Shilo Deion Sanders (born February 9, 2000) is an American football safety for the Colorado Buffaloes. He previously played for the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Jackson State Tigers. Sanders is the older son of Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback and Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders.[1][2]

Shilo Sanders
Colorado Buffaloes – No. 21
PositionSafety
ClassGraduate Student
Personal information
Born: (2000-02-09) February 9, 2000 (age 24)
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career history
College
High schoolTrinity Christian (Cedar Hill, Texas)
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-SWAC (2021)

Early life and high school

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Sanders is the oldest child of Deion Sanders and Pilar Sanders. His parents are divorced. He has two older half-siblings: Deiondra and Deion and two younger siblings, Shedeur and Shelomi.[3] Sanders attended Trinity Christian High School in Cedar Hill, Texas, where he played safety, wide receiver and return specialist. His father was the offensive coordinator at Trinity Christian High School throughout his son's high school career.

In his high school career, he recorded 24 tackles, one pass deflection, five interceptions, and a fumble recovery, rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown, and hauled in 13 receptions for 199 yards and three touchdowns.[4] Sanders committed to play college football at the University of South Carolina over offers from 14 other schools.[5]

College career

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South Carolina

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As a freshman at South Carolina in 2019, Sanders posted two tackles and a fumble recovery.[6] In week four of the 2020 season, he made ten tackles in a win over Auburn.[7] Sanders finished the shortened 2020 season with 32 tackles with one going for a loss, and a pass deflection.[8] After the season, he entered the NCAA transfer portal.[9]

Jackson State

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Sanders transferred to Jackson State to continue his collegiate career.[10] In his first season with the Tigers in 2021 he notched 39 tackles, seven pass deflections, two forced fumble, and four interceptions which was tied for second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).[11] For his performance on the season, Sanders was named second-team all-SWAC.[12] In 2022, he suffered an ACL injury[citation needed] which caused him to only play in seven games, where he recorded 20 tackles and an interception.[13] After the season, Sanders entered the NCAA transfer portal for the second time in his career.[14]

Colorado

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Sanders transferred to Colorado to join his father.[15] In his team debut, he tallied ten tackles and helped the Buffaloes upset #17 TCU.[16] In week three, Sanders had an 80-yard pick-six for Colorado's first score of the game and forced a fumble, helping Colorado beat their rival Colorado State.[17][18]

Statistics

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College statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Solo Ast Comb TFL Sk Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
2019 South Carolina 4 0 1 0 1 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020 9 4 23 9 32 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2021 Jackson State 13 8 28 11 39 1 0.0 4 99 24.8 0 3 0 0 0 2
2022 7 2 15 5 20 1 0.0 1 0 0.0 0 5 0 0 0 0
2023 Colorado 11 11 55 15 70 1 0.0 1 80 80.0 1 3 1 0 0 4
2024 8 8 38 17 55 2 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 1 1 6 1 1
FBS Totals[19] 32 23 117 41 158 4 1.0 1 80 80.0 1 5 2 6 1 5
FCS Totals[20] 20 10 43 16 59 2 0.0 5 99 19.8 0 8 0 0 0 2
Career[21] 52 33 160 57 217 6 1.0 6 179 29.8 1 13 2 6 1 7

Personal life

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Sanders' younger brother, Shedeur, is the starting quarterback for Colorado Buffaloes.[22][23]

An October 2016 lawsuit filed in Dallas District Court alleged Sanders attacked a security officer named John Darjean. Following a dispute about Sanders disrupting a high school class, Darjean claimed Sanders slammed his elbow into Darjean's chest and continued to hit Darjean after he fell. The case went to trial in 2022, but Sanders did not appear for the trial.[24] Therefore, a default judgment was entered against Sanders.[25] The court ordered Sanders to pay Darjean $11.89 million.[24]

