Javon Antonio almost made Buffaloes Coach Deion Sanders cry happy tears after clutch catch
Javon Antonio expressed his love for his Colorado Buffaloes coach near the end of their 27-24 win over Arizona State last weekend. It was a special moment for Coach Deion Sanders, and he said the emotion the wide receiver shared almost made him cry.
"When one of your players looks at you and says something definitive and in that moment they really mean that? That's deep," said Sanders on this week's "Coach Prime's Playbook with Romi Bean."
The moment came on Saturday right after Antonio made a catch that got the Buffs into field goal range at Mountain America Stadium. Coach Prime put his arm around Antonio when he got back to the sidelines and said as a camera was rolling "Can't sleep on him. They can't sleep on him. What did he do? He delivered."
"Love you coach," Antonio said right away in response.
Sanders told Bean on the CBS Colorado Sports show that he and his coaching staff had seen how Antonio had been shaking off Sun Devils defenders on the routes he had been running late in the close game so "we called on him and he got it done." And he fully expects Antonio will see more touches on Friday night against Stanford.
Antonio was Sanders' special guest on this week's show, which airs at a special time this week -- 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Before Saturday's game he hadn't had much success as a Buff. But Sanders said he knew Antonio's moment would come.
"He didn't sit on the sideline, have an attitude and not be engaged in the game. He was ready. He got his opportunity, he was ready. Now he's going to play a lot more this week as well," Prime said.
One reason why Antonio may have been able to get so wide open on the play that set up the game-winning field goal on Saturday is the tips he's been getting from a Hall of Famer. Terrell Owens is one of the many sports celebrities who have been attending the Buffaloes games, and the legendary wide receiver has worked a bit with players including Antonio. T.O. even texted him with some encouragement on Saturday night.
"He's helped me with my game," Antonio said. "As a route runner he's been helping me, telling me I've got to get that better, but it's going to come. Everything's going to come together. He told me to just be patient."
Sanders says the presence of players like T.O. on the sidelines has had an incredible impact on his team.
"You know how powerful that is, to have a Hall of Fame guy that's been through trials and tribulations to come and pour back into these guys like this?" Sanders said. "That is what we're trying to do with these young men; we want to introduce them to successful men that have done it, but not only done it but they had flaws and they corrected their flaws and continued to go on."
Antonio says since he arrived in Boulder, he has been in awe of the way Sanders has coached.
"What other coach can you ask for? The best coach in the nation," Antonio said. "He's just pushing you forward every day, each and every one of us. We look up to him. Everybody does."
He has also been impressed with Coach Prime's son Shadeur Sanders, who he has developed a close relationship with.
"I've just got so much trust in my quarterback," he said.