Even when Shedeur Sanders still was in high school, his coach\/father, Deion Sanders, had a firm grasp of the sort of attack his son should run at the next level.<\/p>\n
Call it the run-and-shoot. Call it the Air Raid. Call it what you will, but Coach Prime had a vision. He wanted Shedeur to have an array of weapons at his disposal, and he wanted him to throw quickly and often.<\/p>\n
That pursuit led to a few exchanges between Sanders, now the head coach at Colorado, and his counterpart on Saturday night at Folsom Field, Colorado State head coach Jay Norvell.<\/p>\n
When coach Sanders was beginning his collegiate coaching career at Jackson State, with his son following him there, he reached out to Norvell in large part to get connected with Brett Bartolone, then an analyst and assistant quarterbacks coach for Norvell at Nevada.<\/p>\n
Bartolone eventually joined Coach Prime at Jackson State and mentored the younger Sanders last year as JSU\u2019s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Bartolone, who then followed coach Sanders to Boulder as CU\u2019s receivers coach, will be reunited with Norvell on Saturday when their teams square off at Folsom Field (8 p.m., ESPN).<\/p>\n
\u201cBrett\u2019s great. Brett\u2019s one of our guys,\u201d Norvell said. \u201cGreat coach and a great guy. He\u2019s like family to us. Deion texted me and he talked to (Mike) Leach and he wanted to run the Air Raid when he was at Jackson State. He wanted his son to throw for 4,000 yards. He wanted to find a way to get that done.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrett is a great friend and he\u2019s a really great coach. He\u2019s doing a great job with those receivers. I\u2019m glad he\u2019s gotten the opportunity and I\u2019m glad Deion\u2019s taking care of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the personal communication likely has slowed during game week, Norvell said he still texts frequently with Bartolone. Any recent exchanges might include raves about just how well Bartolone\u2019s receivers have started the season for CU.<\/p>\n
In the opener against then-No. 17 TCU, a Colorado program that had never produced three 100-yard receivers in a game enjoyed four in the upset of the Horned Frogs — running back Dylan Edwards (135 yards), plus three receivers playing their first game for the Buffs and Bartolone in Travis Hunter (119), Xavier Weaver (118) and Jimmy Horn Jr. (117). The Buffs\u2019 top four receivers in the win against Nebraska \u2014 the aforementioned trio, plus Tar\u2019Varish Dawson \u2014 combined to record 24 receptions for 348 yards and a pair of touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Much of that damage against the Cornhuskers was done by Weaver, who became the first CU receiver to top 100 yards in his first two games with the Buffs. His 170 yards against Nebraska ranks 18th among CU\u2019s all-time single-game leaders.<\/p>\n
Bartolone has spent his football life around some of the top offensive minds in the game, including as a player at Washington State under Leach, the architect of the Air Raid. He spent two seasons at Nevada working for Norvell, who has worked in various offensive coordinator roles at several stops in college (Nebraska, UCLA, Oklahoma, Arizona State) and also has been an offensive assistant in the NFL with Indianapolis and the Raiders.<\/p>\n
College Sports | <\/p>\n
College Sports | <\/p>\n College Sports | <\/p>\n College Sports | <\/p>\n
\nElected officials, university leaders share impact of CU Boulder and CSU partnership<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\nCU, CSU fans could be chasing priciest Rocky Mountain Showdown ticket ever<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\nKeeler: Deion Sanders, hottest coach in America, was on CSU’s radar two Decembers ago. Can Jay Norvell spoil Coach Prime’s Rocky Mountain Showdown debut?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n