College Football

Did Colorado's Deion, Shedeur Sanders go too far with social media beef?

Updated May. 2, 2024 7:54 p.m. ET

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Deion Sanders is one of the most polarizing figures in college football, and he added fuel to the fire this week when he and his son, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, fired back at a recent report in which former Buffaloes safety Xavier Smith said Coach Prime was destroying players' "belief in themselves" behind closed doors.

Shedeur Sanders, who quoted the story on social media, said that he didn't remember Smith, who has since entered the transfer portal, when he was on the team.

That prompted someone on social media to say that he should "quit acting like the coldest man on the planet," and Deion Sanders defended his son with a jab about the 2025 NFL Draft, where the Buffs QB is favored to be the first overall pick. 

Deion Sanders didn't stop there. He also responded to a screenshot of Austin Peay defensive back Jaheim Ward's 2023 statistics, which were eight solo tackles and four passes defended, saying "Lawd Jesus." Ward previously stood up for Smith, his former teammate with the Governors, saying that people shouldn't be "trying to downplay" his remarks. If that wasn't enough to warrant a reply from Deion Sanders, Ward also recently posted that it was "crazy" that he had "more pass deflections" than his other son, Colorado safety Shilo Sanders — along with a couple of not-so-friendly clown emojis.

That said, did Deion Sanders go too far dabbling in this back-and-forth?

Keyshawn Johnson doesn't think so, and he explained why on Thursday's edition of "Undisputed."

"If I thought that Deion had stooped to a level that he shouldn't have been at, I would certainly tell [him]," Johnson said. "But I don't have to tell him that because when somebody is questioning your character … and telling people that you're … making players feel less than what they are and that's not the case — and clearly Deion didn't feel that way — I don't have a problem with Deion checking the dude. … When somebody's trying to assassinate your character and tell people a story that's not true, at least in your eyes as a coach, you want to protect that. I have no issues at all with it."

The Buffaloes are coming off a 4-8 season (1-8 in Pac-12 play), which landed them last in the conference in what was their first with Coach Prime at the helm. 

Shedeur Sanders totaled 3,230 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, three interceptions and a 151.7 passer rating, while completing 69.3% of his passes last season. 

For the second year in a row, Colorado's program has dominated coverage in the spring transfer portal window, and this year's high-profile exits — which include three starters, three running backs and two cornerbacks among the 36 players who are likely to enroll elsewhere this fall — leave Deion Sanders with a lot of work to do ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

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