Deion Sanders gives thoughts on first female defensive player making college debut

Haley Van Voorhis broke down a big barrier this past Saturday, becoming the first female college football player to see the field at a non-kicking position in NCAA history. Van Voorhis, a junior safety at Division III Shenandoah University, entered the game for one play against Juniata.

She came through on a blitz to put pressure on the quarterback and help her team force a three-and-out. It was a monumental moment not only for her personally, but all those who fight for gender equality across sports.

Colorado coach Deion Sanders was made aware of Van Voorhis’ achievement in his Tuesday press conference. He expressed excitement, saying he is “all for it.”

“I’m happy for her,” Sanders said. “First of all, I’m concerned about her safety. I want to make sure she’s safe. But I’m sure if she put on the pads, she understands what goes along with that. I believe in equality not just of ethnicity, but gender as well. So I’m all for it. God bless her.”

Van Voorhis had not appeared in a game throughout her college career before Saturday. However, Shenandoah coach Scott Yoder hinted after the game that she could see more time going forward.

“Yesterday was certainly a huge moment in her path, but her path keeps going,” he said via ESPN.

According to that ESPN article, Haley Van Voorhis knew she wanted to play football ever since she was a young kid. She grew up going to Washington Commanders games with her family, telling them she’d one day be on the field.

That became reality even before her historic moment on Saturday, as Van Voorhis began playing flag football in elementary school. She moved on to tackle football by the sixth grade, later playing both receiver and safety at Christchurch (VA) High School. She was also the first girl to ever play football at her high school, earning all-state honorable mention in 2019.

Shenandoah assistant coach Byron Mitchell first came across Van Voorhis at a recruiting camp in December of 2020. He came away impressed with her strength and passion for the game, leading to his decision to offer her a spot on the team.

She faced plenty of adversity her first two years of college football, and not just from being the only woman on the team. Van Voorhis contracted COVID-19 as a freshman that kept her out a while and later suffered a torn ligament in her wrist that required surgery. Recovery from that took a long time as she worked to gain her strength back.

Now with all that behind her, however, her time came to shine on Saturday.

Inspired by others before her such as Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller, Van Voorhis set out to make her own piece of history and certainly did. It will a moment that is remembered forever as she hopes to be a pioneer for more women in the future.

She isn’t done either.

“Now that I’ve hit a goal, I have to make my next one,” she said. “I mean, that’s what it’s always been. It’s always just striving to be a better football player. Once I play, I want to play more.”