Athletes only get one chance at a final season with a team, and for Nicholls defensive back B.T. Sanders, his final season is one he wants to take the time to appreciate.

“I’m just trying to take every practice and every game day by day,” Sanders said.

He wants to communicate his own perspective to other players as well.

“Just enjoy it, it really flies by. I know everybody says that, but you don’t really understand it until it’s really winding down,” Sanders said.

Throughout his years at Nicholls, Sanders said the football team had taught him a lot.

“You have to learn not to get too high, not get too low,” Sanders said. “There’s always going to be ups and downs, not just in football, but in life as well.”

Once the new guy on the team himself, Sanders has taken his experiences in mind now that he has transitioned to a team leader.
“I know I’m the old guy, and I’m just trying to influence the younger guys and show them the way. I’m trying to pass them the torch,” Sanders said.

Sanders made it clear that he was not one to talk about his game or tell other players how to do their job, but instead show them how himself.

“I just try to lead by example. Even if it’s just working out, I always try to be on time,” said Sanders. “I always try to influence the guys to do the right thing and never cheat a rep, and to always give maximum effort.”

Head Coach Tim Rebowe reflected Sanders’s statements on how he chose to lead the team.

“B.T. is so good on the field and off the field. He talks with his play,” Rebowe said.

Chris Major, a sophomore defensive back for Nicholls, spoke on Sanders’s character as well.

“The first time I met him [Sanders], he introduced himself to me, and right away he just opened his arms up to me,” Major said. “If I needed anything or needed any help, he’d always talk to me and tell me what to do, and what not to do.”

While being a leader is an important role for Sanders, the game of football extends past the responsibility that the leader position requires of him.

“I have to go into every game with that same mindset that I had when I was a young guy,” sanders said. “If it wasn’t for football, I wouldn’t be here. I have to make sure I represent my family and that I don’t disappoint my Mom. I have a thankfulness for just being able to play the game.”

After this season with Nicholls, Sanders has set his sights on playing for the National Football League.

“I plan on giving the pros the best shot I have. You see the scouts come out here every now and then and it kind of makes me think that I have a shot,” Sanders said.

With these high aspirations, Sanders made sure that football was not his only plan after college.

“If that doesn’t work out, I’ll just try to get my master’s in marketing,” Sanders said.

With his future goals in mind, Sanders has also put an emphasis on what he wants his legacy with Nicholls to be.
On what he wanted to leave behind with the team, Sanders said, “I really feel like this class can be the one that turns it around and gets it going the right way. I can tell this is going to turn all the way around.”