Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders' daughter, Shelomi, made a somewhat surprising decision to return to the SWAC -- where she began her career at Jackson State before joining her father for only a year in Boulder before bolting -- with her commitment to Alabama A&M.
While Coach Prime wasn't a fan of her entering the portal without a definitive landing spot in mind, she has gained a superfan in first-year Bulldogs head coach Dawn Thornton; who was at Arkansas Pine-Bluff for five years before making her own move within the SWAC.
“Shelomi is just what we need on 'The Hill,'" Thornton told The Clarion Ledger on April 26. “Not only does she want to make a name for herself, but we also have the platform and the resources for her to do it. She is well-known for her game behind the arc, and I love big guards that can score the ball. She has great athleticism and will make it very hard for teams to zone us. Shelomi's commitment and determination will send her potential through the roof.”
Shelomi Sanders steps out of her father's shadow a year before her older brothers on Colorado football
Shelomi turned out to be the first child of Deion and Pilar to step out of her father's shadow. With one more year of eligibility in Boulder, both Shilo and Shedeur Sanders will be riding it out with their father before realizing their NFL dreams in 2025.
Her father's acceptance of the decision be damned, Shelomi is the first child from Deion's second wife who is standing on her own without Coach Prime in charge of her school's football program.
Plenty of growth should result for the youngest of Deion's children in Huntsville, Alabama; a long way from her father and brothers in Boulder.