Coach Prime Sends Message After Buffs' Scrimmage Work
April 08, 2023 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders delivered a succinct yet extremely clear message to his Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday.
Just after Coach Prime and his staff put the Buffs through some full-pads, full-contact work, he had this answer to a query concerning the progress of CU's offensive line after eight practices — basically the midpoint of spring ball:
"The team that we're playing with now is not the team that we're going to play with in Texas the first game (Sept. 2 at TCU)," Sanders said. "Do I need to say anymore? It's not gonna be that. It's gonna be a lot of new faces, a lot of new attitudes, a lot of new understandings and a lot of new wants and desires … There has to be a sense of urgency. You got to have it."
Sanders may have been asked about his offensive line, but his response was clearly directed at the entire roster.
Coach Prime and his staff are still actively recruiting. They will continue to add and subtract players over the next couple of months, meaning every day, every practice is an audition. Sanders has vowed that Colorado will win immediately — and to meet that expectation, the Buffs will need a roster that meets their head coach's standards.
Not that Sanders hasn't witnessed flashes of good play. He likes what he's seen from coordinator Sean Lewis' offense, an up-tempo attack that puts the ball in the hands of playmakers. There have been good moments from quarterback Shedeur Sanders, several of the receivers and some flashes from the running backs.
"We have a tremendous offensive coordinator," Sanders said. "He's really good at what he does, finding unique ways to get playmakers the ball, finding ways to get the ball down the field, working on the running game as well and trying to get everybody involved. He did a phenomenal job today. We wanted to see if a couple young men could come up with big plays and for the most part, we did okay."
The scenario has been similar on defense. Some big plays here and there — but the one thing Coach Prime craves more than anything else is still missing from the equation.
"Consistency," Sanders said. "Fighting every play, understanding the offense, not blowing assignments, not busting certain things that we're asking of them … We just really want guys to give it their all."
Saturday's workout had several 10-play scripts for the No. 1 and No. 2 units, but Sanders pushed the number well past 10 on a couple of occasions.
"I know some guys are on the verge of shutting it down and I wanted to see when they actually shut down," he said. "I just want to see their capacity, their breaking point. And they did a pretty good job. They didn't quit, they did not quit at all. It may not have been the effort that we desired and the standard that we desire, but they didn't shut it down, which is positive."
Sanders said he believes the offense may actually be running a little ahead of the defense in terms of scheme install, execution and consistency.
That's not a bad thing, especially considering the offensive reins will be in the hands of his son, Shedeur.
The younger Sanders appears to have quickly grasped the concepts of Lewis' offense — one that demands a rapid tempo and requires receivers to read defenses and adjust their routes accordingly.
"From the first week of spring ball to now, it's a big difference," Shedeur said. "I kind of got a handle on what Coach Lewis is talking about, how he calls plays … I'm in his mind now. So now I feel more comfortable when I'm out there and more lucid and I'm able to play fast and just know my reads on each and every play. Now, the only thing is just going down the homestretch, staying consistent and playing each play."
The Buffs now have just two weeks and seven practices remaining on the spring schedule. It means the CU coaching staff will be watching and evaluating every snap of every practice closely as they continue to make roster decisions.
"We still have some guys who don't understand what we want," Sanders said bluntly. "And we're not going to waver on what we want. We're going to stick to the standard. We got guys sitting down that aint' even been in the scrimmage … We don't kneel. We have guys who won't run all the way off the field — that's free. Your effort is free. … We we just have to find the type of kids that are who we are. And we will."
The Buffs now have just two weeks until the April 22 Black & Gold Spring Game. The event has been announced as a sellout and will be televised live by ESPN.
The game may also be the final opportunity for some players to prove their mettle.
"By that time we will know who's who," Sanders said. "We already know who's who, but we're still giving a multitude of opportunities for guys to show that they can play at a certain level and reach a certain expectation that we have. Those guys that we feel like they can, we want to make sure they can do it in front of company. That means with fans and pressure and expectation … We're looking forward to that day. I think it's going to be a wonderful moment for this university. It's gonna be a wonderful moment for the city."
Players Mentioned
