Last spring, the Colorado Buffaloes head coach, Deion Sanders, was looking for a volunteer to play against them. Prairie View A&M’s Tremaine Jackson quickly answered the call, proving his respect for Coach Prime. This season, after Deion invited Tremaine and his squad to Boulder, the head coach opened up about the experience. Jackson plans to use the takeaways from this recent visit to further strengthen HBCU football. 

“A lot of people out there for some reason that don’t like coach [Deion],” said HBCU head coach Tremaine. “I don’t know what they don’t like, man. For me, when that dude called and invited us, I was going if I had to walk to Colorado. Because, there was something out there that I needed to get my eyes on. I wanted to see somebody that look like me do it. It’s a lot of those people that are own in the power four.”

Colorado invited Prairie View A&M as a gesture of supporting HBCU football, a cause that has always been close to Sanders. The Buffs’ head coach is the reason why HBCU football has a lot more relevance today, having started at Jackson State. The Panthers themselves charted a momentous season last year, having won the SWAC Championship. With this trip to CU, Jackson plans to learn from the coach who made all the difference. 

“This is family to me,” Coach Prime said while hosting PVAM. “HBCUs poured so much into this game and into me personally. Whenever we can open the doors, share knowledge and build relationships, that is something I am always going to do.”

Jackson’s enthusiasm about learning from Sanders is only going to benefit Prairie View A&M. He said that whatever they gathered from this crucial visit would help the Panthers become elite. Jackson isn’t just planning on emerging as the best in HBCU football; he wants the Panthers to be an “elite FCS program.” Their winning the conference title is a huge step in that direction. Under Jackson, the program also roared to a school-record 11 wins.

What makes Deion Sanders an inspiration for coaches like Jackson is how the former also rebuilt a Power 4 program. He turned a 1-11 mess in 2022 into a 4-8 stepping stone in 2023 before powering the Colorado Buffaloes football to a 9-4 campaign in 2024, with a 7-2 mark in the Big 12 Conference. Not just improving their scores, he turned himself into a college football sensation.

Colorado football as a whole never enjoyed a better era. The program is getting more money, attention, and better talent, all because Deion Sanders is running the program. This is what coaches like Jackson, and especially young ones like DeSean Jackson, aspire to do in their careers. The Delaware State head coach, who will enter his second season in that role, regarded Coach Prime’s journey as a “stepping stone.”

The rebuild Jackson inherited at Delaware State resembled the challenge Deion once tackled at Jackson State. The Hornets had not logged a winning season since 2012 and managed just one win in each of the past two campaigns. In 2025, he recorded an 8-4 finish. 

As always, Deion Sanders isn’t someone who is content with just the bare minimum. He also made history in Colorado while paying tribute to the roots that built him.

Deion Sanders made a historic move with the Colorado Buffaloes

While stepping into the 2026 season, the Buffaloes squad went through a huge coaching roster shakeup. But in that process, it allowed the program to script a landmark moment in history. Sanders replaced Pat Shurmur in the offense with Brennan Marion, the former Sacramento State Hornets. Then, he promoted LB coach Chris Marve to be Colorado’s defensive coordinator. With Deion Sanders in play, this is the first time CU football’s top three coaches are Black.

There are only 13 Black head coaches in the FBS. But as of now, none of them have black coaches in both the coordinator positions. This move is straight-up motivation for HBCU leaders like Tremaine Jackson and DeSean Jackson, a loud reminder that the HBCU grind can take coaches all the way to the big stage.

“Iron sharpens iron,” Sanders said, about hosting a program like Prairie View A&M. He has already laid the foundation for the success of HBCU football, but it is the grit and determination from the leaders of those programs that will them replicate his journey.