SWAC Football

Alabama A&M redshirt freshman linebacker Medrick Burnett Jr. has died at the age of 20.

The Jefferson County coroner issued a statement on Friday confirming Burnett's death due to a head injury he suffered in an Oct. 26 game against Alabama State, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com).

The statement ended a series of confusing events about the situation.

Alabama A&M initially announced Burnett's death Wednesday morning. However, confusion arose after the school issued a retraction later that day, writing that Burnett remained alive and hospitalized with a head injury.

The school wrote that the initial news of Burnett's death came from "an immediate family member" on Tuesday night, and thus the announcement was made on Wednesday morning.

Alabama A&M's retraction read:

"Our staff acted accordingly to the wishes of the family member to inform the A&M community and beyond of this unfortunate occurrence. Upon hearing from a representative from UAB Hospital this afternoon, we learned that he remains alive.

"We express our immediate regret for disseminating false information. However, we hold complete joy in knowing that Medrick remains in stable condition."

Two days later on Friday, the Jefferson County coroner confirmed that Burnett was pronounced dead at 5:43 p.m. Wednesday at UAB Hospital.

WAFF 48 reported that Burnett suffered an injury in the Bulldogs' 27-19 loss to Alabama State on Oct. 26. His sister, Dominece James, set up a GoFundMe days after the initial injury that said he was in the ICU and had experienced "several brain bleeds and swelling of the brain."

Burnett made seven appearances for Alabama A&M this season and had five total tackles.

The Lakewood, California, native was is in his first full year with the program after having transferred in from Grambling State. He followed Cedric Thornton, who was Grambling State's defensive coordinator before returning to his alma mater and joining the Bulldogs' staff in the offseason.

Jackson State kicker Leilani Armenta made history in Saturday's 40-14 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, becoming the first woman to score in an HBCU football game at the FCS level.

The freshman made all three of her extra points for the Tigers.

"We did not know it was going to happen and we are super excited," her mother, Brandy, told the Clarion-Ledger's J.T. Keith. "We all started yelling because we had no idea. My daughter had no idea she would be kicking in the game today. We are beyond ecstatic."

Armenta had also appeared in Jackson State's 22-16 win over Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 23, but her involvement was limited to the opening kickoff.

Keith noted Jackson State was without its regular kicker, Gerardo Baeza, against Bethune-Cookman, while starting punter Matt Noll was unavailable as well due to an injury at practice. That led head coach T.C. Taylor to bring Armenta, a defender on the women's soccer team, into the fold.

The Ventura, California, native became the first woman to suit up in a SWAC contest.

Deion Sanders' final game at Jackson State didn't go as planned, with the Tigers losing 41-34 in overtime to North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl.

Jackson State tied the game at 34 as time expired on Shedeur Sanders' 19-yard touchdown pass to Travis Hunter on 4th-and-10.

After North Carolina Central scored on the opening possession of overtime, Sanders' pass on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line was incomplete to end the game.

The loss ended Jackson State's quest for a perfect season, but the team still won a program-record 12 games.

Despite the bitter end to his season and his tenure with the Tigers, Deion earned plaudits for what he was able to accomplish in just three seasons as head coach at the program.

Hunter, who is expected to follow Deion and Shedeur to Colorado, continued to show off his Primetime-esque skills. The freshman cornerback caught four passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday.

Deion Sanders was named Colorado's head coach on Dec. 3. The Pro Football Hall of Famer is taking over a program that has been a mess for years.

The Buffaloes finished the 2022 season with a 1-11 record, the worst scoring defense (44.5 points allowed per game) and fifth-worst scoring offense (15.4 points per game) in FBS.

Colorado has just one winning season since 2017 (4-2 in 2020). It hasn't won a postseason bowl game since the 2004 Houston Bowl.

Sanders is certainly capable of engineering a quick turnaround. Jackson State was coming off seven consecutive losing seasons when he was hired in September 2020.

The Tigers went 27-6 overall and won back-to-back SWAC titles with Sanders as head coach.

Deion Sanders' final season as head football coach at Jackson State will be the subject of a four-part documentary series on Prime Video from SMAC Productions.

Amazon released the trailer for Coach Prime, along with the announcement the first two parts will be available to stream on Dec. 29.

