TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Shilo Sanders walked into his first news conference with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and immediately shook hands with each reporter.
Coach Prime’s son knows how to make a first impression on and off the field.
Like his dad, Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, Shilo displayed his engaging personality and commanded the interview room. He asked for beach recommendations and revealed that he plans to be the “snack guy” for the team’s safety group.
“Man, look at where we’re at,” Sanders said with a big smile. “Look at the whole coaching staff. It’s a really supportive coaching staff. Everybody wants to see everybody do good. Everybody on the team, we all want to see each other win. It’s a great environment to thrive in.”
Sanders, who signed with the Buccaneers after being passed up in the draft, impressed coach Todd Bowles on the first day of rookie camp with his intelligence.
“Like the rest of the safeties, he’s very intelligent, he’s very loud,” Bowles said. “You can hear him (on the field), making calls and everything, so he has a good grasp of things Day 1. There was about three or four of them that did. He was one of them, but you have to make plays in pads. That’s what it comes down to — knowing what to do and then doing it consistently and constantly getting better every day.”
The 25-year-old Sanders even helped younger teammates with some of the defensive calls.
“He’s very smart,” rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish said. “He helped me a lot with the adjustments. I’m excited to work with him.”
While younger brother, Shedeur Sanders, drew most of the attention during the draft after slipping to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round, Shilo didn’t get a call until hiring agent Drew Rosenhaus.
“They gave me a chance before anyone so I’m forever grateful to the Buccaneers and I’m just gonna do everything in my power to help this team win,” Sanders said. “That’s all I want.”
Shilo played in the shadow of his quarterback brother while they were coached by their father at Jackson State and Colorado. He wasn’t expected to be a top-five pick like Shedeur but ended up in a favorable spot with the four-time defending NFC South champion Buccaneers, a team that needs help in the secondary.
“My take on being disappointed in lows is that it’s not a real low because you can’t change the past,” Sanders said. “I just trust God, and I always end up doing something great, so I just know it’s going to happen, and whatever is happening currently is to learn or grow from.”
Sanders missed three weeks last season at Colorado because of a broken forearm. He finished third on the Buffaloes with 67 total tackles, recovered two fumbles, including one he returned for a touchdown at Texas Tech. He had four forced fumbles, one recovery and a pick-6 his junior season.
The Buccaneers need more playmakers in the secondary.
“It’s just an ‘it’ thing. You either got it or you don’t,” Sanders said. “Throughout my whole career, I’ve always been a guy who gets the ball out any way, shape or form. Forced fumbles, picks, I’m gonna get the ball. That’s the whole point of playing defense. We wanna get the offense the ball.”
As for his baby brother in Cleveland, Shilo said about Shedeur: “He’s been missing me. He’s been calling me like 6 a.m. He wants some brotherly love. His big brother isn’t next him in practice but we talk a lot.”
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