Colorado’s new Go-Go offense hit an early snag before preseason snaps even started, with receivers coach Jason Phillips stepping away from the program earlier this week.
Head coach Deion Sanders addressed the departure Monday on X, writing, “He’s retiring after a stellar career.” First-year offensive coordinator Brennan Marion gave a little more context Wednesday after the Buffaloes worked out at Fountain-Fort Carson High School, suggesting Phillips is handling family matters.
“That’s my dawg. I love that dude,” Marion said.
“He’s a truth-teller. He keeps it real.
Which, that’s frowned upon from a lot of people who want just to be praised and not hear any criticism. I love J-Phil.
I love what he brought to our team. That will stay with our players throughout.
“I’m happy for him to be able to spend time to be with his family and his mom and take care of them when they’re in their time of need right now. J-Phil’s meant a lot to the game of football.
He’s been a lot of places and won a lot of games. You don’t replace a person like that.
You just hope to honor them with the way the receivers play on the field this year.”
Rashad Davis has stepped into the receivers coach role. Davis has been on Sanders’ staff since 2023, first as a quality control analyst and graduate assistant before moving into an on-field assistant receivers coach role this offseason.
“We love coach Phil,” CU receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. said. “He was a great coach.
A great human being. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to keep moving.
We got to move forward. We have a common goal.
It’s just like if one dude goes down. That’s our brother, and we’re going to help him get back up.
But we need to keep moving forward to go win this game.”
Elsewhere on the defensive side, cornerback Cree Thomas said an offseason around Sanders and Denver Broncos star Patrick Surtain II has already sharpened his game. Thomas spent last season at Notre Dame and played in only three games, but he said the work has made him more polished.
“I would say all-around, technique-wise, I’m just much more polished,” Thomas said. “I’ve really locked into it.
But also just confidence in my game, being ready to go make a play. I feel like now I’m really looking to go find the ball.
I would say, coming to play for Coach Prime I’ve really grown and I’ve really been able to show that side, show my play-making ability.”
The first week of camp has also become a bonding exercise away from Boulder. Running back DeKalon Taylor admitted he wasn’t thrilled about the move into the UCCS dorms, and Moore said he missed his king-sized bed. But the group has settled in, and the no-phone approach has helped.
“After day one, we began to grow closer,” Taylor said. “We started putting the phones down.
During the day, we don’t take our phones everywhere. I promise you, after 7 a.m. no one has a phone on.
I don’t have my phone with me at all. We just talk to each other.
We built a brotherhood. We laugh and we’re joking all day.
It feels surreal. It’s like a true getaway.
We get to focus on ball. We don’t have to worry about the outside noise.”
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For a program trying to move on from a 3-9 finish in 2025, those details matter because the Buffaloes know they need more than talent to climb back. Colorado has added key transfers and has started to build around a roster that wants better results, even if outside expectations remain modest with preseason odds around 4.5 wins. The real question now is whether the cleaner habits Taylor has seen in camp can turn into something more meaningful once the games start. [Read more 🡒]