Due to the Buffaloes’ early success and new coach Deion Sanders‘ high reputation, Saturday’s game between No. 18 Colorado and Colorado State was already expected to garner a lot of interest.
Coach Jay Norvell of CSU, though, is injecting some spice into the intrastate competition by criticizing Coach Prime’s public image. Norvell shared some comments he made during talks with ESPN in which he emphasized a distinction between himself and Sanders on his weekly radio show.
What exactly did Jay Norvell say about Deion Sanders?
Norvell said on Wednesday as per Sports Illustrated Fan Nation ,
“I sat down with ESPN today,”
“I don’t care if they hear it in Boulder. I told them, I took my hat off and I took my glasses off. I said when I talk to grown-ups, I take my hat off and my glasses off. Tsi.com/…/jay-norvell-slams-deion-sanders-saying-when-i-talk-to-grown-ups-i-take-my-hat-and-glasses-offhat’s what my mother taught me.”
Jay Norvell speaking on Deion Sanders before Saturday's matchup 🌶️ pic.twitter.com/0w5lQ2obak
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 14, 2023
Here’s the video of the thinly veiled jab of Norvell at Sanders below
MORE SHOTS AT COACH PRIME: Colorado State Head Coach Jay Norvell Takes SHOTS at Deion Sanders and Colorado “When I talk to grownups, I take my hat and glasses off, that’s what my mother taught me” #CUBuffs pic.twitter.com/IWFWkVKqsS
— Ice Cold Sports w/ Tommy Gahan (@IceColdSprts) September 14, 2023
Sanders prefers to wear sunglasses and a cap during press conferences, on-camera interviews, and other public events. This is especially true recently.
The game on Saturday night will be broadcast on ESPN, and Norvell said he and the Rams players had “a chip on their shoulder” as a result of being questioned so frequently about Colorado.
However, the Buffaloes have also used perceived slights as motivation. Shedeur Sanders, the quarterback for the Nebraska Huskers, claimed that the pregame meeting held by coach Matt Rhule and his team on the midfield CU logo last week made the game against Nebraska “personal” for him. Colorado’s players and coaches may have considered Norvell’s comments to be disrespectful.