Deion Sanders strongly in support of putting former Gamecock in Hall of Fame
Deion Sanders got one good taste of facing South Carolina’s Sterling Sharpe in college, well before the pair had meetings in the NFL when Sharpe was with the Green Bay Packers and Sanders was with the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers.
Sanders is a Hall of Famer, one of the best to ever play the game, and in his expert opinion, Sharpe deserves a bust alongside his in Canton, Ohio.
“The guy that should be in the Hall of Fame, who is one of the most physical, one of the best route runners, one of the best receiving guys that I’ve ever played against was Sterling Sharpe,” Deion Sanders said on an NFL Network combine broadcast with Rich Eisen.” Let me tell you something, man, you went up there to bump him, he was going to take your facemask off and your shoulder pads off. And if you backed off and he caught the ball, how you going to make the tackle?”
Sharpe was nominated for the Hall of Fame in September, but didn’t make the cut.
In seven seasons in Green Bay, Sharpe compiled 595 catches for 8,134 yards and 65 scores. He made the Pro Bowl five times and first-team all-pro three times.
His career was cut short by a neck injury in 1994. In three games against Sanders’ teams, he had 283 yards.
He even was able to get a handle on Sanders’ oft-loquacious style.
“You didn’t want to talk to him,” Sanders said. “Oh, you didn’t want to do that.
“How his he not in the Hall of Fame? I have no idea. That was a grown man that I promise you, you had to get a good breakfast that morning.”
Sanders will soon join the South Carolina football family when his son Shilo enrolls in the summer. The younger Sanders might have trouble getting his father’s No. 21, as that right now belongs to Jamyest Williams.
“‘He said, ‘Dad, what if 21 is taken, should I get 2?’” Deion Sanders said. “I said, ‘I promise you, you won’t get 2.’”
That No. 2, Sharpe’s number.
