The Big Lead doesn't seem to think its interview this week with former Atlanta Falcons CB Deion Sanders went all that well. Sanders dismissed several questions and rarely answered with more than a sentence or two, but one of his answers is plenty interesting for the local football fan. I'm not sure if this story is common knowledge, but I'd never heard it before.
Apparently Sanders was being recruited by Georgia Bulldogs coach Vince Dooley in 1984, when on an otherwise pleasant visit he learned Dooley expected him to redshirt. You'll be shocked to learn this upset Sanders:
↵↵↵↵I said, "redshirt? I'm gonna start. What do you mean redshirt?" I couldn't believe he put me in that category. I crossed Georgia off the list immediately. I just saw his team get its butt kicked and the corners looked horrible. I had really liked Georgia, too.
↵
Sanders mentioned the team that beat Georgia as being the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, though he sounds unsure. Tech did beat Georgia in 1984, and by two scores, if that counts as a butt-kicking. You'll forgive me for being unable to Google up some message board threads on exactly when his visit was, but it would line up pretty well since the Dawgs only had two home games in the latter half of that season.
↵Georgia went on to force a tie in the Citrus Bowl with the .... Florida St. Seminoles, with whom Sanders eventually signed. Georgia could've had a Jim Thorpe Award-winner, two-time All-American, first-round MLB draft pick, and track star. Obviously being asked to redshirt would put off a guy like Sanders far more than a loss ever could -- FSU lost its last 1984 regular season game at home to a state rival by two scores, too -- but this is the rare sports moment that directly involves our three biggest football teams. #synergy
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