About Inductee

Some successful athletes look and act like they were born to play ball almost as soon as they crawl from the cradle. Others dont start blossoming until grade school or junior high or even high school. These are affectionately known as late bloomers." Dean Sanders was a self-confessed late bloomer. An unheralded young football player as a freshman lineman at Butler High School in the mid-1980s, Sanders gradually developed into a solid All-City player as a senior, and later morphed into a 6-foot-5, 250-pound intimidator in college at the University of North Alabama. For some kids, it takes a while for the light to come on," says Sanders. I guess I was one of those kids." By his senior year at Butler, Sanders had progressed to the point where he was voted All-City by the city coaches. I heard later that Coach (Paul) Glover at Huntsville High had a lot to do with that," said Sanders. I had a good game against Huntsville, and he mustve been impressed." After high school, Sanders received scholarship offers from UNA and Middle Tennessee. He picked UNA, where he became a 3-time All-Gulf South Conference lineman for head coach Wayne Grubb. The coaches did a good job by bringing me along gradually," Sanders said. They even asked me if it would hurt my feelings to be redshirted my freshman year. It didnt. By my sophomore year, they were saying, OK, its time to start showing what youve got. " Beginning in 1982, the big kid from Butler turned into the anchor of the Lions defensive line. His favorite moment came in 1983 when he scored his first and only career touchdown in a game against Troy. Our defensive end blocked a pass, it fell right into my hands, and I had to run about 35 yards to the end zone," recalled Sanders. As a senior in 1984, he was voted team captain, was named was UNAs Most Valuable Defensive lineman, and was also named honorable mention All-American. His career statistics in college include 132 tackles, three recovered fumbles, two intercepted passes and one memorable touchdown. At the close of the 1980s, he was named to UNAs All-Decade Team by the Florence Times-Daily. Following his senior season, the New England Patriots invited Sanders to try out as a free agent in 1985. I knew it was a long shot because they had drafted five defensive linemen other than me," said Sanders. But I wouldnt give anything for the experience. The coaches and players treated me with respect. I was a Patriot from March until August. I even got to play against the Redskins in a preseason game and made two tackles. After I got cut, Coach Raymond Berry wrote me a nice letter, thanking me for trying out." The 85 Patriots won 14 games that season and made it all the way to Super Bowl XLII before losing to the Chicago Bears. Meanwhile, Dean Sanders returned to Huntsville and began working as a professional cabinet maker, a craft he learned from his father. In 1989, he returned to UNA to complete his college degree, then went to work for the Huntsville city schools as a teacher and assistant football coach at Lee High School. In 1992, he came back to Butler as a teacher, assistant football coach, golf coach and softball coach. Eleven years later, Sanders succeeded Ron Danley as Butlers head football coach. But by then, both the football program and the school itself were in the throes of deep decline. Enrollment kept plunging and the football rosters got smaller and smaller each year. Danleys team had flourished in the late 1990s and early 2000s during the era of future Alabama star Kenneth Darby, but then the slide began. After Danley departed following a 1-9 season in 2003, Sanders kept hope alive for the first four years, winning 18 games and making the playoff s twice. But his last four Butler teams managed only three wins. Our kids always played hard and never quit, even there at the end," said Sanders. What happened was nobodys fault. We just didnt have enough players to compete." Sanders moved over to Huntsville High as an assistant coach in 2011 and was named defensive coordinator at Columbia High three years later. Butler closed permanently after the 2013-14 school year, finishing 0-10 in each of the last three seasons. As a guy who went to school and later worked there for nearly 20 years, it was really tough to see what happened at Butler," Sanders said. We were great at one time, but I guess nothing lasts forever."