Michigan's Jim Harbaugh lauds Deion Sanders: 'Coach of the Year is chilling in Prime’s crib’
Jim Harbaugh had a little more down time than he was used to in Michigan football's Week 1 game vs. East Carolina. So the Wolverines coach, watching his team's 30-3 win from home amid a three-game suspension, decided to take in some other action across the college football landscape.
And he liked what he saw from Deion Sanders and Colorado in the Buffaloes' 45-42 upset of No. 17 TCU. "Coach Prime" led his team to arguably the biggest upset of the week, upending the defending College Football Playoff runners-up — the same one that upset Michigan in the Playoff semifinals — on the road in Fort Worth, Texas.
Harbaugh, speaking Tuesday to the "Stoney and Jansen" show on Detroit-based WXYT-FM 97.1 The Ticket, was particularly effusive in his praise of quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who completed 38 of 47 passes for 510 yards and four touchdowns. He offered similar praise to Travis Hunter, who caught 11 passes for 119 yards as a receiver and pulled down an interception at corner as well.
“That was quite a performance,” Harbaugh said of Shedeur Sanders. "And Travis Hunter — the 144 plays. I mean, it was tough to take the eyes off that game.”
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Harbaugh also spoke about Deion Sanders' fiery speeches to his team, particularly during halftime. The first-year Colorado coach, whose controversial roster-building practices have created headlines the college football world over, made yet more waves in the news for the way he addressed his players (and, after the game, reporters).
"I loved Prime's halftime interview, too, 'If we had hit him on two more passes, (the Heisman Trophy) would be chilling in his crib,'" Harbaugh said on Tuesday. "That's awesome — 144 plays — and that was in Fort Worth, too. That was about 94 degrees down there. That was quite a performance.
"Maybe the 'Coach of the Year' award is chilling in Prime's crib."
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That's certainly high praise from Harbaugh, whose Wolverines have gone a combined 25-3 over the last two seasons, both of which included Big Ten championships and berths in the CFP. It seems voters in the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 were similarly swayed by the Buffaloes' Week 1 victory: They jumped from unranked to No. 25 in the Coaches Poll, and No. 22 in the AP poll.
If the Buffaloes continue their impressive start under Sanders — they get a chance to do it again vs. Nebraska in Week 2 — then Harbaugh might not be the only person to think Prime Time can win Coach of the Year.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Michigan football's Jim Harbaugh lauds Deion Sanders
