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Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff Writer
Colorado coach Deion Sanders and his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, have gone on the offensive on social media after a story ran about how former Buffaloes players fared after many were run off following the arrival of “Coach Prime.”
Former Colorado safety Xavier Smith told the Athletic in a story published Monday that Deion Sanders “never even tried to get to know me,” and that he “was destroying guys’ confidence and belief in themselves.”
Shedeur Sanders posted to X, formerly Twitter, that he didn’t remember who Smith was.
“Bro had to be very mid at best,” Shedeur Sanders posted, insinuating Smith was only an average player.
Smith, who had injury trouble in his short time at Colorado, earned freshman All-America honors at FCS Austin Peay in 2023 and has since followed coach Scotty Walden to UTEP.
After Shedeur Sanders’ tweet, things escalated into a series of back-and-forth trash talk.
Colorado receiver Kaleb Mathis posted a video of himself getting the better of Smith in a practice last spring, to which Smith’s Austin Peay teammate, Jaheim Ward, noted that Mathis had just 38 receiving yards last season.
That tweet led to Ward’s career stats at the FCS school (36 tackles over the past three seasons) getting posted, prompting Coach Sanders to weigh in Wednesday, stating “Lawd Jesus” above a screenshot of Ward’s stats.
Deion Sanders’ tweet taking aim at the relatively anonymous FCS player was viewed more than 12 million times since it was posted. He also clapped back at another X user who took issue with Shedeur’s social media behavior and pointed out Colorado’s 4-8 record last year.
“He will be a top 5 pick,” Deion Sanders said of his son. “Where yo son going ? Lololol I got time today. Lololol.”