JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Deion Sanders, former Florida State star, Pro Football Hall of Famer and now the most talked about college football coach in the world has been making headlines for decades. The job coach Sanders has done already at Colorado is being described by some as the greatest of all time. His friend, former teammate, Jacksonville native and Pro Football Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler shares how coach Sanders impacted him.
“Whether you like him or not, he's giving you the blueprint to be good at everything you do," says LeRoy Butler.
Butler knows because he got the Prime Effect in the 80’s while playing with coach Sanders at Florida State. Butler was fifth on the depth chart at safety at FSU had sat out a year because he was a Proposition 48 student and at the time he was battling anxiety.
“He says Roy Lee don't look at the depth chart, that's for coaches. If you're good they'll find a spot for you. That meant the world to me because he was a sophomore, all American, our top guy. He didn't have to do that. When he said that to me it changed my life. I said you're right, I'm going to give all my anxiety to God and I'm going to concentrate on what I can concentrate on.
A couple of years later and after the Atlanta Falcons drafted Sanders 5th overall in the 1989 NFL Draft, the late legendary Bobby Bowden moved Butler from safety to cornerback to replace Sanders. Butler told coach Bowden he was concerned about the position change because of his foot work, and he knew he was following a legend.
“Do it the way you do it, just get the results. It wasn't pretty but I was a consensus all American.
Fast forward a few decades and now coach Sanders has totally revolutionized college football. Butler says he believes Sanders is having so much success for a couple of reasons. One, he’s a God fearing man. Two, coach Sanders believes he’s the best at everything he does.
Butler also believes coach Sanders’ success at Colorado with open doors for more minorities to get head coaching opportunities at power five schools.
Butler added coach Sanders taught him the importance of not only protecting the brand on the front of the jersey but the brand of the back of the jersey as well.