Colorado coach Sanders declines to address health issues at media days

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Deion Sanders declined to address his health at Big 12 football media days Wednesday, which came during his extended absence from Colorado. "I'm not here to talk about my health," said Sanders, who is going into his third season as the Buffaloes coach. "I'm here to talk about my team." Since overseeing Colorado's spring game April 19, Sanders hadn't attended football camps in Boulder. The school had said last month, amid reports that the coach was ill, that it could not say why he was absent. Sanders did not specifically answer any questions about his health. "I'm looking good. I'm living lovely. God has truly blessed me," he said. "Not a care in the world. Not a want or desire in the world." Sanders was the last of the league's 16 coaches to appear on the main stage over two days at the headquarters of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, which is about 75 miles from the sprawling ranch that the Pro Football Hall of Fame player has in Canton, Texas. During his question-and-answer session that lasted nearly 17 minutes, Sanders addressed topics such as his coaching staff, quarterbacks and even Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire. Sanders then returned to the stage for a roundtable discussion with the other seven coaches in attendance Wednesday, but he didn't take part in his media breakout session scheduled for each coach at the end of the day. It was unclear if the latest health issues are new. Sanders, a month shy of his 58th birthday, has struggled with his left foot since having two toes amputated in 2021 because of blood clot issues while at Jackson State. He missed Pac-12 media day in 2023, his first year at Colorado, after a procedure to remove a blood clot from his right leg and another to straighten toes on his left foot. Colorado athletic director Rick George, who wouldn't elaborate on Sanders' health, said they stay in constant contact. The AD said Sanders will probably be back on campus in a week or two. "We always talk. We text, we talk," George said. "We have a great relationship. We trust each other." While commending the work of Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark in his opening remarks, Sanders said that Yormark called him daily to check to make sure he was getting better. There have also been a lot of calls from his fellow league coaches. "I love them, they've been calling and checking on me, making sure I'm straight," Sanders said. This will be Sanders first season at Colorado without having one of his sons on the team. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was a fifth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in the NFL draft, and safety Shilo Sanders signed with Tampa Bay as an undrafted free agent. Also gone is Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, the two-way standout who was also like a son to Sanders. Hunter played for him at Jackson State and Colorado, and now will try to play both ways in the NFL after Jacksonville drafted him second overall. "Now I only have to be a coach. I don't have the coach and a dad," Sanders said during a segment with ESPN. "You've got to understand, when you're the coach and the dad ... make sure you watch the defense, make sure you watch the offense, but you want to watch your kids as well. I don't have to have that dilemma. Now I can just pour into everything I got into all of these young men." Sanders is 13-12 in his two seasons with the revived Buffaloes, who in their return to the Big 12 last season missed making the league championship game on a tiebreaker after being one of four teams to finish 7-2 in conference play. He is under contract with the Buffaloes through the 2029 season after agreeing to a new $54 million, five-year deal this spring that made him the Big 12's highest-paid coach. That replaced the final three years of the $29.5 million, five-year deal he got when he arrived from Jackson State, where he was 27-6 in three seasons. Asked about the Sanders' time at Colorado, George responded, "Fun and exciting." ___ AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football