Shilo Sanders Shares ‘Weird’ Experience With Deion Sanders & How Dad Recruited Him to Jackson State

Some dads coach Little League. And then there’s Deion Sanders. NFL Hall of Famer, reality TV star, sneaker king, and… dad who low-key recruited his own son like he was a 5-star prospect on The Bachelor: College Football Edition. You just know playing under Coach Prime isn’t your average football experience. Especially not when he’s your dad.

For Shilo Sanders, it was more like growing up in a locker room with your dad as the head coach and hype man rolled into one. This week, Shilo got real about how “weird” it felt suiting up for his own dad at Jackson State. We’re talking game plans over dinner, film study during family time, and those late-night pep talks somehow turning into full-on lectures about Cover 2 defence.

“It’s weird with him coaching me all the time. Dads get on your nerves an extra amount. And then you go home and live with them,” the Buccaneers newcomer said in his YouTube blog. And you know what? Fair enough. Just picture it: getting barked at during practice, only to come home and get hit with, ‘Did you take the trash out?‘ from the same guy… but in slippers. That’s peak Sanders. The man goes from defensive drills to dad duties in the same breath.

But while Shilo might’ve groaned every time Coach Prime turned a dinner convo into a film session, the real fun started before he even put on a Jackson State jersey. Because, believe it or not, Deion didn’t just welcome his son like, “Hey, glad you’re here.” He practically recruited him.

Shilo reveals the most hilarious recruitment pitch ever

Yes, before Shilo ever suited up for Jackson State, the whole recruitment process didn’t happen in some flashy locker room or during a fancy steakhouse dinner. It happened over a few phone calls. Coach Prime literally called up his own son like he was a five-star free agent, pitching him on why coming to JSU was the move. The main reason? He missed his son.

“He missed me. He’d call me like, ‘Hey son, just so you know… I’m about to start coaching at Jackson State.’ I don’t know if that’s a recruitment violation or not, coz he’s my dad and my coach. He lowkey did recruit me, though,” Shilo admitted. We can’t say for sure whether it’s a recruitment violation or not, but it sure is a great example of dad manipulation.

But to be fair, Deion knew exactly what he was doing. Jackson State was just starting its football glow-up and bringing in a battle-tested SEC safety like his Shilo? It pretty much changed the trajectory of their defense. The guy had already notched 32 tackles and a pick at South Carolina in 2020. But everything hints that it was more personal than business. It was about a father wanting his son to be part of the foundation he was building.

From a recruiting angle? Unorthodox. Yes, obviously. But there’s no NCAA rulebook section labelled ‘What to do if your dad is Deion freaking Sanders?‘ So Shilo played it cool, slapped a casual “lowkey” to play it safe. And that move paid off big time.

The result? A fired-up Jackson State defence, the national spotlight squarely on them, and the Sanders name turning into must-see TV every Saturday. Deion got his guy, and Shilo? He walked away with one great story that he’ll look back and laugh at in the years to come.