Deion Sanders strolls into the end zone at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He nods and stretches his arms toward a clear blue sky. Then, Sanders angles toward the 10-yard line.
Most of the accompanying entourage – a mix of luminaires and boosters flanked on both sides of Coach Prime – are clueless.
Bo knows. Bo Jackson jogs toward Sanders. The conversation between legendary two-sport athletes begins with two words only a handful of people would recognize in this situation.
"Sweep left," Jackson says.
"Sweep left, yeah," Sanders repeats. "I did catch you from the left side – left cornerback."
"What happened after that?" Jackson asks.
Sanders puts his hand to his face and mimics the stiff-arm Jackson delivered on Oct. 12, 1985 and crumples to his knees. They walk back to the end zone together laughing. No. 12 Auburn beat No. 4 Florida State 59-27 that day, and Jackson had 176 rushing yards en route to a Heisman Trophy season. Now, Jackson leads Sanders into a press conference.
Sanders adjusts his shades and blue hat while Auburn athletic director John Cohen finishes the introduction.
"And with that I would like to introduce to you, Auburn's 31st head football coach … Coach Deion Sanders," Cohen says.
It's Nov. 28, 2022, and the fortunes of Tigers' football are about to change. Sanders takes the podium, smiles and opens with two words everybody recognizes in this place.
"War Eagle."
What if this scenario actually happened? Auburn hired Hugh Freeze on Nov. 28, 2022 instead. Freeze resigned from Ole Miss after a recruiting scandal revealed he had called an escort service using university phones in 2016, but rehabbed his image with a four-year stint at Liberty that produced a 34-15 record.
Colorado hired Sanders five days later. In an interview with Shannon Sharpe on "Undisputed," Sanders admitted that he did not want to meet with Auburn boosters, and that was part of the reason that job was never considered.
"I wasn't going to a booster meeting," Sanders said. "I wasn't doing that. For what? Five grand? I'm not doing that."
What if he did? How different would the last two seasons have been on The Plains? Here is an alternate Auburn history with Coach Prime – one that reads a little different than what the Tigers have experienced the last two seasons.
Deion rebuilds Auburn through the portal
Sanders takes over Auburn, which finished 5-7 under Bryan Harsin in 2022. He meets with the players, and he lets them know, "I"m bringing my luggage, and it's Louis" and goes through the histrionics that make Coach Prime, well, Coach Prime.
As the players are dismissed, he motions for running back Tank Bigsby to come over. Bigsby rushed for 2,906 TDs and 25 TDs the last three seasons. He looks at Bigbsy with a promise.
"Young fella I'm bringing some Leaders and Dawgs in here," Sanders said. "If you stay, I'll do everything in my power to make you a first-round pick."
Bigsby walks away, and Jackson – who stuck around for a few more minutes – has one more thing to get off his chest.
"We don't like Dawgs around here," Jackson says.
Cadillac Williams – the interim coach – who had been the running backs coach the last four seasons and is being retained by Sanders, nods his head in agreement.
Yet Sanders is true to his word. Shedeur Sanders – who passed for 3,732 yards, 40 TDs and six interceptions at Jackson State – transfers to Auburn. Travis Hunter – the No. 1 player in the 2022 recruiting class who had the Tigers in his top five – follows Sanders from Jackson State.
Auburn brings more transfers in – including Shilo Sanders and South Florida receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. – but Sanders also is able to get a few pieces to stay. Bigsby is one of them, and Sanders also stabilizes a recruiting class that includes cornerback Kayin Lee and defensive tackle Keldric Faulk.
Coach Prime hysteria grips the SEC
Auburn rolls out to a 3-0 start with victories against UMass, Cal and Stanford, and the Tigers are ranked No. 22 heading into a Sept. 23, 2023 showdown against Texas A&M. Sanders and Hunter – who plays receiver and cornerback on a managed snap count – emerge as national celebrities.
The Tigers shock Texas A&M at Kyle Field in a 41-27 upset led by Sanders – who passes for 325 yards. Hunter catches two TDs and adds an interception, and Bigbsy scores the game-winning TD in the final minute. This expedites Jimbo Fisher's exit from Texas A&M.
Auburn is ranked No. 10 when they face No. 1 Georgia the following week, and the reality check comes.
Shedeur Sanders is penalized for flexing his watch at Uga XI – the beloved Georgia mascot – after a first-quarter TD, which sparks a viral outrage on social media.
The Bulldogs win 34-17 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kirby Smart did not allow cameras in the locker room, but he would credit former Bulldogs assistant Dan Lanning – now at Oregon – for the one-liner from a text conversation earlier that week – in his press conference afterward.
"They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins," Smart says.
Sanders, told of the post-game bit, offers a quick response.
