It is expected that you will be on camera, pretty much 24/7, if you choose to play college football for Deion Sanders at Colorado. That has actually been true since his time at Jackson State and even dates back to when he was coaching high school football in Texas.
Coach Prime is constantly in the spotlight, which he frequently turns back on his players.
The Tigers and Buffaloes had a full-blown camera crew follow them around all season for a documentary that aired on Amazon. And that doesn’t even include the (multiple) day-to-day videos shot, edited and released by Deion Sanders Jr. for Well Off Media, or Reach The People, or Thee Pregame Show— among others. The list does not stop there. Cameras are everywhere inside of Sanders’ programs!
It is almost as if his teams are part of a never-ending reality show.
That can take a toll on the players. Bishop Thomas, a former three-star recruit, transferred to Colorado after one year at Florida State. He was reportedly dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules, re-entered the transfer portal and landed at Georgia State.
Thomas spoke about his time in Boulder, and subsequent decision to leave, with Draymond Patterson II. While the cameras were a shock at first, they became normal after some time.
Me, coming here, not used to cameras on my face. I was just being myself, man. Everything you see, that was just me. It was all raw. I don’t want to say it was hard because I adapted to my environment. But I feel like it’s tricky. It’s very tricky.
— Bishop Thomas, via DP2Nice
Even though Thomas was quickly able to move past the constant filming, he never quite got over what happens next. The players are not able to control what does or does not make the final cut. They don’t know when something that might paint them in a negative light might go to air without proper context.
The hard part is knowing you don’t have the control on editing the videos. The camera’s always rolling, so they catch things you don’t really catch or you don’t even see on the video […]
The hard part is not knowing what you’re gonna see today.
— Bishop Thomas, via DP2Nice
If the grind of college football and academics is not hard enough, as Thomas said, the Buffaloes are constantly worrying about what might come out next. They are on edge, all of the time.
Deion Sanders doesn’t care.
Coach Prime has been accused of “playing for clicks” on a few different occasions over the last year. Dan Lanning said so in his pregame speech at Oregon. Cormani McClain alluded to a similar notion before entering the transfer portal after a difficult freshman season with Colorado.
Even if the constant attention creates a difficult experience for players like McClain and Thomas, Sanders fired back at the the idea that clicks are more important than wins. He does not see it that way.
It’s funny how you say that but the camera’s on when you say it […]
Like this is what I really do like since high school. You can date it back to YouTube or whatever. So this is who we are and it’s not playing for something or playing for clicks […]
Why would I need exposure? Last time I checked, I’ve been Him since the 80s.
— Deion Sanders, via Nelk Boys
Regardless of how you feel toward Coach Prime’s approach to his team and content surrounding the team, the element of consistency is true. It has been this way for quite some time. Players should know what they are getting into before committing. It’s not a secret.
Still, for guys like Thomas and McClain, the lack of control can be a real detriment on their careers.