FRISCO, TX ā Colorado football coach Deion Sanders did things his own way at Big 12 Conference football media days here on Tuesday, July 7, just like he often does.
He skipped interviews with reporters that all other Big 12 coaches attended. He referred to his new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion as āBrendanā several times. He also made an unusual admission. He said he screwed up at quarterback last year after his quarterback son Shedeur left for the NFL.
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āI made a big mistake, man,ā Sanders told ESPN at the media days event. āYou got to understand it. Iāve coached my son my whole entire life. So everything was like, compared to that. Itās hard to get.ā
Sanders didnāt clarify what he meant by that exactly. He didnāt blame anybody else by name except himself. But other hints have come through about it since earlier this year, including when he told a class of students at Colorado in April that he learned the hard way just āhow valuable that position really is.ā
“That’s why they make the most money in the NFL and college NILs as well,ā Deion Sanders said then. āBut I never had that thought process until a season ago.”
Leadership issue last year with Deion Sanders’ team
Sanders gets it now. Colorado finished 3-9 last year after starting three different quarterbacks ā Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter, who started nine games, plus touted freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis and previous backup quarterback Ryan Staub.
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Of that group, only Lewis remains and now looks to be the man in charge after starting two games last season at age 18. To help turn his team around, he and others aim to provide something that was missing last year.
MUST READ: Deion Sanders has Big 12 media days message: ‘I got that swagger back’
āThe thing with last year was we just didnāt have the players that wanted to lead and were willing,ā safety Ben Finneseth said.
Finneseth includes himself in that group and thinks thatās changed.
āThe guys that stayed from this past season, it pissed us off the fact there was no leadership,ā Finneseth said. āAnd we were like, this is not gonna happen again.ā
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Motivational ploy for Colorado QB Julian Lewis?
Another clue came in February when Colorado players held a ādraftā to select two intrasquad teams to compete against each other in practices and workouts.
The first player selected wasnāt Lewis, the top returning quarterback.
It was true freshman quarterback Kaneal Sweetwyne, who hasnāt played a snap yet for the Buffaloes.
Was this a ploy to motivate Lewis as a leader? Finneseth said at the time that the slight was āgonna piss him off.ā
Asked about it Tuesday by USA TODAY Sports, Lewis didnāt want to talk about it.
āNext question,ā he said. āā¦Thatās just what they did. I didnāt pick.ā
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Sanders expresses need for patience with freshman QB
Besides Sweetwyne, Utah transfer Isaac Wilson could push Lewis, too.
Sanders said Lewis has made “tremendous strides” and wants him to “just take control.” But he also expressed the need for patience with Lewis, given his age. He has four years of eligibility remaining.
āLet him come in, let him grow into that and just let him play the game andā¦ allow Brendan (sic) (Marion) to do what he does,ā Sanders said. āAnd (Marion) can put that sauce on it because heās really good at that. But allow JuJu to grow into that role and donāt have that expectation that he has to be right here and right now. Just do your job.ā
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Sanders starts his fourth season at Colorado onĀ Sept. 3 at Georgia Tech.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado coach Deion Sanders owns up to ‘big mistake’ last year
