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Colorado football coach Deion Sanders brought a fishing rod to his team’s annual Pro Day workout for NFL scouts in Boulder on Tuesday, March 31. But he wasn’t casting for bass in a lake. He sat with it on a exercise ball as players got to work around him on the indoor practice field, igniting questions from observers about what Coach Prime was up to this time.
Was it a publicity stunt for a fishing gear sponsor?
A motivational ploy about reeling in NFL prospects from hidden depths?
The answer was a little of both.
Sanders does have a branding deal for fishing gear with manufacturer Abu Garcia. And he was trying to motivate one of his players with it – linebacker Jeremiah Brown, a player he’s coached since 2021 at Jackson State.
“I have a PRIME fishing rod at Pro day today because 1 of my players who’s been with me for 5 years wanted 1 but the deal was he had to run a certain time in the 40 & I was gonna give it to him on the spot,” Sanders said on Instagram Tuesday. “My kids know I’m a earn it type of guy. Next time just ask and don’t assume please. Love ya regardless because God loves me that same way.”
Sanders didn’t say what the time goal was for Brown in the 40-yard dash. Brown was timed in two runs at 4.87 seconds and 4.9 seconds, according to "The Morning Run" podcast on YouTube.
Brown is getting the rod either way. He likes to fish for bass and has gone fishing with former Colorado Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
“PRECIATE YA COACH!!” Brown replied to Sanders.
Sanders said afterward that the rod is his reward.
"I’m giving u the rod & reel because I love ya my brother & you’re my dawg!” Sanders told him.
Colorado’s Pro Day event Tuesday seemed light years removed from the hype of last year’s, when NFL Network televised it and all eyes were on Hunter and Sanders’ quarterback son Shedeur.
This time, a fishing rod managed to get some of the spotlight instead. Colorado might not even have any players drafted by NFL teams in April after none of its players were invited to the NFL Combine earlier this year.
Brown’s times in the 40-yard dash also weren’t near the times of other NFL linebacker prospects at the NFL Combine who ran it in around 4.5 seconds. But Brown has a backup plan beyond fishing and football. He’s a graduate student who majored in electrical engineering and has other business interests, too.
“I feel like I left it all on the line today, and the rest of it going to be up to God,” Brown said on "The Morning Run." “Whatever he choose for me as far as football-wise, then that'll be what it is. I'll be happy at the end of the day because I know I gave him my all and career-wise, you know, I'm still with the electrical and I also have a life insurance company as well, too.”
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Deion Sanders brings fishing rod to Colorado Pro Day. Why?
