By Jesse T. Jackson and Stephanie Martin, ChurchLeaders
Colorado Buffaloes head football coach Deion Sanders, or Coach Prime as he is also known, went viral recently after proclaiming the name of Jesus on social media.
“JESUS! I had to say that to make Demons tremble and haters agitated. JESUS IS MY LORD & SAVIOR so get use to me proclaiming his name daily. God bless u now please have a blessed day because I am,” Sanders posted last week.
The post received over 1.8 million views and 37,000 likes. It was re-shared more than 4,900 times.
Some of his followers made comments on Coach Prime’s statement saying, “Love to see it! Stay blessed! 🙏,” “And God is STILL undefeated!,” “Now and forever 🙏🏾,” and “Amen.”
Many thanked Sanders for speaking about his faith in Jesus. One follower wrote, “Thank you coach Prime. This open and passionate faithfulness can impact a whole country. The spotlight is on you and you are turning it to your faith.”
Coach Prime ‘Really, Really Genuinely Cares About People,’ Says Tim Tebow
Last Thursday (September 21), ESPN college football analyst and Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow, validated his friend’s character during an interview with Fox News, where he shared how Sanders genuinely loves and cares about people.
“I’ve been friends with (Deion) for quite a while now since, honestly, the end of college or early time in the NFL. He was just so encouraging, so supportive, so kind. Always gave me words of encouragement or words of wisdom,” Tebow said. “And, honestly, he would go out of his way to do it in a very nice way. Not just like when cameras are there doing it but behind the scenes.”
The Florida Gators football standout told the story of how he and Sanders did an event last year where Tebow witnessed how Coach Prime loves and genuinely cares about people.
Sanders, the 1990s sports icon known as “Prime Time,” sounds like a preacher while rallying his players. But when it’s time for the coach to be spiritually nurtured, he turns to Dr. E. Dewey Smith, pastor of House of Hope Atlanta. Smith stepped into that role after Sanders’ former spiritual adviser, Bishop Omar Jahwar, died of complications from COVID-19 in March 2021.
“He wants somebody to sharpen him the way he’s been sharpened athletically, with coaches and trainers,” Smith said of Sanders. “He desires the same thing even more spiritually.”
Pastor Says God Called Deion Sanders To ‘Rebuild’ and ‘Fortify’
Smith, who’s been in ministry for 33 years, flew to a Mississippi hospital in fall 2021 when Sanders had surgery for blood clots and almost lost his leg.
“His life was on the line,” said Smith. “Fast-forward two years, and here he is now, following his dreams…It warms my heart, man, showing how good God is.” Sanders has had additional surgeries for blood clots, and amputation is still a possibility.
Speaking to an Atlanta TV station, Smith said he told Sanders a couple of years ago, “God is raising you, I believe, to be a Nehemiah. God is calling you to places that seemingly are in ruins to rebuild the city, fortify areas that have been torn down.” At his introductory press conference at CU, Sanders echoed that idea, saying, “When God sends me to a place, he sends me to a place to be a conduit of change.”
Coach Prime has overhauled CU’s football program, bringing in big-name players and attracting recruits. The Buffs are now ranked 18th in the nation.
Sanders received some flak for leaving Jackson State, a historically Black university, to head to the mostly white, wealthy community of Boulder. But he said, “God always calls me to the need. God always calls me somewhere to satisfy needs.”
The next challenge for Sanders, according to Smith, is to be the first Black head coach of a Power 5 team to win a national championship.
“People have always loved and respected him for years athletically, and he has a magnetic personality,” the pastor said of Sanders. “He literally believes that all things are possible.” That’s why Smith said he knows “without a shadow of a doubt” that Sanders will “be successful wherever he goes.”
First published on September 22 (top half) and on 14 (bottom half)
