Clark: Deion had enormous impact on FSU football

Thirty years ago this month, a skinny defensive back prospect from Fort Myers walked onto the Florida State practice fields for the first time.

He had raw ability. Everyone saw that. But nobody could have known -- not Bobby Bowden, not Mickey Andrews, not any of his teammates -- that by the time Deion Sanders left four years later he would go down as one of the best college football players in history.

And he would finish his career as arguably the best cornerback of all time.

Deion came in as part of the heralded 1985 recruiting class, which became the foundation for the Seminoles’ dynasty run. He wasn’t considered the crown jewel of that program-changing class at the time – running back Sammie Smith was – but in hindsight no single player in history had more of an impact on the Florida State football program than Deion did.

It wasn’t that he was just a great player.

Florida State has had plenty of those.

No, Deion was different. He was flashy. He was outspoken. He was supremely confident. And that permeated the entire program during his time in Tallahassee.

Every time he made a big play, especially late in his FSU career, the man who was nicknamed Prime Time would throw his arms out as wide as he could, nod his head and essentially say to the fans: “Yes. I know I’m the greatest. Praise me. Shower me with attention. I deserve it.”

And they did.

Anybody that was at Doak Campbell Stadium in those years remembers the scene: A third-down stop. The opposing punt team jogs onto the field. And the Seminoles’ all-American cornerback slowly walks back to get in position to field the punt. His arms raised, beckoning the crowd to make more noise, knowing every single eye in that stadium was on him.

It was electric. That’s the only way to describe it. And it’s truly one of the only ways to describe him.

I could write 10,000 words on Deion’s athletic prowess and it still wouldn’t be enough. I mean, the guy hit a home run in a Major League Baseball game and scored a touchdown in the NFL … in the same week! It’s not hyperbole to say he was one of the most phenomenal athletes who has ever walked on this planet.

And we all understand he was one of the great defensive backs in history. And one of the fastest human beings to ever put on a helmet. Watching him at top speed was unlike anything I’ve ever seen on a football field. It legitimately looked like he was in fast forward and everybody else was running at regular speed.

But Deion isn’t the most important player in school history just because of his athleticism and his work ethic – both of which are legendary.

No. Deion’s impact at FSU has as much to do with his bravado, his confidence, his personality than anything else (we’ll try not to hold the debacle known as the “Seminole Rap” against him).

You have to remember, when Deion and that famed 1985 class arrived in Tallahassee, Bowden’s teams were coming off four seasons in which they had lost a combined 16 games and tied two others. Florida State was seen as a Top 20 program, but couldn’t crack into the Top 10. And certainly not the Top 5.

And they couldn’t beat Florida.

That trend continued for their first two years on campus. Then came 1987 … and everything changed.

Florida State went 22-2 over the next two seasons, with both losses coming to Miami. It was a burgeoning national power.

And just as the Seminoles were bursting onto the scene, just as they were becoming part of the national landscape, they just so happened to have an all-time great player, with a memorable first name and a terrific nickname out there high-stepping on national television.

Imagine the impact that had with future recruits. Watching Deion be Deion. Knowing the head coach was cool with his star corner comparing himself to Perry Mason in a matchup against Auburn wide receiver Lawyer Tillman.

“And Perry Mason never loses,” Deion said.

He certainly didn’t against that Lawyer.

Before Deion arrived, Florida State was a good program with a funny head coach and a fun offense – that would run reverses all day long but couldn’t beat Florida.

By the time Deion left, Florida State was a brash, cool, cocky, in-your-face program – with players who would pound their chests after beating Florida 52-17.

Now obviously, Deion Sanders isn’t the sole reason for the dynasty. I’m not suggesting that. He played with other great players and he had terrific coaches. They mattered. A lot.

But there’s no arguing that Deion’s greatness, matched with Deion’s brashness, came at the perfect time for the Florida State program.

One of the best players in college football history. Right there at the birth of one of the all-time great dynasties.

With arms stretched out as wide as possible. Making sure we’d never forget him.

