Colorado University Athletics
Coach Prime Continues To Put Buffaloes In National Spotlight
January 24, 2023 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Colorado named Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders as the Buffaloes' new football coach last December, virtually nobody could have predicted the national shockwaves Coach Prime's arrival would have on the CU program.
The Buffaloes became nationally relevant overnight.
Recruits — both high school and transfers — immediately were drawn to the program. National news outlets, commentators and celebrities predicted success for Coach Prime and the Buffs. Sanders quickly became a regular on national broadcasts, from Monday Night Football to Amazon's Thursday Night Prime Time telecast to the CBS Morning show.
Simply, Coach Prime thrust Colorado into prime time on every platform. Social media fully embraced his presence at Colorado and the results have been an explosion in ticket sales, gear sales and donations to CU Athletics.
At the same time, potential recruits continue to flock to Boulder, aiming to become part of the Coach Prime experience and national media continue to point to the successes he is producing for the Buffaloes.
A quick rundown of just a few of the most recent prominent national mentions:
1. Can Coach Prime become the new portal king? Last year, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and USC's Lincoln Riley were declared the national winners when it came to attracting immediate help via the transfer portal.
But now, The Athletic's Max Olson is asking whether Sanders and his staff can wrest the crown away. "When Colorado offers a player in the portal now, it definitely gets their attention. This staff has brought in a long list of visitors and has found quite a few who will help right away," Olson writes.
No doubt, Sanders has already made national waves with his portal recruiting — and the talent flow shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
2. Can the Buffs be a playoff contender in 2024? Three months ago, this thought would have been considered ludicrous. But no less than Fox national college football commentator Joel Klatt (a former CU quarterback) is predicting that such an occurrence is very likely.
"I fully expect in Year 2 under Deion Sanders at Colorado that they are competing as a top 2 or 3 program in the (Pac-12) conference, which means they are competing for the conference crown, which means they are competing for a chance to go to the College Football Playoff. I think it can go that quick."
Klatt isn't just blowing alma mater smoke. He lays out a number of reasons that Coach Prime's Buffaloes could — make that should — be in the CFP conversation in his second year in Boulder.
For starters, two of the league's most competitive programs will be out of the picture. USC and UCLA are headed to the Big Ten in 2024.
Meanwhile, the long list of premier quarterbacks in the conference will be reduced dramatically two seasons from now — but the Buffs will still likely have Shedeur Sanders at the helm.
And, 2024 will be the second year of Sanders' roster rebuild project, meaning he should have 60 to 65 new, quality names on the roster.
The result?
"Deion Sanders at Colorado likely, in my opinion, will compete for a playoff spot in year 2 in 2024," Klatt says.
3. Coach Prime is poised to create a historic turnaround in Boulder. Here's what Ari Wasserman of The Athletic recently wrote about Sanders' potential impact:
"If in two years Sanders signs a top-five class with 10 top-100 players in it, that would be one of the most remarkable turnarounds of a program in the history of this sport. The truth is that's entirely possible, too."
4. What is ahead next fall? Oddsmakers are still playing it safe and projecting the Buffaloes to win four to five games next fall. That's understandable, considering the Buffs' 1-11 record just last season.
But, as Pac-12 Hotline author Jon Wilner writes, "it's clear the Buffaloes will be exponentially better than they were in 2022."
Wilner doesn't have the Buffaloes climbing too far up the Pac-12 ladder, with his early prognostication putting them in ninth place in the conference.
But if the Coach Prime talent train continues to gain steam — which is probable, not just possible — it's a good bet the Buffs will be climbing the ladder in the preseason polls as well.
5. But some are projecting a possible top 25 appearance. CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, whose reporting roots go clear back to the old Big Eight, writes that the Buffs are a team that could "creep into the top 25."
Says Dodd: "The schedule is tough, but so is life. It's time for Coach Prime to walk the walk right away. A bowl is almost expected considering what Sanders has said and done in recruiting so far. Anything beyond 6-6 would be amazing gravy."
Players Mentioned
