Gus Malzahn Makes Bold Admission on Deion Sanders After CU Buffs’ HC’s Support at Big 12 Media Day

The Big 12 Championship is knocking at the door and one thing is missing. And guess what is that missing piece? It’s the brutal rivalry. Not known about others. But at least Colorado Buffaloes HC Deion Sanders and Gus Malzahn, the HC of the UCF Knights hood, are on good terms. This started with Coach Prime when he paid a visit at Big 12 Media Days and when asked about the UCF HC, flooded Malzahn with flattery. And here comes the payback time, as Malzahn too sings in Deion’s praise. Now that both the coaches are working on flipping the script of their respective programs, will it lead to a clash? 

Malzahn is heading into his fourth season in Orlando and hence the expectations surrounding him are immense. As he visited the Media Day Press Conference, he was asked about Deion. And to everybody’s surprise, he has been gushing over the Buffs HC. Here came his bold claim, “People say what they want but he’s brought more attention to Colorado football in the last what two years.” Malzahn then compared his journey with Deion’s, how he too “was an isolated man on an island” when he was one of the first HC coaches. But he could not deny that Deion is doing a great job, “There’s a big game coming here if he wasn’t the coach it probably wouldn’t be the same… I have a lot of respect for him and the way he does it,” proudly claimed the UFC HC. He also tagged the Buffs QB as “one of the best in the country.”

A few days back, it was Deion who went all head over heels for Malzahn at Big 12 Media Days. “He’s awesome, man…he’s real, he’s honest, he keeps it 100,” confessed Coach Prime. There has been a reason for the Buffs HC to say so since Malzahn recruited Shedeur while he was still coaching at Auburn. Meanwhile, this season both of them will be walking towards a similar mission, to boost their program after a not-so-good season. 

Malzahn’s mission to revive UCF’s spark vs. Deion’s bold statement

In UCF, Malzahn has seen a ‘gold mine’ and is now all set to awaken his perceived sleeping giant. The Knights went 6-7 in their first season in the Big 12 and the conference play results came as 3-6. Since UCF has been part of the Big 12 in 2021, they are comparatively new to the Big 12 championship race, yet Malzahn did not lose any hope. All he wants to do is re-ignite the missing spark. “I’m really excited about the playmakers we have,” Malzahn said. He continued, “We’re a run, play-action team with an emphasis on throwing it deep and playing fast…So, really, we’ve got the pieces to the puzzle, we just got to get it done on the field.”

Deion on the other hand too has made the necessary changes to secure their place in the top in the Big 12 championship race. While he carries a feeling of dejection within him, “I’m judged on a different scale,” besides his coaching, Coach Prime pins his hope on his son.  

Riding high on confidence, Deion dropped a bold statement, “I’d be an idiot to sit over here and not tell you we plan on winning…We definitely plan on winning, and first and foremost, it starts with the staff. I think we have over 140 years of NFL experience on the staff.” Does Malzahn and UCF losing out on the gold jackets like Colorado, cost them big in the long run? Do share your thoughts.