Deion Sanders. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Deion Sanders believes he could've excelled at a third sport

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 2/4/23

Deion Sanders, now the head football coach at Colorado, was once a two-sport athlete, playing in both the NFL and MLB. However, after watching some of the other CU athletic programs compete, Sanders took a liking to another sport, lacrosse.

Sanders met with reporters on Friday and said he attended a CU lacrosse game last week, calling the sport "beautiful."

"I actually picked up a stick and threw the ball. I should've got into lacrosse like Jim Brown," Sanders said. "I think I would've been nice with it. A brother with a stick? That's something, isn't it?"

"I should've got into lacrosse, like Jim Brown. I think I would've been nice with it."

@DeionSanders (via @CUBuffs) pic.twitter.com/UswTAsUzOR
— TLN (@LacrosseNetwork) February 3, 2023

primetime lacrosse @DeionSanders pic.twitter.com/NtL7UwQP3T
— Paul Rabil (@PaulRabil) January 29, 2023

Sanders excelled at baseball and football and likely would've done the same in lacrosse had he played. He was never an All-Star at the MLB level but played 641 career games over nine seasons for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. Meanwhile, on the gridiron, Sanders played 13 seasons and was a six-time All-Pro and an eight-time Pro Bowler. After 188 career games, mostly with the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys, Sanders was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

Now well into his second career as a head football coach, Sanders is trying to turn around a Colorado team that's had only one winning season since 2006.

Hired in December to lead the Buffaloes after the program's sixth straight losing season, Sanders is already making a difference. According to 247Sports, Colorado had the 21st-best recruiting class in the nation on signing day this year, which includes five-star corner Cormani McClain and four-star recruits: running back Dylan Edwards and wideouts Adam Hopkins and Omarion Miller.

Before joining Colorado, Sanders spent three seasons leading the Jackson State Tigers, finishing his tenure with a 27-5 record, winning back-to-back SWAC titles in 2021 and 2022.

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