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A professional football player's shelf life is relatively short, given the extreme physicality of a sport that takes a significant toll on a person's physical and mental health. Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders was such a good NFL player that he ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, giving him a unique perspective on...keeping things in perspective.
Sanders has loaded up his Colorado staff with former NFL luminaries, including fellow Hall of Fame inductee Warren Sapp and longtime coordinator Pat Shurmur, in a bid to get his players to understand just what it takes to achieve their NFL dreams. Coach Prime recently called on the experience of another of his NFL "friends", an iconic linebacker with whom he once shared a locker room in Baltimore.
Deion gets Ray Lewis to talk about his experiences
Former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis recently accepted an invitation to speak to the Colorado locker room, and the two-time Super Bowl champion wanted to emphasize to players like Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders that it is important to appreciate what's in front of them right now, before it's gone.
"I never understood how we take time for granted. How we act like time is a friend of ours," Lewis told the team. "You know, Proverbs 3:5 says trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Because if we do, we are in trouble."
Lewis' son, Ray Lewis III, wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and play pro football. However, the former college running back never made it to the NFL, and he died last summer at 28 years old following a drug overdose. The loss of his son made Lewis, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, re-evaluate his own mentality.
"I lost him and I learned something," Lewis told the Colorado players about his son. "If you don't have a pro mentality about life, the game will you too quickly."
So while Sanders has received some backlash for ripping his players over a perceived lack of effort in practice sessions, that attitude comes from seeing his friends lose their loved ones -- and not wanting to waste any more time.
"Even when you think you got time, you don't have time," Lewis said to the team. "I lost my son at 28 years old because of the same foolishness that you guys have in front of you now. That's the same foolishness that took my son out from an overdose. As a father, you will never recover from that, ever. So my son, I wear him around my neck the rest of my life, and he always says, let's make today a great day."