Deion Sanders, Alcorn State, National Signing Day: Recapping a busy college football news cycle

The sports world doesn’t stop spinning during the holiday season. There’s all sorts of news, much of which deserves comment. To wit:

Sports Illustrated names Deion Sanders Sportsperson of the Year.

I don’t even know where to begin with this news. So how about this: Are you freaking kidding me? 

Since skipping the SWAC Championship press conference and leaving Jackson State – where he said God had led him – Sanders coached Colorado to a 4-8 record this past season. This he achieved by losing seven of his last eight games after after firing about 50 or 60 inherited student-athletes who only thought they had signed on to play their college football at Colorado.

This he did after firing the offensive coordinator whom he had talked into leaving a job as a college head coach. This he did by blowing a 29-0 halftime lead over a mediocre-or-worse Stanford team in his home stadium. 

All this he did while his every move was being filmed for his own documentary purposes. We saw it all here in Jackson at Veterans Memorial Stadium where there were always more TV cameras pointed at Coach Prime on the sideline than there were pointed at the players on the field.

When Deion signed on at Jackson State, I called an old friend who had covered him for years in the NFL. I asked him: What is the most important thing I need to know about Deion Sanders. His answer: Just remember this: “You know how coaches talk about how the word ‘team’ does not include letter ‘I’? Well, you can’t spell Deion without the letter ‘I.’ That’s the main thing you need to know about Deion.”

He was right. With Deion, it’s all about Deion, all the time. He was an unbelievably great athlete. He is a good football coach. Sports Person of the Year? Again, are you freaking kidding me?

Off the top of my head, I can think of, oh, 50 to 60 athletes and coaches more deserving. On a planet where Shohei Ohtani has become the greatest baseball player since Babe Ruth, and the remarkable Patrick Mahomes is the reigning Super Bowl MVP, and Nikola Jokic has redefined the role of the big man in pro basketball, we get the self-proclaimed Coach Prime as Sportsperson of the Year? Seems nothing short of blasphemy.

Fred McNair leaves Alcorn for Texas Southern; Cedric Thomas takes over.

Had heard rumors that McNair, the original Air McNair, might be leaving Alcorn State, but never thought it would happen. This almost seems like someone from the Henry Ford family going to work for Chevrolet.

McNair, simply put, is Alcorn royalty, a star player under Theo Danzy and older brother of the late Steve “Air II” McNair, the greatest player in Alcorn history and later an NFL MVP.

Fred McNair leaves after having been Alcorn’s head coach for seven seasons and coaching the Braves to four SWAC Eastern Division championships and two overall SWAC titles. McNair’s Braves were 7-4 last season, tied for the division title and defeated arch-rival Jackson State in McNair’s final game as Alcorn coach.

McNair leaves with an overall record of 48-35, including a sparkling 38-17 record against SWAC opponents. In his final season, the Braves defeated not only in-state rivals Mississippi Valley State and Jackson State but also fierce rivals Grambling and Southern.

Here’s where it gets a little crazy: What cost the Braves the outright division title and a championship game berth was a stunning 44-10 defeat to Texas Southern, 2-7 beforehand, on Nov. 12, the week before the Jackson State game.

TSU’s stunning victory wasn’t enough to save Coach Clarence McKinney’s job. McKinney won 12 games and lost 35 in four seasons at the Houston school.

At 12:21 p.m. Tuesday, Alcorn emailed a press release thanking McNair for his service and including this quote from interim athletic director Robert Raines: “I would like to thank Coach Fred McNair for his many years of service and dedication to Alcorn State University. We worked diligently to extend Coach McNair a multi-year contract that would have placed him in the top tier of the conference for compensation, incentives and additional incentives for assistant coaches. Unfortunately, we could not reach an agreement.”

At 1:24 p.m., another Alcorn press release announced the promotion of Thomas from defensive coordinator to head coach. Thomas, also an Alcorn grad, has also coached at Southern Miss and has head coaching experience at both Mississippi Delta Community College and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Wednesday is National Signing Day.

Every coach in the country will brag about their recruiting “haul” and say they filled their immediate needs and claim victory. Meanwhile, Alabama and Georgia will sign the best recruiting classes and Florida State, Texas and Ohio State will not be far behind. It happens every year. In a not-so-bold prediction, I will tell you it will happen again Wednesday.

The latest 247sports.com recruiting rankings, using verbal commitments, puts Ole Miss by far tops among Mississippi schools at No. 21 nationally. That puts the Rebels 10th among SEC schools. Heading into signing day, State ranks 35th nationally. Southern Miss, at 72nd, ranks tops among Sun Belt Conference schools. It should be noted Ole Miss will fare far better in transfer portal rankings, surely in the top five nationally if commitments hold.