Deion Sanders origin story: He became Prime Time in the 1980s, but also displayed edgy makings of future coach

Tim Tebow talked to Fox News Digital about Deion Sanders' impact on the Colorado football program.

By: Glenn Guilbeau

Before Deion Sanders became Prime Time, he was already golden and a little edgy with a lot of attitude.

The hottest football coach in America at the moment at Colorado did not have humble beginnings at Florida State in 1985. He was not Prime Time on arrival, but very close to it.

"He was a guy who was highly sought after out of Fort Myers, Florida, as everyone knows, and part of the group we called the Golden Class," former Georgia head coach Mark Richt told OutKick this week.

A former backup quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes, Richt worked as a volunteer assistant at FSU under coach Bobby Bowden at the same time Sanders became a national star as a cornerback and kick returner from 1985-88. There was no Internet, but he didn’t need it.

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"The reason we called it the Golden Class was practical," Richt said. The FSU staff color-coded players on its depth chart to differentiate signing classes.

"He just happened to be in gold, but in more ways than one, he was the key part of the class that turned us around," Richt said.

Florida State was 7-3-2 pre-Prime and 11-1 in his last season in 1988 that was the first of 14 straight top five finishes, including national titles in 1993 and ’99. Sanders and Bo Jackson just before him at Auburn became the most famous and marketable dual-sport stars in history.

Defensive back Deion Sanders #2 of the Florida State Seminoles winner of the 1988 Jim Thorpe Award, poses with the trophy circa 1988 at Doak Campbell Stadium at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. (Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

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