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BOULDER, Colo. — Deion Sanders said Monday that a report stating Colorado has offered him its head coaching job is true and he has also received interest from other schools.

The Jackson State coach didn’t say whether he’s considering any of the opportunities, including trying to turn around the Buffaloes’ beleaguered program.

Sanders didn’t specify in a teleconference for the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game participants who else has reached out besides Colorado, saying, “I’m not going to sit here and tell all my business, but they’re not the only ones.”

The university hasn’t commented on any candidates to replace Karl Dorrell, who was dismissed in October. Interim coach Mike Sanford finished out the Buffaloes’ 1-11 season.

On Saturday, Fox Sports reported without citing sources that Colorado had offered Sanders the job.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer has guided Jackson State, a historically black college that plays in the second tier of NCAA Division I football, to an 11-0 mark this season. The Tigers host Southern in the SWAC championship Saturday.

Known as “Prime Time” during his playing career, the magnetic Sanders prefers “Coach Prime” these days. He said the offer to coach the Buffaloes isn’t a distraction.

“To someone else that hasn’t been that dude, it’s intoxicating. I’ve been ‘Prime’ for a long time, dawg,” Sanders with a laugh. “Attention ain’t nothing new to me. Like, come on. I’m not being braggadocious — that’s a wonderful word, isn’t it? I just came up with that — but this isn’t new to me. Being in the spotlight isn’t new to me.”

Whoever takes over in Boulder has their work cut out. The Buffs went 1-8 in the Pac-12 and concluded their gloomy season with a 63-21 blowout loss to No. 12 Utah at Folsom Field on Saturday.

Before the season, Colorado lost several starters through the transfer portal, an area Sanders could surely shore up should he accept the Buffaloes’ job.

Hired by Jackson State in September 2020 after coaching his sons at a Texas high school, Sanders called the fit “a match made in heaven.” He quickly lifted the school in Mississippi’s capital to SWAC champion in one calendar year.

The Tigers followed up a 4-3 finish in a pandemic-delayed spring season with an 11-2 showing last fall, a remarkable jump led by Sanders’ son, Shedeur Sanders, at quarterback. They lost to South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl.

Jackson State’s performance was significant beyond earning its first conference title since 2007. A program that has produced Hall of Famers such as Walter Payton, Lem Barney, Jackie Slater and Robert Brazile was relevant again among HBCUs, and Sanders was determined to keep it that way.

Sanders has also scored on the recruiting trail, landing five-star defensive back Travis Hunter and four-star receiver Kevin Coleman for this year’s unbeaten squad. Sanders told The Associated Press in an October podcast that both players chose JSU because he and his staff will prepare them for careers in the NFL.

Yet, Sanders has noted schools such as Jackson State remain at an inherent disadvantage in recruiting.

“So now it’s becoming an option,” Sanders said of top recruits choosing HBCUs. “But it’s not truly a balanced option because of facilities, because of the housing. Because of all the aesthetics at HBCUs. We’re underfunded and overlooked. So, it’s not the same.”

Sanders’ success in lifting the Championship Subdivision program’s profile — not to mention drawing attention to Black college football and the challenges JSU and other programs face in fielding programs — sparked speculation about Power Five schools pursuing him for coaching vacancies.

Even before Sanders took the Jackson State job, he met with officials at Power Five schools about their coaching vacancies and impressed with his preparation.

Sanders was an All-American at Florida State before a stellar NFL career with five teams that included the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, where he won a Super Bowl with each.

The 55-year-old Sanders — or whoever it may be — would step into a Colorado program that’s a long way from its glory days under Hall of Fame coach Bill McCartney, who led CU to a national championship following the 1990 season.

The Buffaloes have had only one full-length winning season since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.

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Ohtani opens spring with solo HR in first at-bat

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Ohtani opens spring with solo HR in first at-bat

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Shohei Ohtani put any concerns about his surgically repaired left shoulder to rest with just one at-bat.

Ohtani crushed a full-count fastball from Yusei Kikuchi over the left-field fence in his first plate appearance this spring Friday night, staking the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1-0 advantage against the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani batted twice more, popping out to short in the second inning and striking out swinging in the fifth. He left the game after the fifth inning, as planned.

Friday’s home run comes after Ohtani underwent arthroscopic surgery in November to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder suffered when diving into second base during the World Series. The 30-year-old, who won his third Most Valuable Player award to cap a dream first season in which the Dodgers captured their eighth World Series title, had been cautious in his return, hoping to ensure he’s healthy for Los Angeles’ season-opening series against the Chicago Cubs in Japan on March 18.

When Ohtani ascended the dugout steps at 6:08 p.m. local time, fans greeted him with a cheer and watched him take three practice swings before stepping into the batter’s box accompanied by a louder ovation. He started the at-bat from Kikuchi, his countryman who joined the Angels this winter, by staring at a 95 mph fastball for a strike. Ohtani took a curveball for a ball, swung through another for a strike, stared at one more low and didn’t bite on an outside fastball before taking a 94 mph fastball into the Dodgers’ bullpen in left field.

Ohtani, in his second season with the Dodgers, continues to rehabilitate his right arm after a second Tommy John surgery, which caused him to not pitch in 2024. He is targeting a return to the mound in May.

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Tigers’ Vierling (shoulder) to miss Opening Day

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Tigers' Vierling (shoulder) to miss Opening Day

Detroit Tigers outfielder Matt Vierling is nursing a strained right rotator cuff and will not be ready by Opening Day, manager A.J. Hinch said Friday.

The team announced that Vierling, 28, will complete a period of rest before being reevaluated for baseball activities.

Vierling batted .257 with career highs in homers (16), doubles (28), RBIs (57) and runs (80) in 144 games with the Tigers in 2024.

He is a career .259 hitter with 34 homers and 139 RBIs in 429 games with the Philadelphia Phillies (2021-22) and Tigers.

Detroit opens the season with a three-game road series against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers from March 27 to March 29.

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Phillies’ Harper back in lineup 2 days after HBP

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Phillies' Harper back in lineup 2 days after HBP

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper returned to the Philadelphia Phillies‘ lineup Friday, two days after getting hit on the arm by a pitch.

Harper hit second and went 2-for-3 with a strikeout while playing in his usual spot at first base against the Boston Red Sox in a 7-5 victory.

Harper had a bruise on his right arm after getting hit by a 92 mph pitch from Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Richard Lovelady. Manager Rob Thomson said that Harper had a scheduled day off Thursday and that the team was “not really overconcerned at all.”

Thomson told reporters the team’s initial diagnosis was a bruised right triceps.

The two-time National League MVP had entered play Friday still looking for his first hit of the spring. Harper was 0-for-2 with a walk in his three plate appearances in Grapefruit League play before Friday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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