Deion’s Top Five Quotes

“Lawyer and I are going to court. I am Perry Mason and Perry Mason never loses.” — Sanders on matching up against Auburn star wideout Lawyer Tillman

“If you won the lottery tomorrow would you take your job as seriously? I’ve got a lottery ticket, I’ve just got to cash it in.” — Sanders on why he didn’t take academics seriously his senior year at FSU.

“They talk about me like I’m God, which I am. Before they step on the field they’re intimidated.” — Sanders on Florida’s wide receivers.

“The punt return team heard (Clemson star) Donnell Woolford, Donnell Woolford: How great he was. The fellas feel like they have the best return man in the nation. I feel the same way.” — Sanders after helping beat Clemson in 1988 with a memorable 76-yard punt return TD.

“Put my picture here.” — Sanders said, holding up the Clemson program with Woolford posing with the Thorpe Award. “No. The heck with the Thorpe. I want the Heisman.”

“Rison Who?” — Sanders said in victorious locker room after holding Michigan State All-American receiver Andre Rison to one catch. “Our goal was to keep him from getting any receptions. He got one, but I think we did a good job.”

— Compiled by Corey Clark

Deion’s Top Five Moments

1. The return

What made Deion Sanders’ 76-yard punt return TD against No. 3 Clemson so special wasn’t just that it tied the game in the second half, but that he called it beforehand.

“It’s going back,” Sanders yelled at the Clemson bench as he awaited the punt. “It’s going back, baby.” And he wasn’t lying, sprinting through the Tigers’ punt team for the score. He was then pelted with trash by Clemson fans as he celebrated in the end zone.

“How you like me now?” he screamed to the Death Valley crowd.

It wasn’t the most famous play of that game — the Puntrooskie will always top that list — but it was the best, most electrifying play of Sanders’ extraordinary college career.

2. The interception

It was the perfect way to go out. With Florida State holding a 13-7 lead late in the fourth quarter of the 1989 Sugar Bowl, the Auburn offense began driving for a game-winning score. The Tigers converted on three straight fourth-down passes, including two against Sanders, to get deep into FSU territory.

But with seven seconds left, Reggie Slack’s potential game-winning TD pass was intercepted by ... you know who. And Deion had finished his career off with a game-clinching interception in the end zone. Primetime, indeed.

3. Double duty

In May of 1987 Deion was a starting outfielder for the Florida State baseball team. And the Seminoles were up in Columbia, South Carolina, for the Metro Baseball tournament. They had two games that Saturday and in the first one Sanders had a double and scored a run in a win over Southern Miss.

Then, in between baseball games, he jogged over to the South Carolina track to run a leg of the Seminoles’ 4x100 relay team, which was also competing for the Metro Conference title. He was clocked at 10.4 seconds on his leg and helped FSU win the conference championship.

Then, he went back over to the diamond and contributed a two-run single in the Seminoles’ 6-3 win for the Metro title. All in all, not a bad day for one of the best athletes to ever live.

“It really was unbelievable,” said FSU baseball coach Mike Martin. “And holy smokes it was a thing of beauty to watch him come out of those blocks and run. Oh my gosh.”

4. Shutting down Rison

Andre Rison was an All-American at Michigan State and would go on to have a very productive career as an NFL wide receiver. But in two games against Florida State, in 1987 and 1988, he did next to nothing. Because of Deion.

In the 1988 game, which the Seminoles won 30-7, Sanders made arguably the most impressive interception of his career. He let Rison get past him on a deep post route, enticing the Spartan quarterback to throw it. But when the ball was in the hair he accelerated like he was in fast-forward to hawk Rison down and make a leaping, thrilling interception.

5. All the way back

It was the first interception of his career. So, naturally, he made it a memorable one.

In the fourth quarter of a game the Seminoles were already winning 69-7, freshman Deion Sanders stepped in front of a Tulsa pass at the goal line and was off to the races. He covered 100 yards in a flash to set a school record with his 100-yard interception return.

It was first of many, many highlights in garnet and gold for the Fort Myers native.

— Corey Clark