Leading up to Jackson State facing Alabama State for its homecoming game on Saturday, Tigers football coach Deion Sanders did not shy away from sharing his excitement to travel to Montgomery, Alabama to face the Hornets.

Sanders’s excitement to face Alabama State initially started two weeks ago after the Tigers dismantled Mississippi Valley before entering their bye week. On Monday, Sanders doubled down on his eagerness for his team to face the Hornets in a game that he described that he and JSU fans would get to enjoy the “fanfare,” “love” and culture of a HBCU homecoming.

After 60 minutes of action that included a 26–12 win for JSU, Hornets first-year head coach Eddie Robinson Jr was not happy with Sanders’s behavior all week and considered it “disrespectful.” When Sanders and Robinson met at midfield after the game, the two shook hands before Sanders tried to embrace Robinson with a hug. Instead of Robinson returning the favor in the embrace, he pushed away Sanders’s hand and walked away with an Alabama state trooper.

“We did not talk in the pregame,” Robinson said, per The Wild Card podcast. “I was out there the whole time at the 50-yard line. He walked through our whole huddle in our endzone. He came the long way around to get to his side of the field in pregame. I thought that was not classy at all. In the postgame, I’m not about to give you the [Barack] Obama bro hug. I’m gon’ shake your hand and go on. I’m going to always be respectful and respect the game.”

In expressing his thoughts, Robinson shared that his respect for the conference stems from the coaching legends who paved the way for him to have an opportunity, something he felt Sanders did not represent.

Jaguars earn SWAC honors

Southern quarterback BeSean McCray and kicker Joshua Griffin won SWAC weekly honors for their performances in the Jaguars’ 45-13 victory against Prairie View on Saturday.

McCray was newcomer of the week, passing for 275 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for a team-best 85 yards and two TDs. He completed 16 of 22 passes without an interception.

Griffin made his first career field-goal attempt, a 40-yarder, and went 6 of 6 on PATs to win the special teams honor.

Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr., is an American football coach and former player who is the head football coach at Jackson State. 

Sanders enrolled at Florida State University and played three sports for the Florida State Seminoles: football, baseball, and track. Beginning his freshman year, he started in the Seminoles’ secondary, played outfield for the baseball team that finished fifth in the nation, and helped lead the track and field team to a conference championship.

Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr

Under head coach Bobby Bowden, Sanders was a two-time consensus All-American cornerback in 1987 and 1988, and a third-team All-American in 1986, intercepting 14 passes in his career, including three in bowl games, and managed to return one interception 100 yards for a touchdown breaking Fred Biletnikoff‘s interception return record by one yard. He won the Jim Thorpe Award in 1988. He was also a standout punt returner for Florida State, leading the nation in 1988 with his punt return average, and breaking the school’s record for career punt return yards. Sanders made an interception with 5 seconds left to seal Florida State’s 13–7 win over Auburn in the 1989 Sugar Bowl, during the 1988 postseason. Based on those accolades, his No. 2 jersey at Florida State was retired, in 1995. He finished his career with 126 punt returns for 1,429 yards and three touchdowns, as well as 14 interceptions, returning them for 287 yards and three scores. At the time of his graduation, Sanders’ 14 interceptions was the second highest total in school history.

Deion Sanders/All teams

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