Shedeur Sanders

When you’re the son of Deion Sanders, one of the most iconic football players over the past quarter century, it’s hard to blaze your own path in life. But Shedeur Sanders has done that and then some while playing for his father at Jackson State. A former On3 Industry four-star recruit, Sanders became the first HBCU player to ever receive the Jerry Rice Award, given annually to the most outstanding freshman player in FCS football. “I’m just proud of his maturity and who he is on and off the field,” Deion Sanders told The Undefeated. Off the field, Shedeur Sanders is one of the most influential athletes in college athletics. He has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and signed a NLI deal in December to become one of the faces of seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady's new apparel brand. “He inspired me a lot, but growing up as his son is different,” Shedeur Sanders told PEOPLE. “You got to make something for yourself and that's my main thing every day at the end of the day. I know when I turn 21, I'm on my own, so it doesn't matter what pops did. It matters about me and what I've done in this world and what I did with my lifetime.”