Deion Sanders, Colorado, and the Crossroads of a Program Rebuild
Deion Sanders doesn’t mince words. After Colorado’s disappointing 2025 season-the worst under his leadership-Coach Prime stood at the podium and didn’t sugarcoat a thing.
“We won’t be in this situation again, I promise you that,” he said after a season-ending loss to Kansas State. His tone wasn’t just frustrated-it was resolute.
This wasn’t a coach making excuses. This was a coach drawing a line in the sand.
“I’m not happy with nothing, right now,” Sanders said. “This fan base, this school, Rick (George), everybody deserves much better than this. And we gonna give ‘em much better than this, starting tomorrow.”
That “tomorrow” has now arrived. And with it, a new chapter in Sanders’ tenure-one shaped not only by roster moves and recruiting decisions, but also by a deeply personal battle off the field.
A Tumultuous Offseason, On and Off the Field
To understand where things stand with Colorado right now, you have to go back to the start of 2025. The Buffaloes were coming off a 10-win campaign.
They had a Heisman winner. Sanders’ son was projected as a top-10 NFL Draft pick.
The program seemed to be on a fast track to national relevance.
Then came the news that changed everything.
In January, during what was supposed to be a routine checkup related to his leg and blood clot issues, Sanders was diagnosed with bladder cancer. From that moment on, football took a backseat. Recruiting, roster management, spring planning-it all paused while Sanders fought a much bigger battle.
He was largely absent from February through July, right in the heart of college football’s most critical recruiting window. When he finally returned to the Dal Ward Center, flanked by his doctor and Colorado’s assistant trainer, the picture started to come into focus.
“I went through it, and I wasn’t here for a period of time,” Sanders admitted. “To keep my hands on the product… I think some things may not have happened had I been (there).”
Now, he says, he’s involved in everything. Every recruit.
Every transfer. Nothing comes through the door without his eyes on it.
A Shift in Recruiting Strategy
That hands-on approach has come with a notable shift in philosophy.
In his first two years at Colorado, Sanders was aggressive in the transfer portal-landing high-profile names from major Power Four programs. This year? Not so much.
The first portal signing came days after the window opened, and the names that followed weren’t marquee additions from blue-blood programs. Instead, Sanders has focused largely on Group of Five talent and under-the-radar three-star players. Even the transfers from Power Four schools come with question marks.
By the midpoint of the portal window, the Buffaloes looked more like a Group of Five roster playing in a Power Four conference. That’s a stark contrast to the star-studded transfer classes of Sanders’ first few years.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Culture, chemistry, and fit matter-especially in college football.
But it’s a gamble. And it’s a gamble Sanders is making at a time when the pressure is higher than ever.
The Portal Closes, But Questions Remain
Now that the portal window has closed, more than 3,200 players remain unsigned. That’s a staggering number, and it underscores just how chaotic and unforgiving the current system can be.
Some big names-like EDGE Damon Wilson II, LB Arion Carter, WR Cayden Lee, and RB Makhi Frazier-are still available. Whether Colorado is still in the mix for any of them remains to be seen.
What we do know is that Sanders recently took a trip to Vail, about two hours from Boulder. On the surface, it’s a man taking time to enjoy life after a brutal year. And after beating cancer, who could argue with that?
But timing matters in college football. January isn’t the offseason-it’s the start of the next season.
It’s portal season, recruiting season, roster-building season. Every day counts.
Every decision gets scrutinized.
Sanders has acknowledged that he’s trying to enjoy life more. He’s spoken about buying a luxury vehicle, about loosening his grip on spending and appreciating the moment.
That’s a very human response to a life-altering diagnosis. It’s also something fans, understandably, have embraced.
But in the business of college football-especially after a 3-win season-optics matter. And right now, the optics don’t quite match the urgency Sanders displayed after that Kansas State loss.
A Program at a Crossroads
Make no mistake: 2025 was bad. The kind of bad that demands change. And Sanders promised change.
“I’m touching everything that comes in,” he said. “They gotta fit.”
But so far, the moves haven’t mirrored that urgency. The social media buzz, the recruiting highlights, the splashy commitments-they’ve been quieter than usual.
That doesn’t mean Sanders doesn’t have a plan. It just means the plan looks different.
And if it works, he’ll be hailed as a visionary who found value where others didn’t.
But if it doesn’t? If this team doesn’t compete for a conference title in 2026?
Then the questions will come fast-and they’ll all point back to this offseason. To the recruiting window that slipped by.
To the players not brought in. To the gamble of building a team not on stars, but on fit.
Deion Sanders has never been afraid to do things his way. And that’s part of what’s made his journey so compelling. But now, as Colorado turns the page to a new season, all eyes are on whether his way can still deliver results.
Because for all the talk, all the promises, and all the potential-2026 has to be different.