ATLANTA >> Deion Sanders walked out of the visiting coach’s office at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday afternoon and into the locker room to address his team for the final time.

“Come tighter, come tighter,” Sanders said at the conclusion of the Celebration Bowl. “We’re still a family.”

It was an emotional moment for Sanders and the Jackson State football team.

Many of the tears were because the Tigers came up short of their season-long goal, falling to North Carolina Central, 41-34 in overtime of what is considered the HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) national championship game.

Many of the emotions stemmed from this being the final ride for a JSU squad that did truly become like family in the greatest season in program history, going 12-1 and claiming a second consecutive SWAC title.

This was also a goodbye, as Sanders completed his third and final season as the Tigers’ head coach before passing the torch to his successor, TC Taylor, after the game.

A couple of hours after his final message and prayer with the Tigers, Sanders boarded a plane to Colorado. He now turns his full attention to his new job: coaching the Colorado Buffaloes.

“I miss these guys already, man,” Sanders said in his postgame press conference. “I love them.

“These young men, as well as young women that’s on the staff, equipment team and training staff, we’re different. … We love like that. We love like that. We truly do.”

On Sunday, Sanders will recruit in Boulder and on Wednesday, he will have his first signing day with CU. It’s a big day as he begins the process of rebuilding a team coming off a 1-11 season.

Some of the players who suited up for Jackson State on Saturday will be coming to Boulder with Sanders, including his son, Shedeur, the Tigers’ quarterback.

Shedeur Sanders was sensational in the loss to North Carolina Central (9-2), completing 30-of-40 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for another score. He nearly had a fifth touchdown pass in overtime, but the ball was dropped in the end zone. On the next play, he threw incomplete on fourth down to end the game.

Some of Sanders’ coaches will be coming with him.

Overall, however, this day was the culmination of a remarkable journey for Sanders in Jackson, Miss.

He didn’t cry after the game, but did cry through a pregame message to his team.

“The emotions came before the game in the pregame speech,” he said. “It was something to behold. It was a moment. The whole theme of the message was ‘now.’”

After losing the Celebration Bowl a year ago, Jackson State came back to Atlanta to try to finish the job. Coming up short “will stick with me,” Sanders said.

So will his time at Jackson State, an HBCU that he didn’t know much about before taking the job in 2020. He wound up going 27-6, including 21-2 in his last 23 games.

His success with the Tigers led to his opportunity at Colorado.

Leaving an HBCU for CU has been a polarizing move, but before he left the postgame podium, Sanders thanked Jackson State and the media covering HBCUs.

“Thank you, just for shining light on HBCUs,” he said. “I’m not walking away; I’m gonna still always love HBCUs in my time. (JSU athletic director) Ashley Robinson gave me an opportunity that was phenomenal and I was able to maximize my moments. But, if it had not been for those opportunities I probably wouldn’t have received those other opportunities that I have received. So I’m forever in debt.”

Sanders added that he doesn’t coach to leave a legacy, but he is certainly leaving his mark on Jackson State and all HBCUs.

After Sanders left the podium, a journalist covering HBCU football leaned over to this writer and said, “Take good care of him for us up there. We love him.”