Cowboys Legend Deion Sanders Hiring Familiar Faces to Jackson State
For those who want to learn how to build a college football program's brand, Deion Sanders is putting on a masterclass.
The Hall-of-Fame Dallas Cowboys cornerback took over as the head coach at Jackson State University, an HBCU, in 2020. Despite producing four Hall-of-Fame players since 1958 (including Walter Payton), the program has stayed relatively quiet -- until Sanders came along. Since 2020, the Jackson State Tigers have qualified for two bowl games, winning one in 2021.
In addition, the school's recruiting quality has seen a tremendous boost. Sanders recently made national headlines when he secured five-star cornerback Travis Hunter; the No.1 ranked player became the highest-ranked recruit to ever sign with an HBCU or in the FCS.
In a recent move, Sanders has made two notable hires to his coaching staff.
Firstly, Sanders has brought veteran college and professional coach Tim Brewster on board as senior assistant head coach.
Brewster's first coaching job was from 1989-1997 as the tight end coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels; since then, Brewster has jumped around both the college and professional football scenes as a tight end or wide receiver coach for the Texas Longhorns, San Diego Chargers, Denver Broncos, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Florida State Seminoles, Texas A&M Aggies, and Florida Gators; in addition, he had a three-year stint with the Minnesota Golden Gophers as head coach.
Sanders has also hired Andrew Zimmer as an analyst. Zimmer is the nephew of seasoned NFL coach Mike Zimmer; Mike Zimmer and Sanders have had strong connection, close friends since Zimmer's days as an assistant coach for the Cowboys during Sanders' tenure with the team.
In the last two seasons, Sanders has been able to push the Tigers back into the national limelight; Jackson State fans will hope that these hires will help establish the program as a beacon of excellence in college football.
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