Snoop Dogg calls Deion Sanders, wants to send message to new star receiver at Colorado

Snoop Dogg called Deion Sanders recently and wanted to have a word with Omarion Miller, the new star that was born Saturday on national television.

Miller, a freshman receiver for Colorado, caught seven passes for 196 yards in the second half of his team’s 48-41 loss at home against then-No. 6 Southern California.

Sanders, Colorado’s head football coach, took the call from Snoop, the famed rapper, and used the moment to send Miller a message.

“I challenged him yesterday and I got a dear friend that called me and summoned me to get him on the phone to Facetime,” Sanders said Tuesday at his weekly news conference in Boulder.

This friend “wanted to let him know that he has a tremendous gift,” Sanders said. “And I don’t know what the conversation was, but I know I just handed him the phone, and I said somebody wants to talk to you.”

Miller looked at the phone “was like, `Oh my God!’” according to Sanders.  

“Yeah, it was Snoop,” said Sanders, whose team (3-2) next plays Saturday at Arizona State (1-4). “Snoop wanted to talk to Omarion. He wanted to challenge him.”

What was the point of the Snoop Dogg call?

The message was about expectations. Miller never caught a college pass before setting a  freshman school record for receiving yards in the second half of the last game. Now everybody is going to expect more, including a world-famous hip hop artist.

Snoop Dogg didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

It’s one of the benefits of playing for Sanders at Colorado. The games are attended and watched by Sanders’ celebrity friends and followers, some of whom address the team or provide advice on the side to players.  Some think it’s a big deal. Some don’t’ get starstruck at all.

“No, I don’t because I know everybody’s regular humans,” said Sanders’ son and quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

He’s used to it, including last week when NBA legends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were there, along with rapper DaBaby.

“It’s cool, but if things don’t work out the right way, then they all remember you for bad things,” Shedeur Sanders said. “So you don’t ever really want to have those guys be the focus.”

This week might be a little different in that regard.

Coach Prime’s next game is more low-key

Colorado has attracted five of the eight biggest television audiences in the nation this season in college football. Three of their previous five games have been on Fox’s coveted Big Noon national showcase. Two others were on ESPN and ABC.

Not this week. The game at ASU is on the Pac-12 Networks. They team they face is unranked at 1-4. The Buffs are favored by 4.5 points.

The challenge then is to not let up despite the lesser attention and diminished star power after all the hoopla in the first five games. The Buffs finished 1-11 last year, then started 3-0 this season under Sanders before dropping the next two against two national heavyweights on national TV – Oregon and USC.

“We gotta go out there and exceed expectation,” Deion Sanders said. “We really do. It doesn’t matter if we on a national stage or not. We’re national. People understand that we’re here, and they that understand we’re coming. And they understand what we’re building.”

Travis Hunter update

Colorado star receiver-cornerback Travis Hunter might be out with a lacerated liver for a few more weeks. He suffered the injury Sept 16 against Colorado State and since has been helping coach his teammates from the sidelines instead of playing.

Deion Sanders said he would prefer Hunter to rest and recover until after Colorado’s bye weekend Oct. 21. The Buffs play at UCLA a week later.

Starting safety Shilo Sanders also missed the USC game with an unspecified injury after saying he was urinating blood following the Oregon game. He resumed practice this week and might play against ASU.

With those two starters coming back soon, and the recent ascendance of freshman cornerback Cormani McClain, the nation’s No. 1 cornerback recruit, Deion Sanders is eager to see what the future holds for his secondary at full strength.

“It’s gonna be something to behold in the secondary,” he said.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com