Jackson State and coach Deion Sanders once again became the topic of college football this past weekend when wide receiver Kevin Coleman announced his commitment during the All-American Bowl on Jan. 8, 2022.
“I want to go play with coach Deion, I want to compete,” Coleman told On3. “Why not go play with the best corner to ever do it?”
Coleman is the No. 4 wide receiver and No. 44 overall player in the country, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. He chose the HBCU Jackson State over Miami and Florida State and joins the nation’s No. 1 player, Travis Hunter, for the Tigers’ second-consecutive historic recruiting class.
With both Hunter and Coleman, many college football fans have accused Sanders and JSU of throwing loads of money to the prospects. There were even rumors that Barstool Sports, a media company Sanders works for, gave Hunter a $1 million deal after signing with Jackson State.
“We ain’t got no money!” Sanders said on ESPN’s “KJM.” “I heard $1.5 million [for Hunter], and I heard Dave Portnoy from Barstool, that’s the biggest lie I ever heard. [Do] you know what that is? That means we kicked your butt, we took what was ours and now you’ve got to make an excuse why.”
According to the Clarion Ledger, in 2018 JSU’s athletic budget for the prior fiscal year was $7.6 million. By comparison, the University of Alabama brought in $164 million of revenue in the 2020 fiscal year, according to AL.com.
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