By Scott Salomon
Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule claims that he never said anything negative about Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders, despite what the coach’s son Shedeur Sanders said in his post-game news conference. In fact, he claims to have a lot of respect for what Deion has done on and off the field, as a player and as a coach. He also said that he would never disrespect an opponent.
“He’s the most serious person about football,” Rhule said in his weekly press conference prior to the 36-14 shellacking that his team took from Colorado this past Saturday. “His poster was on people’s walls for a reason as a player because he’s one of the hardest practicing, hardest playing people that ever played the game. Why would we think that his team wouldn’t be the same.”
Rhule went on gushing about Coach Prime.
“He’s won at everything he has done in football. He’s won as a player, he’s won as a coach,” Rhule said. “Everyone maybe thinks from outside – not me, everyone else, thinks that “Well, this is all show and act.'”
Rhule, however, did say in March that he appreciated how his Nebraska team was always “working” and not “talking” in videos posted to social media. He also allegedly mocked Deion for having a film crew follow him to meetings for the making of his documentary.
“The coach said a lot of things about my Pops, about the program,” Shedeur said. “But now that he wants to act nice? I don’t respect that because you’re hating on another man. You shouldn’t do that. It was just — all respect was gone for them and their program. I like playing against their DC. I like playing against them. But the respect level, it ain’t there because you disrespected us first.”
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Shedeur was also irritated that Rhule and the entire Husker football team stood on the Buffaloes logo pre-game. It was one of the few times that the Huskers actually saw midfield.
“The coach said a lot of things about my pops and about the program, but now he wants to act nice,” Shedeur Sanders said. “”It’s OK if a couple of players do it, it fine, just enjoy the scenery. But when you’ve got the whole team trying to disrespect it, I’m not going for that at all. I went in there and disrupted it.”
“We do it at every stadium. We go (to the middle of the field), we pray for blessings. They came in, I asked them if they wanted — I asked Shedeur if they wanted to pray with us,” said Rhule with a shrug. “I pray over every field — I’m a public official, but I can have my faith. I say pray, it’s nondenominational. We have Muslim guys, non-believers. We just take a moment as a team, I want the field to be safe for everybody.”
Despite the alleged barbs, and the fans storming the field after the game, Rhule ran across the field to congratulate Coach Prime after their victory over Rhule’s Huskers football team.
“Absolutely not. I don’t care if I get beaten up by a mob, I’m running across that field, and I’m shaking Coach Sanders’ hand,” he said. “So when you’re losing, people are gonna say all kinds of things about you. I know exactly who I am. I know exactly who I am, and I’m coaching this team with class, and I’m not changing. I went over there, and I shook that man’s hand.”
Rhule wanted to go to Coach Prime because he knew that Deion had two toes amputated and cannot get around as quickly as he used to.
“At the end of the game, they told me, ‘Hey we’re gonna run right off, they’re gonna storm the field.’ I said absolutely not, absolutely not,” Rhule said. “I don’t care if I get beaten up by a mob, I’m running across that field and shaking Coach Sanders’ hand.
Deion also praised Rhule prior to the game at his weekly pre-game press conference.
“What he did at Baylor, I know things didn’t go well at Carolina, but just that opportunity and doing what he did is what some aspire to go to,” Coach Prime said before the thrashing his team gave Nebraska. “I like him, he’s done a phenomenal job with that team and trying to get them to go in the right direction. They play hard, they play tough, they’re physical. They dot i’s and cross t’s and trust me, they are not going to lay down by any means.”
