Off the field, Colorado Buffaloes WR Jimmy Horn Jr. faces life’s curveballs. How painful is it for a son not to have his father around during the best chapter of his life? That’s exactly what Jr.’s life story is. He just got lucky to share some words with his father just before he got incarcerated. While life had hit him with some of the deadliest blows, there are certain things that Jr. has been extremely lucky about. As the WR is deprived of his father’s support, he has got Deion Sanders’ back. To help his player in his tough times, the Buffs HC had come up with an emotional plea. And definitely, Jr. made him proud with his iconic feat in the season’s opener.  

On September 5, Jr. faced the media after his exemplary performance against the North Dakota State on August 31. It has been extremely emotional for the WR. He still lives with the heart-breaking final memories of his dad and his role model, Jimmy Horn Sr. The WR’s father has been incarcerated on multiple charges related to d–g-related issues from an incident back on November 2, 2021. However, it has been last month only, on August 14, that he was finally sentenced for these charges. While talking with the media, Jr. confirmed, “Yeah, I talked to him. I was able to talk to him.”

However, the conversation felt like a split second and the long wait began to have a heart-to-heart conversation, “But dad, he just got shipped off, he about to get shipped off to the prison so that my last time talking to him before.” However, the WR promised to use this setback as an opportunity to ace the battle called life. Jr. now draws motivation from Dad’s brief but mighty pep talk. 

“So you know I just got to go even harder. You feel me? And it just felt good to talk to him you know that just pushes me even more. It’s a lot of adversity that go on through life just you got to keep thriving,” revealed Jr. With Deion as his biggest fan, the WR is ready to outrun his own shadow. 

Deion Sanders’ emotional support for Jimmy Horn Jr. 

Before the season started, in one of the practice sessions, Deion faced the camera. While fans expected Coach Prime to drop some tidbits of the game plan, the Buffs HC came up with a heart-touching plea. “For those that are truly involved your honor I just want to tell you candidly that I’m praying for Jimmy Horn senior. Who’s been incarcerated a multitude of years,” stated the concerned HC. Being a father himself and having his son in his roster, Deion knows what it takes for a player to be deprived of his father’s love, “I just wish to God you could see in your heart an opportunity that he could come out of incarceration and have a chance to resume his fatherly responsibility in which he was very very good at.”

But for now, Jr. is ensuring that his dad can beam with pride without a front-row seat. During the August 31 season opener, while Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders claimed all the attention, he stunned the crowd with his incredible show. He had one of – if not the – best games of his career against NDSU. 

The WR went for 198 yards on seven catches that came with a touchdown. His last gigantic record was during 2023’s opener where he came with 11 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Jimmy Horn Jr. is ready to hit the ground running to keep both Dad and Deion Sanders smiling.