DeAndre Moore Jr. didn’t come to Colorado just to blend in.
After three seasons at Texas, the wide receiver said the pull of Deion Sanders’ program - and the chance to reconnect with offensive coordinator Brennan Marion - made the move to Boulder feel like the right next step. Moore called it “The Prime Effect,” and he sees Colorado as a place where the spotlight is part of the deal.
“I went from one brand to a really big brand. Every single day there’s going to be cameras on you.
There’s going to be lights on you. That’s just another great way for me and my teammates to go showcase what we can do.
“And also, the environment. Not too many places around the country you can go into a building and be yourself.
Sometimes you gotta walk on eggshells around certain coaches, or certain people won’t talk to you. It’s not like that here.
It’s a real family, a real brotherhood, a real bond. The coaches are men building men, and so they’re going to treat us as such.
That’s what I love about being here.”
The Marion connection goes back to Texas, where Marion spent the 2022 season as receivers coach and passing game coordinator. He left after one year for UNLV, but not before building a relationship with Moore while recruiting him out of Bellflower, California.
Now the two are trying to make that old connection matter in a new place. Moore is expected to be part of a Colorado offense that’s learning Marion’s Go-Go system, a scheme Moore described as “backyard football.” The offense blends a power run game with vertical shots, and Moore figures to be one of the pieces helping bring it to life.
His path to this point has already included steady production. As a true freshman in 2023, Moore appeared in nine games. He followed that with 39 catches for 456 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2024 season, then posted 38 receptions for 532 yards and four touchdowns last year.
The challenge now is fitting into a receiver group that is still sorting itself out. Moore missed spring practice because of an injury, and as Colorado’s preseason workouts move from Fountain-Fort Carson back to Boulder, San Jose State transfer Danny Scudero has emerged as a leader among the Buffs’ receivers.
Moore is also competing for snaps with fellow transfers Kam Perry from Miami Ohio and Ernest Campbell from Sacramento State, along with returning players such as Joesph Williams, who was CU’s second-leading receiver last year with 37 catches for 489 yards and four touchdowns.
Even with the competition, Moore says the job description is simple.
“(Marion) is like an uncle, man,” Moore said. “I’ve known the guy since I was about 16-years old. He was recruiting me to Texas and we was playing cards and I was beating him in speed all night.
“My role is just however I can help the football team win. That’s what I’m here for, bro.
If I’ve gotta go down on punt and make an impact, that’s what I’m going to do. If I gotta go stick my nose in and block for (my teammates), that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
Whatever I can do to help the team, that’s my job.”
In Other News...
Julian Lewis Is Giving Colorado Fans Real Reason To Believe
Colorados offense is heading into a new era in 2026, and the attention is already starting to land on Julian Lewis. ESPNs Adam Rittenberg recently put the Buffaloes quarterback on a list of Big 12 passers to watch, a notable nod for a former five-star recruit entering his second collegiate season. Lewis is being mentioned in the same conversation as some of the sports most closely watched young quarterbacks, which says plenty about the expectations forming around him.
The timing matters for Colorado, too, because the Buffs are also adjusting to a new offensive coordinator in Brennan Marion. For a program looking to take a meaningful step forward, Lewis has become one of the clearest reasons for optimism, the kind of player who can shape how high this offense can climb if the new system clicks. The buzz is early, but it is real, and it is only going to grow once the offseason gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Deion Sanders Colorado Recruiting Shift Is Starting To Look Very Different
Colorados 2027 recruiting class is beginning to show a different kind of blueprint under Deion Sanders, with more than 20 high school commitments already on board. For a program that has leaned heavily on the transfer portal in recent seasons, the current class suggests a more deliberate push to build from the ground up, with the staff putting a new premium on getting young talent in the door early.
One of the clearest signs of that shift has been the work done on the offensive line, where Gunnar White has become a steady presence on the trail and a central figure in the class so far. His emphasis on recruiting and developing high school players fits the larger direction around the program, as Colorado tries to create more long-term stability and lessen its dependence on quick fixes. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Is Betting This Fall Camp Reset Will Bring The Team Together
Colorado opened fall camp in a different setting this year, taking its work to Colorado Springs and practicing at local facilities while living in dorms at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The change of scenery has been framed internally as more than a logistical adjustment, with players and the athletic director describing it as a chance to tighten the group and strip away some of the usual distractions that come with being back in Boulder.
For a team trying to build chemistry before the season, the move is meant to create more time together and a sharper daily focus. Colorado is betting that a reset like this can do some of the quiet but important work of camp, helping the Buffaloes connect as a roster and carry a little more cohesion into the fall. [Read more 🡒]