The series will follow Sanders and the Jackson State Tigers throughout the 2022 season. It will explore how the team and the community banded together over the course of the year, and it will feature a wide range of celebrity guests.

"I am HONORED and ELATED to share this inside look at how our program made HISTORY as JSU's first undefeated regular season football team. This group of young men are SMART, TOUGH, FAST, and DISCIPLINED with CHARACTER, and together, we were able to DOMINATE all season long," said Sanders. "You'll see it all this season—the highs and lows and the way this community came together. This is the most resilient and inspiring group of people I have ever met. I can't say enough about the people of Jackson."

This season marked Sanders' third year with the Tigers program. He built them into an FCS superpower, capped off with a 12-0 record and a SWAC Championship in 2022. It's the first undefeated regular season in school history.

Sanders will conclude his tenure at Jackson State on Dec. 17 against North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl. He accepted the head-coaching position at the University of Colorado on Dec. 3.

Jackson State was Sanders' first stint as a head coach at the collegiate level. He went 27-5 and won back-to-back SWAC titles in 2021 and 2022.

If Deion Sanders is nearing the end of his tenure as head coach at Jackson State, he went out on a high note.

The Tigers defeated Southern 43-24 to win their second consecutive SWAC Championship title.

Saturday's victory comes amid rumors that Sanders is on the verge of accepting the head-coaching job at the University of Colorado.

Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, Sanders "has been preparing to make an exit" from Jackson State for Colorado and he's spent most of this week "making inquiries to both potential members of his on-field staff and support staff at Colorado" about possibly joining him.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg added a formal announcement from the University of Colorado about its next head football coach is expected to come on Saturday night or early Sunday.

Sanders confirmed to reporters on a teleconference call earlier this week that he has been offered the Colorado job and has received interest from other programs.

Per Justin Adams of CBS News Colorado, the Buffaloes have offered Sanders a starting salary of $5 million per year and "a bevy of incentives that if reached, could significantly elevate his annual salary."

The Buffaloes have been in the market for a new head coach since they fired Karl Dorrell on Oct. 2. The move came amid an 0-5 start for the team this season and an 8-15 mark under Dorrell since 2020.

Colorado has been a struggling program for years before bottoming out in 2022. It hasn't had a winning record in a full season since 2016. It did go 4-2 during the 2020 campaign that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team's 1-11 mark this season is tied for the worst in program history (2012).

Ten of the 11 losses were by at least 23 points, with each of its final four games decided by at least 38 points. The Buffaloes have only been to two bowl games since 2008.

Sanders is in his third season at Jackson State. The Pro Football Hall of Famer took over a program that had a combined 21-40 record from 2014-20 under three different head coaches.

The Tigers got off to a modest start under Sanders with a 4-3 record in 2020. After he had a full season to coach the current roster and bring in recruits who fit his system, they took off with a program-record 11 wins and their first conference title since 2007.

Jackson State has been even better in 2022 with Saturday's win capping off a perfect 12-0 regular season. The SWAC champions will take on North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17.

Deion Sanders may remain with Jackson State past Sunday after all.

While Kevin O'Donnell of Fox 13 Tampa Bay reported Sanders has told recruits he will decide between coaching vacancies at Colorado, Cincinnati and USF by Sunday, Carl Reed of 247Sports reported the Pro Football Hall of Famer said "this is not true" during a phone conversation.

Jackson State hired Sanders ahead of the 2020 season, and it didn't take him long to build a powerhouse at the historically Black university program.

The Tigers went 4-3 during his first season, which was shortened and moved to the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They then went 11-2 in his second season with the only losses coming by five points to UL Monroe and in the Celebration Bowl to South Carolina State.

Sanders' team has taken another step this year and is 11-0 ahead of Saturday's SWAC Championship Game against the Southern Jaguars.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who is the son of the head coach, has completed 70.3 percent of his passes for 3,063 yards, 32 touchdowns and six interceptions while adding 158 yards and five scores on the ground.

Given the quick turnaround at Jackson State and Sanders' status as a Hall of Famer who is instantly recognizable on the recruiting trail with a proven track record as a head coach, it comes as no surprise he would be an attractive hire to programs such as Colorado, Cincinnati and USF.

Colorado and Cincinnati in particular would give him the opportunity to compete for College Football Playoff spots down the line, especially if it expands from four teams to 12. Colorado is in the Pac-12, and Cincinnati is set to join the Big 12.