"Now I know why we don't like Dawgs around here," Sanders says. "But we will be back."
The Tigers lose the next two against LSU and Ole Miss, but they win three of the next four – including a 34-31 close call against New Mexico State in a duel between Sanders and Diego Pavia – before the Iron Bowl. Auburn is 7-4 and looking for a season-defining upset.
Travis Hunter saves the 2023 Iron Bowl
The pre-game setting at the Iron Bowl is fit for a Salvador Dali painting. Sanders and Alabama coach Nick Saban share a pre-game chat – but only after snapping a picture with the Aflac duck at midfield for a future commercial.
Cam Newton – the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who authored the 28-27 victory against Alabama in the legendary 2010 Iron Bowl – schmoozes with Shedeur Sanders and Hunter a few yards away.
Charles Barkley – the guest picker on ESPN's "College GameDay" – calls for an Auburn upset and says, "We're going to send Coach Saban into retirement."
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe matches Sanders with TD drives on the first four possessions before the defenses settle in. The Crimson Tide lead 20-17 at halftime after a 27-yard TD run by Milroe.
Alabama extends the lead to 10 points on another TD pass by Milroe to Jermaine Burton, which silences the crowd. Shedeur Sanders, however, responds with a 75-yard TD pass on the next play to Horn, who catches a pass that grazes off Alabama safety Caleb Downs' fingertips. Sanders leads another drive capped by Bigsby's TD run with 10:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. Auburn leads 31-27.
The Crimson Tide get one final possession, and they face a fourth-and-goal from the 31 yard line with 23 seconds left in the game.
Milroe launches a pass to the back corner of the end zone for Isaiah Bond, who has just enough leverage on Auburn cornerback DJ James. Hunter, however, diagnoses the play and sprints from the middle of the end zone, leaps and swats the pass out of bounds. Auburn 31, Alabama 27.
Sanders strolls to the 10-yard line after the post-game handshake, and this time Jackson picks him up in celebration. It is the wildest scene at Jordan-Hare Stadium since the "Kick Six."
Ryan Williams flips from Alabama to Auburn
The Tigers land five-star receiver Cam Coleman from Central High School in Phenix City, Ala. on Signing Day, which adds another dynamic receiver to the roster.
Auburn is bumped into the Jan. 1 bowl slot against Wisconsin in the Reliaquest Bowl, and the Tigers win 31-28. That creates tremendous offseason momentum, and a week later Saban retires to send another shock-wave through the state.
Five-star receiver Ryan Williams – from Saraland (Ala.) High School – flips from Alabama to Auburn. Sanders now has a receiving corps that features Hunter, Horn, Coleman and Williams. Sanders then convinces five-star tackle Jordan Seaton from IMG Academy to come to Auburn. There are some defections in the transfer portal, but it's not nearly as severe as the roster turnover at Alabama.
Auburn gets top-10 billing in some preseason publications – including Sporting News.
At SEC Media Days, Sanders – wearing a pullover that says "Ain't Hard 2 Find" – is in a testy back-and-forth with a reporter questioning whether the Tigers can really compete for an SEC championship.
"My wins are different than your wins," Sanders says. "Two Super Bowl rings. Gold jacket. If you don't believe it, Google me."
Back stage, first-year Alabama coach Curt Cignetti – a former Crimson Tide assistant from 2007-10 and the surprise hire of the offseason – grimaces.
"He stole my line," Cignetti says to anyone within earshot. "He stole my line."
Playoff or bust in Year 2
Auburn bolts out to a 5-0 start in 2024. Sanders leads the nation in passing yards and TDs through the first month of the season, and Hunter has two interceptions and two TD catches in a 31-21 victory against Oklahoma.
The Tigers survive an upset scare at Arkansas in a 26-24 nail-biter despite four turnovers, and Deion Sanders avoids throwing his quarterback under the bus in the post-game press conference.
Auburn sets up a showdown with No. 1 Georgia after the Bulldogs beat No. 4 Alabama 41-34 on Sept. 28. Auburn is ranked No. 5 heading into the matchup at Sanford Stadium.
Georgia jumps out to a quick 14-0 lead, and it looks like the route is on when Carson Beck hits Dominic Lovett for an 11-yard TD with 17 seconds left in the half. The Bulldogs led 21-3 at that point. Shedeur Sanders leads a second-half comeback, however, and a 38-yard TD by Jarquez Hunter cuts into the lead. Shedeur Sanders and Hunter connect for another TD, but a two-point conversion try fails.
Auburn gets one more drive trailing 21-16 with 2:18 remaining, and Sanders lofts a deep shot to Williams on the first play. Williams pirouettes between two Georgia defenders and appears to score the game-winning TD, which silences Sanford Stadium momentarily. However, a replay shows that Williams stepped out of bounds at the 28-yard line. Sanders is strip-sacked by Jalon Walker on the next play, and the Bulldogs escape with a 21-16 victory.
