Jackson State football’s season and hopes at winning back-to-back SWAC championships could have ended last week.
Sophomore quarterback Shedeur Sanders exited the 27-13 victory over Alabama A&M after being sandwiched between two defenders late in the third quarter.
Sanders is set to return when the Tigers (10-0, 7-0 SWAC) conclude the regular season against Alcorn State (5-5, 4-3) at Mississippi Veterans Stadium on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+). However, it didn’t stop his father, coach Deion Sanders, from having a serious discussion about when to slide in the future to avoid nasty hits.
“It was one-sided,” Deion Sanders said Tuesday about the conversation. “That’s it. There was only one voice in the conversation.”
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Shedeur Sanders leads the SWAC with a 70.7 completion percentage, 2,862 yards and 31 TDs. He also has five rushing TDs. Last year’s Jerry Rice Award winner is one TD pass away from setting the program’s single-season record. Robert Kent set the record in 2001 and 2002 with 31 TD passes and he also holds career records for total offense, passes completed, passing yards and touchdown passes.
Shedeur Sanders was named a Conerly Trophy finalist on Monday, an award given to the most outstanding college football player in the state of Mississippi, selected by each college and university with a football program. Shedeur Sanders was nominated last season and Deion Sanders wants to see a different outcome.
“We want to win,” Deion Sanders said Tuesday. “We don’t want to (just) be nominated. I think we were there last year. Dressed up for nothing. We want to win. We’re winners. We don’t want to dress up, put on a suit to go there and watch somebody else get a trophy.”
Linebacker Aubrey Hill invited to Senior Bowl
Linebacker Aubrey Miller Jr. was named SWAC Defensive Player of the Week after recording a season-high 17 tackles against Alabama A&M. The Missouri transfer also received an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl from Jackson State standout and Pro Football Hall of Famer Robert Brazile.
“He’s always been like an uncle to me,” Miller said. “He’s always been my support. He always tell me what I need to do in the game, basically been a great mentor to me. It meant a lot for him to do that.”
Miller has 71 tackles, 4.5 for loss, three forced fumbles and a sack in 10 games. The senior hopes to continue the pipeline of players under Deion Sanders to be selected in the NFL Draft. James Houston was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions and the first selected since 2013.
It’s about building that legacy for the younger players, according to Miller.
“It’s a huge step because of the guys that’s under me,” Miller said. “I want everybody to know that.
“You gotta walk by faith and not by sight. Even when things are not seeing well, you think that you took a step down, even when you think you took a step back, there’s always a different outcome behind that one door that you thought was locked. That’s one of the biggest things. Just trying to realize that the situation is not going to always be bad.”
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Jackson State football coach Deion Sanders wants Shedeur to slide