Athletes are naturally just uber-competitive characters. Reaching the levels they strive to reach means being competitive is a requisite trait. But a little extra motivation is always welcomed when you’re preparing for a trial by fire. Something Shilo Sanders is staring down the barrel of. Now, “Sanders” on the back of your jersey weighs heavy. Shilo perhaps got the shorter end of the stick when it came to the family’s athletic prowess. While his brother Shedeur Sanders has flirted with getting close to or even breaching the bar set by his father, Deion Sanders, the same hasn’t quite transpired with Shilo. As he prepares for a fork in the road for his NFL hopes, Shilo is seeking that extra motivation. Something that’ll tip the scales, push him over the edge. Well, a little money on the line is one way to get the competitive juices flowing.
The path to the NFL isn’t linear. Not even when your dad is one of the greatest ever. A Canton inductee whose gold jacket has to come off at the door when it comes to getting his son in the building. Shilo Sanders never got an invite to the NFL Combine in Indy. Meaning Colorado’s Pro Day is make-or-break for his career, as cliché as that sounds. Pro Day entails more than just physical and skill-based prognosis. It’s an opportunity for franchises to weigh players’ intangibles as well. But that 40-yard dash still remains the epitome. Do well there, and the rest of the pieces often fall into place. During his draft process, Shilo has shown tunnel vision towards clocking a great time in the 40. It seems like the only thing on his mind. In fact, he’s projecting it onto kids now. What’s Colorado law around gambling with juveniles again?
Colorado held a “Youth Combine” at their facility this week. An appetizer to the main event, which will feature Shedeur alongside Shilo Sanders. The latter was present to provide guidance and motivation as football players of various age groups participated in drills. Being the son of the eccentric Deion Sanders means some of that eccentricity permeates through. Shilo put into motion a plan to spice things up a little at this event. An event and plan he relayed extensively over his namesake YouTube channel.
Shilo Sanders approached the organizers and coaches with a proposition. Pick 3 kids at random and ask them to challenge another kid of their age at the 40-yard dash. Whoever clocks in the better time takes home a sweet $100 Benjamin. Not only did this make for good content, it helped give back to the Colorado community. People who’ve backed Shilo through adversity the last couple of years. Alongside the money, Shilo was also seen dishing technical tips to a couple of middle schoolers about how to maximize their dash. Something he’s trying to do himself. Which has led to Shilo approaching his father for help and coming to a realization.
A couple of overarching attribute types that make or break careers. Tangibles and intangibles. Shoehorning every intricate skill in either category is futile, but the mainframe largely holds up. In his day, Deion Sanders had both on lock. His athleticism was cusping on generational, so the tangibles probably did more of the heavy lifting. You see his protégé Travis Hunter playing both sides of the football now, but Deion took things a step further. He even played baseball professionally. Everyone’s privy to the famous fact of him being the only person to have played in both a Super Bowl and a World Series. Yet, one achievement of Prime piques Shilo Sanders’ interest even more. Perhaps because of its mythical nature since it’s not on tape. Deion’s own 40-yard dash.
Shilo Sanders has jokes for the mystique around Deion Sanders’ dash
Deion Sanders recorded a 4.27 in the 40-yard dash. He famously only dropped by at the 1989 Combine in a Limo to run the dash and left. But that’s a whole ‘nother wrinkle to digress into. For now, a desperate Shilo Sanders probed Deion on whether the numbers were even true. During a different video on his YouTube, Shilo posted an interaction between the pair. “There’s no video of you running it… I haven’t talked to anyone that’s ever seen it,” said Shilo. “We’ve seen Muhammad Ali box, but not seen you run a 40. I’ve seen [people] land on the Moon, but not you…I’ve seen videos of Malcolm X, but I ain’t seen you run a 40!” Shilo’s jokes sure make it seem like Deion’s dash is up there in sports mythology with Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game! Now, Shilo’s taken these jokes a step further.
Guesting on the 365 Sports platform, Shilo Sanders said he’d been training exclusively for Pro Day for the last 8 weeks. He delved into the 40, which naturally spawned questions about Deion’s own. Shilo stated how he’d realized why Deion could even run that fast—because of his background in track. However, he’s still seeking evidence. “They got proof of Jesus. I just need proof of Coach Prime’s 40!” he exclaimed. Whether he believes it or not, Deion’s recorded 4.27 is fueling Shilo in setting his own goal. “I’m running a 4.4,” Shilo boldly claimed to Deion Sanders during that aforementioned interaction.
Prime liked this driven mentality on display and reciprocated it with a reward on the other side. “Let’s do it…If you run a 4.4, I’ll buy you a new car,” he said. Shilo’s up for it. He’s marinating things, too, preparing Deion for the outlay. “When I get a good start, you’re gonna be like, ‘Damn’. Because you haven’t seen me run before,” he said. There is a prevalent belief that Shilo Sanders will indeed be in the NFL. Whether he’s drafted or signs on as a free agent. Shilo’s future has a cloud looming over it due to a lawsuit against him as well. It’ll be interesting to see how things unravel over the next month. But first, Shilo will have to take care of business at Pro Day on April 4th. All while Deion prepares for life in coaching without his sons.
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