Gus Malzahn praises Deion, Shedeur Sanders: "I've got a lot of respect for him and the way he does it"

Deion Sanders spent the 1990s as one of the most famous and accomplished athletes on Earth. Gus Malzahn spent the '90s rising the ranks as a high school football coach in Arkansas. 

Fate brings them together as equals on Sept. 28, when Malzahn's UCF Knights host Deion's Colorado Buffaloes. 

Malzahn was asked about Sanders ahead of the Buffaloes visit at the end of next month, and the reaction is something you haven't heard a heckuva lot of since Coach Prime took the Colorado job in December 2022: effusive, unequivocal praise. 

"He's brought more attention in the last, what, two years than they may have had since they won the national championship. Every coach has their own way of doing things, including me. I was a high school coach, I was isolated. Well, he's doing it his own way. Whether people agree or disagree, let me tell you, they're talking about it. And the national media's talking about it. Recruits like it. And it's a big deal (with Colorado) coming here. Let's say he wasn't the coach, it probably wouldn't be the same," Malzahn said, in the understatement of the year.

Colorado went 1-11 in the year prior to Coach Prime's arrival, with 10 losses by double digits. 

The Buffaloes have (still) not posted a winning record over a full season since 2016, which goes to show how singular Coach Prime's celebrity is to garner such attention for an afterthought program. CU played in five of the 25 most-watched games of 2023. 

"I've got a lot of respect for him and the way he does it. I do it my way, he does his way," Malzahn said. "We're both outsiders."

Malzahn also praised another controversial figure in the CU football program: Shedeur Sanders. 

"His son's one of the best in the country. I saw that at a camp when he was going into 10th grade: 'That guy's really good, he just happens to be Deion Sanders's son."

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.