The son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich orchestrated Friday’s prank call to Shedeur Sanders amid the quarterback prospect’s fall in the NFL draft.
The Falcons released a statement Sunday apologizing for 21-year-old Jax Ulbrich’s hoax after it was reported that the NFL was investigating the prank, in which the caller purported to be New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.
A brief video posted on social media showed Sanders taking the call.
“How you doing, man?” the caller asked.
“Good,” Sanders responded. “Been waiting on you.“
The caller claimed the Saints will take him with their next pick, then suggested Sanders is “gonna have to wait a little bit longer.” After the call ended, Sanders appeared uncertain about what just transpired.
Sanders wound up waiting until the fifth round, when the Cleveland Browns drafted him with the 144th pick overall.
“Earlier in the week, Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number for Shedeur Sanders off an open iPad while visiting his parent’s home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call,” the Falcons said in their statement. “Jeff Ulbrich was unaware of the data exposure or any facets of the prank and was made aware of the above only after the fact.
“The Atlanta Falcons do not condone this behavior and send our sincere apologies to Shedeur Sanders and his family, who we have been in contact with to apologize to, as well as facilitate an apology directly from Jax to the Sanders family.”
Jax Ulbrich released his own statement on Instagram. “I’m so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish,” he wrote. “I could never imagine getting ready to celebrate one of the greatest moments of your life and I made a terrible mistake and messed with that moment. Thank you for accepting my call earlier today, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
For his part, Sanders did not seem too concerned about the matter when he spoke about it on Saturday.
“It didn’t really have an impact on me,” Sanders told reporters. “Of course, I feel like it was a childish act, but everybody does childish things here and there.“
Sanders’ father, Colorado coach Deion Sanders, spent the first five seasons of his Hall of Fame playing career with the Falcons.
Ulbrich, 48, returned to Atlanta this offseason after serving as the interim head coach of the New York Jets last season.
Sanders was not the only draft prospect who received a prank call in recent days. Fox Sports reported that Penn State tight end Tyler Warren received a call several picks before he was selected 14th overall by the Indianapolis Colts.
