Sept. 2021 - It's mid January and I am in a hotel room in Abu Dhabi, UAE, editing video content that we had been shooting there for First Row Films and the UFC. It was my third time in less than 10 months that I had been in the middle east producing content for the UFC.
FRF Producer, Rob Harvell strolls into my room and says, "Hey man, do you want to go to Jackson, Mississippi and shoot with Deion Sanders and the Jackson State Football team??"
I was like, "When?"
"Like immediately after we get back to Vegas!" Rob retorts.
He knew I had a week of more editing when we got back but I was like "Hell yes!"
And thats how I ended up spending most of the first part of 2021 in Jackson, Mississippi with one of the best pro sports star and HOF legend, Deion Sanders.
If you don't know, he has been a high school football coach for many years and took the Head Coach position at JSU at the start of the year. He brought along with him a dynamic coaching staff made up of former NFL players and coaches and oh yeah, he has recruited a host of talented athletes including his two sons.
Spearheading the project was Barstool Sports, a company I had never worked with and was intrigued to do so. Also on the crew were two other talented DP's, Charlie Askew and Al Francesco.
Our crew was embedded with the team, its coaches. players and of course, Deion. Following them through their Spring Football Season amid extreme weather and during a pandemic. In all, I spent from early February until late April, experiencing a multi-day, deep freeze that left us without running water for several days...check the IG for that footage!
All of this provided a pretty good backdrop for a raw look at Deion trying to rewrite the script on how HBCU football programs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) are perceived by the masses. He is looking to create a pro-ready style football program that not all comers will be able to make the Coach Prime cut.
- Dean Camara, Aug. 2021
Check it out now at www.barstoolsports.com