Deion Sanders Says Son Shedeur Deserves To Be In The Heisman Conversation

Deion Sanders and Jackson State have come out of the gates firing so far this season getting off to a quick 4-0 start. While Sanders' recruiting and coaching is paying dividends for the Tigers, his son, Shedeur Sanders, deserves quite a bit of credit as well.

After throwing for over 3,200 yards and 30 touchdowns a year ago as a true freshman, Shedeur is on pace to shatter those numbers this season. The 6-foot-2 quarterback has already thrown for 1,381 yards and 14 touchdowns through the Tigers' first four games of the year.

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Given the numbers he's posted so far, Deion thinks that his son should be mentioned in Heisman Trophy conversations. While Deion going to bat for his son is not surprising - in fact it's what a good father should do - he may have a legitimate point.

"You put his numbers up next to the guys in Power 5s, he’s doing as much or more than they’re doing right now,” Sanders said, according to Sports Illustrated.

“Forget that he’s my son and his last name is Sanders; any other man doing what he’s doing and accomplishing what he’s accomplishing, this far, this early on, deserves the recognition.”

“You can’t tell me can’t play in the NFL,” Sanders said. “He can play in the NFL, but he’s not good enough to be in the Heisman running? That’s a lie."

If Shedeur played for an FBS team, he'd absolutely be in the conversation for this year's Heisman, but the knock against him is that he plays for a SWAC-based FCS program.

When it comes to fellow FCS quarterbacks, there are just two that have managed to put up more passing yards than Shedeur this season. If you put his passing yard numbers against FBS teams, Shedeur would rank fourth in the country, just seven yards behind Michael Penix Jr. of Washington who leads the way with 1,388 passing yards.

Steve McNair, who played for Alcorn State out of the SWAC, finished third in Heisman Trophy voting back in 1994. If Sanders continues to put up monster numbers, maybe he does insert himself firmly into the conversation.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.