In much the way a parent pleads with his or her children before a weekend event such as a prom, Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders issued a similar message of safety and smart decision-making ahead of the Tigers' open-date weekend.
Sanders' Jackson State squad has climbed firmly inside the top 10 rankings of all of Football Championship Subdivision's national polls, and the Tigers do not have a game this weekend before closing their season with seven consecutive regular-season contests.
Sanders, the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, gathered his players around midfield at the practice facility on the Jackson, Mississippi, campus and first led his team in prayer.
"Repeat after me," Sanders tells his squad. "Lord, I love you. Lord, I thank you. Lord, I magnify you. Lord, I glorify you.
"Without You, I wouldn't be a thing! A thing! A thing!"
Coach Prime appears to get virtually full participation from the Tigers. He then shifts his focus to Jackson State's long weekend away from the football field.
"Hey guys, you be safe," Sanders said. "Please don't get into trouble. I love you all. I appreciate every single one of you, coaches included.
"Be careful, be safe. I need you all back, because we ain't even halfway-done yet."
Sanders then pivots to set the stage for the Tigers' remainder of the season, which resumes Oct. 8 against SWAC rival Alabama State. That contest has been scheduled as both the Hornets' homecoming and white-out game in Montgomery, Alabama.
"They got something coming, they got something coming," Sanders said, drawing a loud chorus of reactions from his players. "They're going to invite us for homecoming?
"Jackson State and homecoming? That don't even fit together, all right."
FINAL talk to the team before the Bye Week Breakhttps://t.co/8Ma7ttukCe
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) September 28, 2022