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Falcons make decision on defensive coordinator after Shedeur Sanders prank call probe leads to coach's son READ MORE: Tom Brady accused of being partly responsible for Sanders' fall READ MORE: Patriots delete post referencing Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef By JAKE FENNER Published: 00:14 BST, 28 April 2025 | Updated: 00:15 BST, 28 April 2025 e-mail View comments Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will not be punished by the team after his son confessed to pranking NFL hopeful Sheduer Sanders during this week’s draft, a club spokesperson has confirmed to DailyMail.com. Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of the Falcons assistant coach, ‘unintentionally came across the draft contact phone number’ on his father's iPad, the Flacons revealed in a statement earlier on Sunday.
As seen in a viral online video, Jax and a friend called Shedeur to tell him he was being drafted - a particularly cruel prank, considering the former Colorado star was in the midst of plummeting from a projected first-round pick to the 144th overall selection, where he was mercifully chosen by the Cleveland Browns . That Falcons statement indicates Jeff wasn't aware Jax had access to the phone number. '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 iPad while visiting his parent's home and wrote the number down to later conduct a prank call,' the team's statement began.
'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 are not expected to punish defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich Ulbrich's son, Jax, admitted to being part of a prank call targeting Shedeur Sanders on Friday Jax apologized to Sanders in the post and on the phone. The Falcons say Jax 'unintentionally' came across a phone number Sanders only gave out to NFL personnel prior to the draft.
'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. 'We have also been in contact with the NFL and will continue to cooperate fully with any inquiries we may receive from the NFL league office. 'We are thoroughly reviewing all protocols, and updating if necessary, to help prevent an incident like this from happening again.
' That team statement came after Jax released a statement of his own on his Instagram account. 'On Friday night I made a tremendous mistake,' Jax posted. 'Shedeur, what I did was completely inexcusable, embarrassing, and shameful.
'I'm so sorry I took away from your moment, it was selfish and childish. I could never imagine getting ready to celebrate one of the greatest moments of you life and I made a terrible mistake and messed with that moment.' Jax then went on to reveal that he and Sanders spoke on the phone before concluding, 'I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
' Video of the prank call to Sanders taking place was posted onto social media Sanders received the phone call, which was broadcast on a live stream in real time on Friday Read More EXCLUSIVE Inside story of how 'entitled' Shedeur Sanders caused his NFL Draft humiliation that stunned Trump Sanders was expected to be a top-3 pick in the draft months ago. On the day of the draft, that projection had changed - but he was still believed to be taken in the first round. But the first round came and went without Sanders being selected in a shocking development.
Then, on Friday for the second and third rounds, Sanders was waiting for a call. One eventually came from the pranksters, who pretended to be someone from the New Orleans Saints. On Saturday, a clip of the prank callers was posted on social media.
It showed a young man - wearing an Ole Miss sweater - calling Sanders. Jax Ulbrich, who was sitting nearby on the couch, was left open-mouthed and had to walk away after hearing Sanders answer. 'This is Mickey Loomis here, the GM of the New Orleans Saints, how are you doing?' the caller asked Sanders, who replied: 'Good, I've been waiting on you' The prankster continued: 'It's been a long wait, man, (but) we are going to take you as our next pick right here.
' After Sanders replied, 'that would be legendary', he is told 'you're going to have to wait a little bit longer, man. Sorry about that!' The caller then hung up, prompting hysterical laughter among his friends. 'Oh my God, he bought it!' one could be heard shouting.
Meanwhile, Sanders' reaction to the prank call was broadcast to the world on a livestream of his draft party. Once the humiliating incident took place, the feed cut out. Sanders looked puzzled, revealing, 'Nobody had that number.
The number was only in the email thread that the NFL sent out to only teams.' Friday didn't get better for Sanders as he wasn't taken in either the second or third round, extending his wait to Saturday. Eventually, he was selected in the fifth round with pick No.
144 by the Cleveland Browns. Sanders isn't the only victim of a prank call . It was later revealed that Penn State tight end Tyler Warren was also pranked before his eventual selection by the Indianapolis Colts with the 14th overall pick, according to Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz .
Warren's call game around the time the New York Jets were on the clock with the seventh overall pick. They eventually took offensive tackle Armand Membou out of Missouri. It isn't clear if Warren's prank call and Sanders' prank call are connected in any way.
However, Warren's camp says the prank call originated from a phone number that had the same area code as the Sanders prank call. Tyler Warren was also prank called before his first-round selection by the Indianapolis Colts Sixth-rounders Kyle McCord of Syracuse and Chase Lundt of UConn were also prank called According to The Sporting News , at least four other players were hit with prank calls throughout the draft process. Others prank call recipients include Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord and UConn offensive lineman Chase Lundt.
McCord was drafted in the sixth round with the 181st pick by the Philadelphia Eagles and Lundt was picked in the sixth with the 206th pick by the Buffalo Bills. In addition to Sanders, Warren, McCord, and Lundt, an anonymous undrafted free agent was prank called - getting that player's hopes up. Another anonymous player was prank called moments after they were drafted, when that player was told they were being traded.
DailyMail.com has reached out to an NFL spokesman for a comprehensive list of everyone who was pranked by Ulrich's son, Jax. Instagram Share or comment on this article: Falcons make decision on defensive coordinator after Shedeur Sanders prank call probe leads to coach's son e-mail Add comment Comments 0 Share what you think No comments have so far been submitted.
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