We don’t see Deion Sanders usually reacting on the sidelines as he dons his stoic personality of Coach Prime. But in 2023, when Colorado played against their rival Colorado State Rams, well, Coach Prime couldn’t control himself. “I’m a coach, but every now and then, during a game, I have a dad moment,” confessed the Hall of Famer as Shilo Sanders caught an interception and ran 80 yards for a pick six, sealing a 45-35 double overtime win for the Buffs. In another “Dad moment,” he very recently thanked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers HC for giving Shilo a hand in his NFL future when he went undrafted in late April. Still, it’s always a competition in the Sanders household and Deion’s ex-wife and Shilo’s mother Pilar is not dropping the towel either.

In fact, when the duo’s divorce got settled, Shilo confessed how his mother getting full custody was “all I have wanted for years.” And this wasn’t the only time “I stand up for my mother” turned out to be true. In a funny moment last year when Shilo took Pilar to Whole Sol restaurant to get “Shilo Bol,” a dish named after him, he had to yield to his mother’s wishes again. Apparently, that dish was served with labels “Coach Prime’s son” and “CU Boulder Football’s star.” There was no mention of Pilar. So she quipped:

“I don’t get any credit for making you.” And Shilo again stood up in the humorous moment to credit his mother by getting the dish’s name changed to simply “The Shilo Bol by Shilo Sanders.” Seemingly, she has won over Deion time and again. So even though the Colorado Boulder alum has moved to Tampa, seems like the challenge for Deion is standing as is. Is it karma for not ranking Shilo higher in his kids, Deion?

In a video posted by ‘seensatansports’, Shilo reads what seems to be a fan question in one of his live streams, “Who do I miss being around most in my family?” With a wide smile, the 25-year-old responded, “I’m not gonna lie, I like being away from family right now. Not having my mom close by, it’s pretty different not having her close by. ‘Cause in Colorado, she lived right across the street, come help me if I needed good cooking, if I needed help with anything, you know she’s right across the street. But now that everybody’s moved, I don’t know. I don’t have mom across the street no more, y’all.”

Well, we might have seen moments with Deion Sanders and Shilo together, but the moments that Shilo shared with his mom don’t come on live television, right? Yet, Shilo picking his mom as his guiding light shows the bond that was there and shows how significant Pilar’s presence is in his life is. Be it his Colorado Pro Day showing or last year on Senior Day, Pilar never misses a chance to show support for her son. However, we are sure she would pack her bags and booking a ticket to see her son soon. In the meantime, the undrafted safety is showing that the number, or the lack thereof, doesn’t matter if you have the hunger and grit.

Shilo Sanders is impressing at Tampa Bay with Deion still pushing him

As Shilo carves out a role for himself with the Bucs, he’s bringing both his parents’ influences with him. His mom’s emotional support and his father’s relentless drive. We witnessed that on the Pro-Day when Coach Prime set a 4.4 target for the 40-yard dash and even trolled Shilo laughingly for not achieving that. But now that the safety is at Tampa Bay, one would expect Coach Prime to finally relent, right?

In a recent IG story, Deion Sanders will never stop pushing him and will demand the very best from Shilo, even in the NFL. The Buffs’ head coach shared a screenshot posted from @blacklovepage, praised his son, and demanded on-field performances. “I’m so Proud of @shilosanders! He’s focused, dedicated & hungry. I can’t wait to see the product he puts on the field. They have a REAL PURPOSE & y’all know why. #Dad.CoachPrime.”

Shilo is making the most of his opportunity at Tampa Bay and is showcasing his talent. The Bucs’ safety even sent a proclamation that he was on to changing his path and was “trusting god” to learn and grow there. Moreover, Shilo can even make the cut since the Bucs didn’t select a safety in the draft, and he is only one of two rookie safeties whom the Bucs drafted as free agents. Coach Todd Bowles even praised Shilo and said, “he’s very intelligent, he’s very loud.” All these factors hint that Shilo might have a shot at cracking the 53-man roster. And we know Pilar is right there to hype him up.