UCF reporter sends grateful message to Deion Sanders after Coach Prime honors him postgame
Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffs are winning games and his demeanor is improving because of it. Following a dominant 48-21 rout of UCF on September 28, Coach Prime shouted out SSN's Andrew Cherico for doing a great job in his role and overcoming a disability.
Cherico shared a heartfelt message with Sanders for giving him love with all the cameras rolling.
"Wow, I’m blessed beyond belief to have witnessed Deion Sanders giving me a shoutout telling me he’s proud of me and all the work I do especially with the adversity I deal with from my physical disability," Cherico wrote on X. "Thank you Coach Prime it means the world. Growing up with a disability I knew I could never play professional football but my passion for the game never left instead it turned into a passion of speaking and analyzing the game. I’ve had more struggles than I could’ve imagined in my short life but I’ve always been determined to make my dream a reality and it’s coming true in front of me and Coach Prime helped me realize that even more.
"Now, I’m nowhere near close to my end goal but I want this to be a lesson towards anyone even if you have a struggle in your life or not, anything you want to do is possible with hard work and determination. You have the power to do whatever you want in this life. Thank you to everyone who supports my work and coverage. Thank you for supporting me turning my dream into a reality- Your favorite sports journalist in a (wheelchair)."
Deion Sanders redeeming himself after public beef with media in the offseason
Sanders had two toes amputated and has spent significant time in a wheelchair. He knows Cherico's struggle firsthand and acknowledged that when thanking him.
Coach Prime's message was raw. It was heartfelt. And it was the exact kind of thing Sanders needs to say instead of picking beef with media members.
The late portion of the offseason was defined by Sanders banning The Denver Post's Sean Keeler from asking questions at Colorado football press conferences. He was still allowed to go, but Keeler was banned from asking questions since Sanders felt the columnist was coming from a dishonest place.
Talking heads like Paul Finebaum platformed Keeler and made him a sympathetic figure. It was a shameless example of the news man making himself the news.
But Coach Prime played along. He shouldn't have.
Classy moves like what he said to Cherico? Now that's what Sanders should be involving himself with. It looks like the needle is moving in the right direction for Coach Prime's PR, but more importantly, winning seems to be making him a happy man again. He admitted after being blown out by Wazzu (56-14) in 2023 that his first year coaching was the most stressed he'd ever been.
Sanders seems to be getting joy out of life now, though. Good for him, and good for Cherico. Everyone was a winner in this exchange.