Auburn football out on Deion Sanders with ‘Prime Time’ talking to 2 other schools instead

Auburn football will not be the school that facilitates a Power Five for Deion Sanders — this, at least, according to 247Sports’ Carl Reed in his latest ‘Prime Time’ update following an 11-0 season for Jackson State. “Sanders has not talked to anybody representing Auburn as that program’s search goes in a different direction,” Reed wrote.

Sanders’ Tigers will be representing the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s East Division for the conference championship on December 3. Southern U, who played JSU during Jackson’s first-ever College Gameday hosting stint, could clinch a berth in the title game this weekend with a win over Grambling State.

While Sanders has led Jackson State to a historic rise, the FCS level is merely a stepping stone for the man they call ‘Prime Time.’ His next destination could be either of the two schools Reed mentioned in his piece.

With Auburn football out, Colorado and USF emerge as top Deion Sanders destinations

According to 247Sports’ Carl Reed, sources close to Sanders say he’s ‘been in discussions with power-brokers at both Colorado and South Florida about their coaching vacancies.’

Interestingly enough, Deion Sanders could be competing with recently-fired Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin for the Colorado job. The Buffs brain trust has been rumored to be interested in Harsin’s experience coaching for the University of Texas, given that the Lone Star State is a recruiting hotbed for Colorado.

Sanders has far more momentum both on the field and off of it due to his recruiting success this past cycle — reeling in the No. 1 overall recruit in the country — but he also would be stepping into a program that has had two winning seasons since 2006 in an increasingly competitive Pac-12, at least until USC and UCLA bolt for the Big 10.

USF represents a more interesting fit considering Sanders’ south Florida roots and the fact that he can make them an immediate winner in the AAC considering the imminent departures of UCF, Houston, and Cincinnati to the Big 12. It’d surely make more logical sense for his trajectory from the FCS.