In October 2023, Sanders filed for bankruptcy, declaring he had $11.3 million in liabilities, including the court judgment against him.[25] The bankruptcy petition stated Sanders had $478,000 in assets, including a 2023 Mercedes valued at $75,900 and necklaces valued at $75,000.[25] Sanders’ attorney amended the petition in December 2023 to reduce the value of his assets to $320,000. This reduction included the removal of the high-value necklaces from the list of assets as they were alleged to have been on loan pursuant to an NIL deal with Saki Diamonds.[25] Darjean is currently contesting the bankruptcy filing, alleging Sanders transferred funds received from NIL deals to his company, Big 21, LLC, as a way to improperly shield his assets from the judgment he obtained against Sanders personally.[25] Sanders has admitted he did not disclose several social media NIL deals and that he is the sole owner of Big 21 LLC and SS21 LLC, but denied improperly failing to disclose contracts with those companies related to his NIL deals.[24]

There were at least five investigations into the Sanders-Darjean incident. A 2024 examination by USA Today of those investigations reported that four of them "favored John Darjean". The fifth "initially sided" with Sanders, but after additional information surfaced, the investigators changed their position and decided that fault for the incident simply was "unable to be determined".[25]

References

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  1. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (May 28, 2023). "Ex-JSU safety Shilo Sanders officially follows dad Deion, brother to CU". ABC News. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  2. ^ Suggs, David (August 30, 2024). "Deion Sanders family tree: Meet sons Shedeur, Shilo Sanders playing for dad at Colorado". Sporting News. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  3. ^ Kasabian, Paul (January 22, 2019). "3-Star CB Shilo Sanders, Son of Deion Sanders, Commits to South Carolina". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  4. ^ "Shilo Sanders Football Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023. [better source needed]
  5. ^ Clark, Dave (January 23, 2019). "Deion Sanders' son, Shilo, commits to play football at South Carolina". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  6. ^ "Shilo Sanders 2019 Game Log". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 21, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Thompson, Khari (May 3, 2022). "Which Jackson State player will be next NFL Draft pick under Deion Sanders in 2023?". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  8. ^ "Shilo Sanders 2020 Game Log". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  9. ^ Clark, Dave (December 15, 2020). "Shilo Sanders, son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and ex-Red Deion, enters transfer portal". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  10. ^ Milligan, Rashad (December 15, 2020). "Ex-Gamecock DB Shilo Sanders is headed to Jackson State to play for dad, Deion Sanders". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  11. ^ Vessels, Chandler (May 27, 2023). "Shilo Sanders announces transfer commitment to Colorado". ON3.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  12. ^ Thompson, Khari (November 29, 2021). "Was Shedeur Sanders snubbed on the All-SWAC team? Deion Sanders responds". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Keith, J.T. (May 2, 2023). "Shilo Sanders is SWAC and will have a Jackson State degree to show for it". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Newsome, Langston (December 18, 2022). "Shedeur Sanders, Shilo Sanders enter transfer portal following Celebration Bowl". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  15. ^ Reyes, Lorenzo (May 30, 2023). "All in the family! Shilo Sanders joins dad Deion, brother The Shedeur at Colorado". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  16. ^ Scott, Jelani (August 20, 2024). "Shilo Sanders, Deion's Elder Son, Had His Own Big Game in Colorado Debut". Star Local Media. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  17. ^ Baugh, Peter (September 17, 2023). "Deion Sanders' Colorado football team remains undefeated but loses Travis Hunter to injury". The Athletic. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  18. ^ McDaniel, Mike (September 16, 2023). "Shilo Sanders Evokes Father Deion With High-Stepping Pick-Six". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  19. ^ "Shilo Sanders". College Football Reference. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  20. ^ "Shilo Sanders". gojsutigers.com. Jackson State. Archived from the original on May 8, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  21. ^ "Shilo Sanders". gamecocksonline.com. South Carolina. Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  22. ^ "Deion Sanders was there to see his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, deliver for Jackson State football". The Clarion-Ledger. November 14, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  23. ^ Jeyarajah, Shehan (May 28, 2023). "Shilo Sanders transfers to Colorado: Ex-Jackson State DB reunites with father Deion, brother Shedeur". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  24. ^ a b c Cheshire, Catie (May 24, 2024). "Shilo Sanders NIL Earnings at Question in Bankruptcy Case Related to High School Assault". Westword. Archived from the original on May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
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