Deion Sanders Downplays Importance Of Culture

One of the bigger names in college football recently devalued the role culture plays, but South Carolina's Football program is evidence to the contrary.

The 2022 offseason for college football has been one of the wildest in recent memory, with constant talks of conference realignment and what the future of the sport might look like dominating the headlines. One massive move that took place last December was Colorado's hiring of Deion Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer who, through the new transfer portal rules, has completely overhauled his roster overnight and is looking to make his mark at the Power 5 level starting on Saturday.

On Wednesday, ESPN released a piece chronicling the Sanders hire and the subsequent events that have taken place in Boulder, and there were multiple blunt, eyebrow-raising quotes Sanders gave regarding an aspect that, in Shane Beamer's program, is held in high regard: culture.

"I don't care about culture. I don't care. I don't care if they like each other, man. I want to win," Deion stated. "I've been on some teams where the quarterback didn't like the receiver, but they darn sure made harmony when the ball was snapped."

"I don't think you got to have unity whatsoever," Sanders said. "You got to have good players."

Essentially, Deion Sanders is taking an old-school, NFL-like approach regarding how relationships may or may not factor in when building his roster. Some kids respond well to this kind of environment, but today's college kids also have to deal with a vastly different set of challenges compared to what Deion went through as a star college athlete in the late 80's.

Regarding relating this to South Carolina, culture has been one of the main priorities of Shane Beamer's short tenure in Columbia. When he arrived back in December of 2020, he spoke at a team meeting about how the biggest problem with the program at the time, according to the players, was the individual-centric mentality that existed within the building.

Beamer and his staff have worked tirelessly over the past two years to eliminate the stench of the old regime and instill the culture and mindset they want everyone in the building to have. Has South Carolina won a championship? No, but a strong culture certainly helped keep the team together when they were embarrassed by Texas A&M in 2021 or annihilated by Florida in 2022.

Culture was the lynchpin that allowed the Gamecocks to get off the mat and respond to adversity. It's not the only important factor, but it's one that shouldn't be underestimated either.

You Might Also Like:

• The Drake Maye Scouting Report
• Shane Beamer Talks Similarities Between Dowell Loggains & Steve Spurrier
• Mack Brown Talks Shane Beamer's Growth & Beamer Ball

Join the community:

• Follow Andrew Lyon on Twitter: @ALyon_SC
• Follow Fisher Brewer on Twitter: @USCTalk
• Follow Joseph Griffin on Twitter: @JosephGriffinJG
• Follow Arvon Bacon on Twitter: @Baconnetworkllc
• Follow Locked On Gamecocks on Youtube or wherever you get your podcasts

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter at @GamecocksDigest.