Deion Sanders praises Dabo Swinney, doubles down on ‘why not us’ message
Since Dabo Swinney took over at Clemson in 2008, he has used the underdog mentality to motivate his team. Colorado head coach Deion Sanders is hoping to take a page out of Swinney’s book this season. On Tuesday, Sanders discussed using Swinney as an example while trying to bounce back from the Buffaloes’ 1-2 start.
“Dabo Swinney is one of my favorites. I love him to life. I love the man he is, the coach he is — just a great guy. Just a guy that I could look up to in this coaching realm,” Sanders said. “Just looking back on some of the things that they’ve accomplished, and they’ve been sitting here before, 1-2 and they turned it all around. I think they ended up 10-2 that season.
“And, why not us? Why can’t we turn it around? Why can’t we correct the wrongs with the rights and display consistency and do those things? Because we have the talent in-house. We just got to put it to usage and do what we are capable of doing.”
Most recently, Colorado suffered a disheartening 36-20 loss to Houston in Week 3. In the loss, Colorado’s former third-string quarterback, Ryan Staub, made his first start for the team.
Staub completed 19-of-his-35 passes against the Cougars for 204 yards and a touchdown, compared to two interceptions. Staub also recorded 36 rushing yards on 11 carries.
Staub’s lackluster performance wasn’t solely responsible for Colorado’s loss. The team’s defense gave up 431 yards to Houston and didn’t force any turnovers.
Sanders gave Staub the keys to Colorado’s offense after he shone in the Buffaloes’ Week 2 win against Delaware. In the team’s season-opening loss against Georgia Tech, Kaidon Salter started behind center.
He finished the game with 159 passing yards and a touchdown, without any interceptions. He also recorded a rushing touchdown. While Deion Sanders said he’s made his decision on who will start at QB Saturday, he didn’t reveal who that will be.
However, on Wednesday, CBS Sports‘ Matt Zenitz reported Salter will start against Wyoming. Whoever is leading the Buffaloes’ offense this weekend, Sanders simply wants a win.
“I don’t know coaches that seek identity. I think coaches seek wins,” Sanders said. “You could call it what you want. It looks the way it looks. I don’t care what kind of car we pull up in, as long as we pull out of here with a ‘W,’ I’m good. So I don’t really get into the identity thing, not whatsoever.”
On Saturday, Colorado will square off against Wyoming at 8:15 MDT. The game will air live on ESPN.
