The son of one of the most popular professional wrestlers of all time, Goldberg, has decided to join Deion Sanders and the Colorado football program in 2024 after passing on a chance to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Deion Sanders has drawn a great deal of attention to himself during his short run as the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. While the team had a disappointing finish in 2023 after a red-hot start, the program has quickly become one of the most popular in the country and is drawing interest from high school players from around the United States.
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While the Colorado football program is likely to land several notable recruits later this year, they added the offspring of a WWE legend this week. On Tuesday, Gage Goldberg, the son of WWE and WCW legend Bill Goldberg revealed to TMZ Sports that he has committed to play for Colorado this year. However, the program was not his first choice.
“We were seconds away from committing to Alabama and Nick Saban left.” Gage said. “My top four schools were Alabama, Duke, USF, and NC State. And then [my father] reached out to Deion, the opportunity came up for a PWO at Colorado and I committed on that.”
The popular wrestler from the late 1990s and early 2000s was a solid football player in his youth for the Georgia Bulldogs and actually played three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. During his three-year stint with the Falcons, he became pals with the NFL Hall-of-Famer, and that friendship has only grown in the years since.
That decades-long bond and knowing the man that Deion Sanders is played a huge role in Bill Goldberg in guiding his son to take his gridiron talents to the Colorado football program next season.
“At the end of the day, there’s so many things to take into consideration. And the decision you make [in a college] is pretty much dictating the next four years of your life, which dictates the rest of your life” the elder Goldberg told the outlet. “It’s just a huge decision [that’s] not based on who has the coolest uniform. It’s based on who’s gonna take care of you the most.
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“Let’s be honest, me and Deion are dear friends. I love the man like he’s my brother,” he continued, “I’d do anything for him. I said that when I was his teammate and I say that now. I’ve watched him from afar and Gage has been thinking about potential schools for the last four years, ever since he put on his first football helmet. I’ve seen what Deion did, I respect him exponentially as a coach and even more as a person.”
Gage Goldberg is not a highly recruited player from the high school ranks, however, he was offered a preferred walk-on spot for the Alabama football program after a tryout. He will get the same offer from the Buffs.
Bill Goldberg revealed in the interview that his nephew also was a walk-on at Colorado and his brothers own restaurants in the state.