There would also be less of a rebuilding process ahead with the Bearcats, who were just in the CFP last season and went 9-3 this season. The job is available because Luke Fickell took the Wisconsin coaching spot, but landing Sanders would be a major hire for the program looking to take another step as it joins a Power Five conference.

The Buffaloes, on the other hand, were an ugly 1-11 this season and have finished with more than five wins just once since the 2007 campaign.

But it seems like Sanders leaving for one of those openings isn't an inevitability at this point given his latest comments.

The University of Colorado has reportedly offered its football head coaching job to NFL legend and Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders.

Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman reported Saturday that Sanders has "legit interest" in the Buffaloes job:

In October, the Pro and College Football Hall of Famer told CBS' 60 Minutes he'd listen to offers if a Power Five school showed interest.

"I'm going to have to entertain it," Sanders said. "Straight up. I'd be a fool not to."

The 55-year-old Florida native took over the Jackson State program in 2020 and quickly turned the Tigers into an FCS powerhouse. They've compiled a 26-5 record during his tenure, including an unblemished 11-0 mark so far in 2022.

His name recognition is a major advantage on the recruiting trail, something that should translate to the FBS level, and Jackson State has dominated opponents on the field, racking up a plus-239 (309-70) point differential this season.

So it's not much of a surprise Power Five schools have started calling.

If he accepts the Colorado job, he'll be tasked with turning around a program that's posted a 1-10 record this season and has only finished inside the postseason Top 25 once since 2003.

In that regard, it would be a soft landing spot for Sanders, as he'd likely be given significant leeway to turn around a squad that's nowhere near contention.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg and Chris Low reported Wednesday other candidates for the Buffs job have included:

• Former BYU and Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall
• Former Houston and Texas head coach Tom Herman
• Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters
  
• Texas co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate
  
• North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz
  
• Sacramento State head coach Troy Taylor
  

While Colorado has cast a wide net, Sanders represents the option with the highest upside in terms of a turnaround to regain national notoriety.

Jackson State is scheduled to play in the SWAC Football Championship Game on Dec. 3 against either Prairie View A&M or Southern. It's unclear whether Sanders will make a decision before that contest.

Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders has reportedly "been in discussions with power-brokers" to potentially fill vacancies at Colorado or South Florida, according to Carl Reed of 247Sports.

Auburn also has an opening, although the school is expected to go in a different direction and has not had contact with Sanders.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer is in his third year with Jackson State, leading the HBCU team to an 11-0 record this season for the first time in school history.

The Tigers went 11-1 during the 2021 regular season, helping Sanders win the Eddie Robinson award as the top head coach in the FCS level.

Recruiting has also been a strength for Sanders, who landed last year's No. 1 overall recruit in cornerback Travis Hunter.

The 55-year-old was a contender for several openings last year, including TCU and Colorado State, according to Chris Hummer of 247Sports.

Sanders now has a chance to land another FBS job with multiple teams reaching out. On the other hand, both situations will require major rebuilds.

Colorado is just 1-10 this season and fired Karl Dorrell after an 0-5 start. The Buffaloes haven't won more than five games in a year since 2016, although they did go to a bowl game during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.

South Florida is also 1-10 and fired Jeff Scott after he produced a 4-26 record across two-plus seasons.

Though Colorado could provide major-conference experience in the Pac-12, South Florida would be closer to home for the Florida State alum and already have built-in recruiting ties.

The Jackson State football team has gone undefeated in the regular season for the first time in school history after defeating Alcorn State 24-13 on Saturday.

Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback and returner Deion Sanders leads the Tigers in his third season running the program. The year before his arrival, the Tigers went 4-8 in 2019.

They went 4-3 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season before improving to 11-2 with a SWAC title in 2021. The Tigers fell to MEAC champions South Carolina State in the Celebration Bowl.

Jackson State's team is stocked with stars, starting with Sanders' son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who threw 32 touchdown passes. Running back Sy'veon Wilkerson surpassed 1,000 rushing yards. Aubrey Miller Jr. led the team in tackles with 101. They lead a deep and talented roster well-deserving of its No. 10 spot in the Division I-FCS poll.

Should the Tigers win the SWAC conference championship on Dec. 3, they'll earn the right to play MEAC champion North Carolina Central at the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17.