"Nobody believed in us," Smart says afterward. "We were here to prove the doubters wrong."
"Did anybody give us a chance in this game today?" Sanders says in a press conference 15 minutes later. "We don't give a durn about our critics."
The Tigers bounce back in a victory against Missouri and knock off Kentucky and Vanderbilt to push to 8-1 ahead of the first College Football Playoff rankings. Auburn sweeps UL-Monroe, Texas A&M to set up the Iron Bowl.
The Tigers beat the Cignetti-led Crimson Tide 28-20 for their first back-to-back victories in the Iron Bowl since 2006-07. That sets up a chance to win an SEC championship.
Kings of the SEC
Deion Sanders is standing near midfield at Mercedes-Benz Stadium talking to Shedeur Sanders during pregame warmups when he offers a direct order.
"Do not taunt him,” Sanders says while pointing directly at Bevo XV, the longhorn steer that made the trip to Atlanta. A few minutes later, actor Matthew McConaughey strolls by and greets Sanders, and they chat for a few minutes before Sanders escapes the conversation.
"You take care," Sanders says waving to McConaughey.
"Oh you know I will," McConaughey says with a chuckle before flashing the "Horns Up" sign at Sanders. "I'm in my prime, Prime. Hook 'em."
Shedeur Sanders and Quinn Ewers – projected first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft — put on a show in the SEC championship game. Auburn jumps out to a 14-0 lead after back-to-back TD passes from Sanders to Williams. Ewers responds with a 75-yard TD pass to Ryan Wingo – yet another five-star receiver from the 2024 class, and the shootout spills into the second half from there.
With the score tied at 31 with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter, Auburn safety Jerrin Thompson – a Lufkin, Texas, native and Longhorns transfer – intercepts Ewers at the goal line and returns it to the 50-yard line. The Tigers settle for a field goal and a 34-31 lead.
Ewers exits the game with a hamstring injury – and Arch Manning enters the game. The teams trade punts, and the Longhorns are pinned at their own 8-yard line with 2:18 remaining. Manning leads a drive into Auburn territory, and with four seconds left Texas kicker Bert Auburn is set to try a 50-yard field goal to tie the game.
Hunter, however, screams off the edge and blocks the field goal as time expires. Auburn wins the SEC championship. Hunter wins the Heisman Trophy, and Shedeur Sanders finishes third. The Tigers get the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff and beat No. 7 Ole Miss in the quarterfinal matchup at the Sugar Bowl. That sets up a CFP semifinal matchup with No. 6 Oregon, which beat No. 3 Miami.
The dream season ends at the Cotton Bowl Classic. Deion Sanders – who knew about the "They're fighting for clicks, we're fighting for wins" text from the previous year – shares a silent handshake with Oregon coach Dan Lanning before the game.
The Ducks – led by an aggressive defensive line – get to Shedeur Sanders early and control the clock in the first half with the running game. Dillon Gabriel tosses for three TDs, and a pick six in the third quarter by Jabbar Muhammad ends any hope of a comeback. Oregon beats Auburn 31-21 on Jan. 10, 2025.
Coach Prime gets a call
It's Monday, Jan. 13, 2025 – and Sanders conducts a press conference with local media at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Sanders is upbeat. He's smiling, and he's fielding the expected line of questioning.
Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are leaving Auburn for the 2025 NFL Draft, and this is their farewell press conference. Yet the first five questions are for Coach Prime.
Deion Sanders insists he plans on staying with the Tigers for another season through the first, second and third variation of the question. Sanders, however, forgets to turn his ringer off on his phone, and it buzzes on two separate occasions during the press conference.
"Excuse me," Sander says as he glances down to see the name on the Caller ID. Sanders' face reveals no tells, but he asks the next reporter to repeat the question.
"How committed to Auburn are you for the foreseeable future?"
"I am excited to be the head coach of Auburn today and will embrace every opportunity I have moving into the future," Sanders responds. "Now talk to these first-round picks."
Shedeur Sanders and Hunter laugh while Deion uses the reaction to exit the podium. Sanders walks into his office, and turns on the TV. On "First Take,” Stephen A. Smith shouts "Coach Prime!" on the television, and Sanders' instinctually turns his head. He reads the chyron: "Should Dallas trade Dak Prescott for a first-round pick?" The phone rings again, and Sanders picks it up this time without looking at the ID.
"Deion, this is Jerry Jones," the Cowboys owner says before Sanders can respond. "Are you ready to win a Super Bowl as the next coach of the Cowboys?"
