When it came to the NFL draft, one of his players, Shedeur Sanders, was dealt an unexpected hand. Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s son Jax managed to get through with a fantastic prank call to Commissioner Goodell. Sanders would have been thrilled to have been named the vice presidential pick. That moment came when the Cleveland Browns selected him in the fifth round.
The resulting prank call had Ulbrich posing as Mickey Loomis, general manager of the New Orleans Saints. The original intent was to advise Sanders that the Saints would be taking him with their next pick. Much to his dismay, he had to wait even further down the line. Though the short interchange only lasted a few seconds, as seen in this YouTube video produced by Deion Sanders Jr., it highlighted Coach Sanders’s response to the misrepresentation.
In an Instagram post, Jax Ulbrich confessed to the hoax and said he was sorry for making the threat. He described the incident as “completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful,” and acknowledged that he acted “selfish and childish.”
“I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish,” – Jax Ulbrich
Despite the prank, Shedeur Sanders remained unfazed. He stated, “It didn’t really have an impact on me,” emphasizing his ability to stay levelheaded during such a chaotic time. Sanders, a highly regarded quarterback from the University of Colorado, explained that he does not “feed into negativity” and was not affected by the prank call.
“It is what it is. I think, of course, it is childish. Of course, I feel like it was a childish act, but everybody does childish things here and there,” – Shedeur Sanders
See, the Atlanta Falcons have already stated that they will take no disciplinary action against Jeff Ulbrich. This decision follows closely on the heels of his son’s latest hoax. One account has Jax Ulbrich as the guy who didn’t put in the extra prank calls to Shedeur Sanders. These conversations took place before draft week.
Sanders’ journey through the draft was marked by challenges, including conversations with ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Damien Woody about why some NFL teams passed on him until the fifth round. A consensus top prospect coming into the draft, his eventual selection unexpected went off the board longer than expected.
As fellow draft participant, Chase Lundt, said, there was something electric about the air throughout the event. “There were a lot of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ throughout the course of the morning, but I was able to kind of push them aside after a while and just kind of stay levelheaded through it all,” he remarked.
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