SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Even though it erased a defensive touchdown for the Washington State cornerback, Deion Sanders gave Marcus Strong a thumbs-up for the celebration that followed his interception in Friday’s Valero Alamo Bowl.

Strong would’ve put the Cougars on the board with six points after picking off Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy, but after racing past every Cyclone player, the junior cornerback looked back over his shoulder and held the ball in one hand as he crossed the goal line.

A yellow flag followed and officials wiped the touchdown away, giving Strong an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting.

Watching from home, Sanders, the eight-time first team All-Pro cornerback who spent much of his career in Texas with the Dallas Cowboys, offered his thoughts on the sequence.

Sanders tweeted: “Marcus Strong u ain’t do nothing wrong my brother. The way u broke on that slant u deserve to look back after u outran everyone! #Truth WASHINGTON STATE!!!!!!!!”

A second tweet from the player known as “Prime time” read: “Please make sure Marcus Strong and Washington State got my tweet. Much love to the young fellow. He should’ve high stepped that thang! Lol #Truth”

The penalty could’ve been costly, but the Cougars still got into the end zone on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew to Renard Bell just a few minutes later, taking a 7-0 lead on the Cyclones.

The tweets apparently found their way to the WSU corner moments after the game.

“He was pretty excited,” safety Jalen Thompson said. “After the game he showed everyone and was like, ‘Deion Sanders tweeted to me.’ He’s pretty lucky, in my opinion. I wish I could get tweeted by Deion Sanders, but Marcus played great today and did his job. You saw what happened, he made big plays.”

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