- Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has a policy that if a player needs help getting off the field, they will not return to the game.
- Sanders’ rule helps instill toughness and avoids penalties under a new NCAA rule targeting fake injuries.
- Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has a similar ‘toughen up’ philosophy for his undefeated team.
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has a certain policy for his players if they need help getting up off the field after getting injured:
You’re done. You’re not going back into the game.
“Our guys ain’t soft, man,” Sanders said at his weekly news conference in Boulder on Tuesday.
His policy helps ensure that — and helps avoid a penalty for his team under a new NCAA rule. It’s also the kind of policy Indiana coach Curt Cignetti can appreciate. Cignetti was caught on television Oct. 11 telling his defensive back, Jamari Sharpe, to “toughen up” after Sharpe got run over by an Oregon running back in the first half of a 30-20 win. He yelled this to Sharpe as he walked off the field with Indiana medical staff before returning to the game one play later.
“We gotta quit laying on the ground on defense and coming back the next play,” Cignetti told CBS at halftime.
Texas A&M football fined for faking injury
This kind of message has worked for Cignetti, whose team is 7-0 and ranked No. 2 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. Sanders is trying to instill a similar culture at Colorado, which is 3-4 entering a game at Utah on Saturday night, Oct. 25.
“One thing that I really love about our guys, you don’t see our guys laying around on the field,” Sanders said. “They get up and they get off the durn field regardless of how hurt they are, and that’s something that us coaches implemented. Like, we don’t want to see you laying on the field, because we have a rule. If you lay down there and we come out there to get you, you ain’t going back in.”
Sanders’ policy against laying on the field also helps his team avoid being penalized under a new NCAA rule this year. Teams are charged a timeout if a player presents himself as injured after the ball is spotted by the officiating crew for the next play. If the team doesn’t have any timeouts remaining, it will be penalized 5 yards for delay of game.
The new rule was made after complaints that some teams were faking injuries to strategically slow the game.
In a win over Arkansas Oct. 18, Texas A&M was charged a timeout for this in the fourth quarter. Additionally, the Southeastern Conference fined Texas A&M $50,000 for violating the NCAA’s policy on faking injuries after Aggies defensive back Tyreek Chappell went down ‘to the ground, creating the appearance of an injury.’ The National Coordinator of Football Officiating reviewed video that showed a Texas A&M staff member ‘signaling demonstratively’ at Chappell, pointing to the ground. The SEC noted that Chappell had no contact during the play and returned to the game on the second play of the ensuing defensive possession.
‘We respect the SEC’s decision and understand the importance of upholding the integrity of the game,’ Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said in a statement. ‘While we accept the ruling, we do not agree with the decision and want to be clear that we never coach or instruct our players to feign injury. Texas A&M football remains firmly committed to the highest standards of sportsmanship, competitiveness, and integrity.’
Sanders said it’s for the benefit of his players. If they’re hurt enough to need help getting back up off the field, he doesn’t want them returning to action in the same game.
“We got to protect them in their lives… not just the football of it,” Sanders said. “I want them to be healthy young men when this is over.”
Deion Sanders emphasized tackling this week
Despite the injury risk, Sanders also pushed live tackling in practice this week, according to a video posted Monday by his son Deion Jr. On Saturday, the Buffaloes face a Utah team that ranks sixth nationally in rushing yards per game (245). Colorado has struggled against the run this season, ranking 116th in rush defense.
“We’re full-speed tackle,” Sanders told his team at that practice. “Tackle to the ground.”
Sanders also had former Colorado defensive tackle Chidozie Nwankwo address the team.
“Y’all gotta step your game up,” Nwankwo said. “A lot of y’all are lazy.”
Colorado needs three wins in its final five games to become eligible for a postseason bowl game but has only two more games at home: vs. Arizona on Nov. 1 and vs. Arizona State on Nov. 22.
Sanders’ overall record in three seasons at Colorado is 16-16.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com