LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
Everything was going swimmingly for new Jackson State head football coach Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders in his debut game Sunday afternoon vs. Edward Waters.
His JSU Blue Tigers, clad in special “Tiger Red” uniforms, had no problem dominating and shutting out the NAIA EWC Tigers, 53-0 at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium for his first win as a college coach.
The victory came complete with a Gatorade shower for the winning coach and an emotional Sanders huddling with his team as the school’s anthem was played after the game. Even former teammates Troy Aikman and Nate Newton were on hand for support.
Then, let’s just say, things went in another direction.
Postgame Press Conferences
After hearing first from star linebacker and preseason SWAC Player of the Year Keonte Hampton (5 tackles, 3 assists) and wide receiver Daylen Baldwin (6 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD), who sang their new coach’s praises in a postgame press conference, the assembled press was waiting for Sanders’ entrance. He came in in true “Prime Time” fashion.
“Y’all in for the best press conference ever,” he said as he entered the room.
Little did we know.
“Credit cards, wallets, watches. Thank God I had on my necklaces.
How!” he said emphatically as he scanned the room, pausing for effect.
“So when I talk about quality, raising the standards, that goes for everyone, not just the people on the field, not just the coaches, not just the teachers, not just the faculty, but that’s everybody, security and everybody.
“So how do you think it feels to be coming back, teary-eyed because the guys presented me with the game ball – one of the best moments I’ve every had in professional sports career emotionally – and then you go into your locker room, the coach’s office to digress, and you notice you don’t even have a phone to call your Moma, to call your girl, to call your kids, because it’s been stolen.”
“We’re going to find out who did it,” he said forcefully. He then said, “let’s flush that,” as he hit the table and moved on to talk about the game.
But while he went on to talk about how his team performed, the plot thickened. Around 30 to 40 minutes after Sanders’ press conference ended, word came from the school that the belongings had been recovered. They were “misplaced” and later located by an official with the school.
As the news hit Twitter and other media and social media outlets, Sanders likewise responded on Twitter.
“Whoever putting out the lie that my belongings wasn’t stolen is LYING. My belongings were taken out of a zipped bag in my office and more items were taken as well from my office. We have retrieved them since being reported. My Staff member witnessed the crime. #Truth.
So at this point, the school was saying “misplaced” while its head coach was saying “stolen.” That’s a problem.
While much of the sports world had already been focused on the NFL Hall of Famer’s coaching debut, in the few hours that followed news spread of the alleged theft like a wild fire. Those developments prompted JSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Ashley Robinson to issue a statement Sunday evening that reads in part:
“Immediately following our win today, several items belonging to Coach Prime were taken from the locker room. Those items were quickly recovered and returned. While we consider this an isolated incident, we are thoroughly reviewing security protocols to ensure this does not happen again.”
Case closed? Not quite. Robinson’s ‘taken,’ could mean ‘stolen’ or ‘taken and misplaced.’ As of press time, no one knows which of the two it is and if they do know, they’re not saying.
Regardless, by Sunday evening, the story was trending on Twitter, ESPN and literally everywhere else. Calls to JSU Tuesday were unanswered about whether anything was revealed at a scheduled press conference.
While it’s unclear what will come from the school’s internal investigation of the incident, one thing appears very clear. The school and its shiny new coach better get on the same page as it relates to what they relate and when they relate it to the media.
The Game
While the postgame activity was unpredictable, the game itself was quite the opposite.
Before a pandemic limited crowd of 11,000, JSU held Edward Waters to just 104 total yards on 50 offensive plays. The Florida (Jacksonville) Tigers made just one trip into JSU territory and never threatened to score.
JSU quarterback Jalon Jones completed 18 of his 20 passes for 187 yards and three TDs. A quartet of running backs piled up 183 yards on the ground.
“Wonderful game,” Sanders said after his initial comments. “Defense played their butts off. Defense was extraordinary. God bless the whole defensive staff. Special teams were incredible. The offense played well, didn’t play great, stifled on a few drives, self-inflicted wounds. We’re going to have to clean that up.”
The ride on the Jackson State ‘Coach Prime’ bus is just beginning. Buckle up!
Mississippi Valley State is at Jackson State this week.