Local Jackson State alumni are already celebrating the university’s hire of Deion Sanders while other football fans are speculating about the recruiting ramifications around Mississippi.
“Once I heard his name, I said, ‘Why not?’” said Derrick “Chitchy” Chambers, a Leflore County resident. “I mean, why not? He’s ‘Prime Time.’ You know, we’ve tried everybody else.”
Over the past five seasons, the Tigers have cycled through three coaches in search of their first winning season since 2013.
“There hasn’t been much to cheer about,” Chambers said. “A program can’t develop when you’re constantly changing coaches.”
Sanders figures to bring more than just stability to a struggling program. Fans expect increased revenue and an immediate recruiting advantage from the Hall of Fame cornerback’s arrival on campus.
“I think it’ll be a good move,” said Fletcher Beamon, a retired educator who attended Jackson State in the 1970s. “I think it’ll bring a lot of fans in, and I think he’ll recruit some good players.”
“They’re going to get some of the best players available out there, even commits who were going to Missisippi State, going to Ole Miss, going to Southern Miss,” said Clinton Gatewood, the chief of athletics for the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District. “It’s going to be a big deal for them because they’ll be able to compete with those type of programs.”
“He’s going to make it kind of hard for kids to resist going to Jackson now,” Gatewood added. “It’s a big boost for their program, the university and especially HBCU programs in this state.”
At Mississippi Valley State, Gatewood was in the same fraternity as Jackson State athletic director Ashley Robinson, who was instrumental in bringing Sanders on board. Gatewood has a unique perspective also having crossed paths with Sanders in the past.
“I had an opportunity to meet him at the All-American game a couple years ago when ‘Dolla Bill’ played,” Gatewood said. “He’s an outstanding guy.”
The atmosphere should be electric when MVSU opens its Southwestern Athletic Conference slate at Jackson State in February.
“It’s a big win for the SWAC, and it’s a big win for HBCUs to have someone like that be part of their program,” Gatewood said. “They’re going in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, Chambers just hopes Sanders surrounds himself wisely.
“It’s not just on him,” Chambers said. “He needs a supporting cast — good offensive coordinator, good defensive coordinator. He can’t come in here and expect just because you’re Deion Sanders, you’re going to win.”
• Contact Riley Overend at 581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow @OverendOut on Twitter.
