Colorado State’s Jay Norvell Clarifies ‘Sunglasses’ Jab at Deion Sanders

The Rams coach did his best to clear up his intent in the aftermath of his shot at Coach Prime.

Colorado State coach Jay Norvell found himself at the center of the college football world this week after taking a shot at Deion Sanders ahead of the Rams’ highly anticipated rivalry matchup with Colorado.

In case you missed it, Norvell said, “When I talk to grown-ups, I take my hat off and my glasses off,” in a thinly veiled jab at Sanders. Sanders replied to the jab by saying the criticism would motivate his team. Although Norvell didn’t comment publicly while his comment swirled through the media and created a firestorm, he broke his silence on the matter late Friday night.

Taking to social media less than 24 hours before kickoff, Norvell responded to a video of ESPN’s Rece Davis weighing in on the back and forth between the two coaches. The College GameDay host made clear in his conversation with a small group of reporters that he didn’t fault the Rams coach for his jab at Coach Prime, suggesting that the barb was meant to fire up Colorado State’s players—not to disrespect Sanders of the Buffaloes.

As for Norvell’s thoughts on the matter? He couldn’t agree more with Davis.

“With all the media involved with this game, not one reporter asked me about my comments. One guy got it,” Norvell wrote in response to Davis’s comment. “I wanted to send a message to our players and how we run our program.”

With all the media involved with this game, not one reporter asked me about my comments. One guy got it. I wanted to send a message to our players and how we run our program.#RamGrit🐏 https://t.co/6eVUpnE4tk

— Jay Norvell (@CoachJayNorvell) September 16, 2023

Though Norvell may have done exactly what he intended and inspired his Colorado State (0–1) players in their second game of the season, there are plenty of unintended consequences from the viral comment. Sanders been sure to utilize the barb as bulletin board material for his own team, making for quite the lead-up to his first game on the sideline against the Buffaloes’ in-state rival.

All that’s left to do is settle any further beef on the field Saturday evening. Kickoff from Boulder is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.