As Deion Sanders took over Super Bowl radio row, it's easy to see how he has Colorado football buzzing

PHOENIX — A few moments after Emmitt Smith walked by catcalling his name — “Priiimmme Time! Priiimmme Time!” — Michael Strahan jumped up on a stage to give him a hug and note that even at 55 years old, he must be lifting (“You’re rocked up!”).

Soon, former NFL cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones was emotionally explaining that the way this NFL legend played and carried himself actually changed Pacman’s life (“Do what makes you happy. If you want to dress flashy, dress flashy. If you want to wear your chain, wear your chain.”)

By that point, LeSean “Shady” McCoy was tipping him off to some high school recruits and trying to organize a guy’s trip to a Colorado game.

Deion Sanders — Coach Prime, himself — hit Super Bowl radio row on Thursday and inside a cavernous but crowded convention center ballroom, it was every bit the circus you might imagine.

The selfie requests, autograph begs, the questions, videos, spinning heads and strained necks were expected. That so many of them came from football greats — players current and former — perhaps wasn’t. He is a star to the stars.

Prime was there to promote Oikos Yogurt, his new Colorado Buffaloes program and, of course, himself. “I hate being away from my [players] but I have to because I am a businessman as well,” he noted. Unfortunately there are only so many interviews a man can do, even Deion Sanders.

Sanders has never coached an FBS-level football game, as this is his first season as Colorado's head coach, but here at the start of something potentially big, he is college football’s biggest star. Not the most successful. Nick Saban, his partner in those Aflac commercials, and others, have all the titles. But Prime is Prime, a sensation that simply draws everything into his orbit.

Just trying to move from one media spot to the next was a chore. His publicist was fighting a losing battle. He seemed to know everyone and everyone wanted a word. Old friends. Old teammates. This guy’s mom. That guy’s kid.

He told a story about Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones to Sports Illustrated and spoke of leadership to a podcast and read a Bible verse on TikTok. Whether he had a mic in his hand or an arm around an acquaintance, it hardly mattered. He was casually authentic, with a personal video crew in tow.

Whether any of this translates to Power Five victories is yet unknown, but this was certainly something. If you want to know how he seems to just sweep up recruits, well, it’s one thing for fans to get excited for the chance to talk with a Hall of Fame player or a Division I head coach, it’s another when it’s Pro Football Hall of Famers that act like that.

You can only imagine the reaction when he hits a talent camp or a home visit.

What’s the expectation for this season? “We’re going to win,” Prime said. When will the Buffs capture a championship? “A few years.”

Doubt him at your own risk. He delivered an immediate turnaround at Jackson State, landing a level of recruit that was unheard of since the 1970s. He went 23-3 his final two seasons. He found funding for the FCS program. He changed everything.

And then he left, garnering some unfair criticism by those who didn’t listen to him along the way. Sanders' goal was always to get to a major conference. He interviewed at Arkansas and TCU. To ask him to limit himself was to ask him to not be himself.

Pacman, among others, told Prime he was in favor of the move to the highest level, but never thought it would be Colorado.

“People asked me, I’d say, ‘There’s no way he goes there. It’s too cold,’” said Pacman, who was hosting a TikTok show.

“It’s not blistering,” Sanders explained. “If it’s like 30 in Atlanta or Dallas, it’s cold. If it’s 30 in Colorado, you’ve got a hoodie. There’s no wind. It’s beautiful.

“I was there three, four weeks before I saw the police,” he noted of life in Boulder.

A group of people laughed. Others hung on his every word. Soon it was off to another spot with “Prime. Prime,” ringing out. Might be someone pointing a camera in his face. Might be his old Cowboy teammate Darren Woodson waving him over. Almost everyone wanted to ask about CU, about what they could do to help.

“I love coaching,” he explained. “I love it. It is not work, it is my life … I love challenging young men to be a man.

“I have real relationships, because I sit in the cafeteria and eat with them,” Sanders said. “I pull them aside not just because they are in trouble but to say, ‘You are doing a good job. How’s your mom? How’s your sister? How’s your little brother?’”

These are the connections that have powered his life, from poverty in Fort Myers to groundbreaking stardom at Florida State to a guy who played in both the NFL and MLB. From pioneering HBCU coach to now the Pac-12. This is what draws in so many.

Crowds were forming around him, demands were piling up, the schedule was getting destroyed with each unplanned visit. Prime said his mind was back in Boulder, where a talented staff of assistants and some dedicated kids were leading the work of “building a dynasty.”

“I can hear weights banging,” he said. “I can hear guys run. I can hear guys just moaning, just trying to go get it. Guys trying to hit the line in time for conditioning. I can feel it. I can hear it.”

Then he was off to whatever was next.

Deion Sanders — Coach Prime — in full effect.