SWAC title games, has been mentioned as a top candidate for coaching jobs across the country, including at Colorado.

“The report is true. I’m not going to sit here and tell all my business, but they’re not the only ones. And I would be a liar if I told you they didn’t,” he said. “But that’s not my focus right now. My focus is to win and to be dominant and then to not even go onto the Celebration Bowl. My focus is right here, in this beloved stadium, to be dominant on Saturday.”

Sanders, a two-time Superbowl champion who spent 14 seasons in the National Football League, said he’s no stranger to the spotlight, so he’s not fazed by reports that he’s being considered for top FBS college positions.

“Being in the spotlight ain’t new to me,” he said. “I got to just turn that light and channel it into my kids, channel it into my coaching staff, channel it into the support staff... That’s what I’ve been doing ever since I touched foot on this campus and into HBCU football.”

On Saturday, JSU faces off against the Southern Jaguars, who come into the game with a 7-4 record and one of the top defenses in the conference. According to the SWAC website, Southern’s defense led the league with 43 quarterback sacks, two more than JSU, and 16 interceptions, 7 more than JSU.

“I’m just hearing the statistics on defense, with leading the nation in sacks and touchdowns... that is un-damn-believable, and the nation needs to about that because that is a feat in itself,” he told Thee Pregame Show. “And if shows you the consistency and the coaching talent and the players that they have.”

Southern, meanwhile, is going up against the top offense in the conference, which has scored 413 points in 11 games, as well as the top quarterback, Shedeur Sanders. So far this year, Sanders has passed for 3,063 yards and 32 touchdowns with just six interceptions, ESPN stats show.

“Shedeur is progressing. Each week, each game, he’s progressing,” Coach Prime said about his son. “I love what’s he’s putting on display and the best is yet to come.”

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