Tennessee Vol cornerback Colton Hood was making headlines all morning at the NFL Combine when he threw what many thought was some shade at his former Colorado head coach, NFL legend Deion Sanders.
Hood was asked about what was different from playing under Deion Sanders compared to Josh Heupel. Hood said, "I won't really get into the differences, I would say, like at Tennessee coach Heupel, he definitely cared about his players, he did his best to keep us healthy, and get us to Saturday. So he did a great job with that, ya know? He's just a great coach, a players' coach, I love coach Heupel for sure."
Now we have a new angle, as Colton Hood has since gone to X and cleared up the confusion many had about his quote from the NFL Combine media session he had earlier. Hood posted, "By no means was I throwing shade at Colorado or coach Prime. I said before I wouldn’t get into differences and proceeded to only talk about my previous school, as I assumed that was the best way to go about answering the question."
By no means was I throwing shade at Colorado or coach Prime I said before I wouldn’t get into differences and proceeded to only talk about my previous school as I assumed that was the best way to go about answering the question.
— Colton HOOD 🕴🏼💯 (@Colton_Hood2023) February 26, 2026
Colton Hood clears upo confushion on his comments about Deion Sanders and Josh Heupel
This was proivbably a very smart PR move by Hood to clear up any confuashion. In Hood's defense, he never directly said anything bad about coach Prime, but it sure did feel like he was throwing shade.
If we’re being honest, Hood makes a solid point: the past is the past, and the difference between the two programs doesn't matter. Right now, his focus is on improving his draft stock this week. Any off-the-field distractions are something he needs to block out so he can continue perfecting his craft.
The reality is, Hood has a chance to be a first-round pick, and if he can run a good 40-yard dash time and do well in the cornerback drills, he can solidify himself in the first round, as many teams need secondary help. Hood is an elite man coverage corner who is phyical when in press coverage and isn't afraid to get gritty in the run game.
Despite the distractions, Hood should be ready to go and have a standout weekend.