In the aftermath of a stunning loss, and not long before he would again board a private jet bound for his new head coaching job, Deion Sanders was seen comforting Hayden Hagler.
Moments earlier inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Hagler had just slightly misplayed a pass from Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the right corner of the end zone in what would have been an overtime-touchdown to pull the Tigers within a point of tying North Carolina Central.
Shedeur Sanders fired wildly incomplete on fourth down a play later, and JSU’s undefeated season ended on the turf.
Hagler immediately bore the brunt of fan outrage, particularly on social media, where the sophomore tight end from Louisiana has been subjected to countless incidents of harassment.
“You’ve done a good job all year, baby,” Sanders said to a seemingly inconsolable Hagler. “That ain’t on you!
“That’s on us. We! We lost together! Do you understand that? I need you up. This is going to be adversity that’s going to prepare you for life.
“You’re the man. You’ve gotta believe that. Let’s fight through it. That moment is going to make you who you are for the rest of your life. You feel me? Let’s go.”
“It ain’t on you, that’s on us. We lost together.”
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) December 18, 2022
Deion Sanders consoling the player who dropped the potential game-tying TD while he's distraught at his locker hits right in the feels. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/VyfhUyYxoy
Sanders pointedly singled out the Tigers’ defensive lapses as cause for the program’s second-straight Celebration Bowl loss. The 41 points that N.C. Central scored were 10 more than the JSU defense had yielded in a game in either of the 2021 or ’22 seasons – both of them Southwestern Athletic Conference championship campaigns for the Tigers.