After weeks of inconsistency, it looks like Deion Sanders finally got the right start he was looking for. It all started with his cancer concern during the spring break, which kept him out of Boulder for long. Then, even after returning to the sidelines, he couldn’t get consistency with his quarterbacks, and the rotation between Julian Sayin, Kaidon Salter, and Ryan Staub started. Finally, Salter took up the charge and, despite setbacks, led his team to their first conference victory against Iowa State (24-17). But with that, even Sanders’ recovering health gave fans hope after his 16th surgery, as he gave them a positive update.

Well, Deion Sanders got his 16th surgery in three years, and this time it’s involved with some vascular issues and was to treat blood clots in his legs. Now, this isn’t the first time Sanders going through a major health setback, as he’s the one who’s been facing it all for a long time, was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery to remove his bladder. Now he reflected on how the surgery went and how he was feeling after their 24-17 win against Iowa State: “God got me. Don’t worry about me.”

Now, this started last week when Deion Sanders was experiencing “a lot of pain” during their 35-21 loss against TCU, where he was even seen limping on the sidelines. That’s when he went into surgery and returned stronger than ever. But this issue goes way back in time, as in 2021, when Sanders was at Jackson State, he developed blood clots and compartment syndrome, because of which he had to go through amputation of his two toes and even had to remove part of his calf muscle. Yet he returned back to the field in a wheelchair, coaching his team.

Then in 2023 he underwent another surgical procedure to remove his clots in his legs and couldn’t even join his team for any Pac-12 media event but was there for them during the games. “I trust God with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind,” Sanders said. All this shows how much he’s concerned for his team. And it’s finally visible too, as Kaidon Salter finally had the best performance of the season against Iowa State, completing 16 of 25 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

But with Sanders’ injury scare and the team’s improvement, another adversity hit them as fans’ excitement created problems for them. As they were fined 50k for chants against BYU and a 50k fine for field storming. Looks like Colorado can’t keep itself away from controversy for long.

Now, let’s learn about how Deion Sanders held his team up even in this condition.

Deion Sanders dedication for his team

Deion Sanders is known for his own way of doing things both in the NFL and in college football. But despite health adversity and coaching his team with just one shoe because of blood clots, he isn’t losing focus from his faith and belief. That’s right, Sanders’ team stands 3-4 in the league, but still he’s working more on character than football development.

And talking about it on David Carr’s podcast, he said, “You guys are going to like this because you’re godly men. You had to be a good father. Why would I bring in a man that’s not a good father, and I want him to play the role of father and mentor and coach to these young men?” For Sanders it’s clear being a good father means you are a good leader, and that’s exactly why he’s a father figure for his team. From Travis Hunter to Jimmy Horn Jr., everyone was his kid, and he backed everyone in their tough time. Now, he’s doing the same for Kaidon Salter and rest.

On top of that, before going into the procedure, too, he was worried about his team and was determined to make sure he didn’t flinch without him: “I am having a procedure today. Prayerfully, I’ll be right back at practice tomorrow. It is what it is. Found what we found. I have a wonderful team of doctors at UC Health and a team of wonderful trainers here. It has nothing to do with me working at the level and competing.” Sanders added a bunch of NFL players to make sure his team doesn’t get affected even in his absence.

Coaches like Marshall Faulk, Domata Peko, and Byron Leftwich are right there to back his team up. Now that they finally won their first ranked game, it will be interesting to see how this season turns out for Colorado.