Phillip Lindsay isn’t buying the idea that Deion Sanders’ name alone can carry Colorado forever.
The former Buffaloes running back, who starred in Boulder from 2013-17, offered a blunt assessment of where the program stands under Sanders. In a conversation with national sports writer Kyle Odegard, Lindsay made it clear that the buzz around Coach Prime only goes so far.
“All that hype, it wears off. You’ve got to win games now.
That’s how you keep butts in seats and that’s how you make more money,” Lindsay said. “So for Deion now, what do you do?
Your back is against the wall and you’ve got to do something more than just talk.”
Colorado’s hiring of Sanders before the 2023 college football season brought instant attention to a program that had just gone 1-11 in 2022. The energy was immediate. The Buffs became one of the most talked-about teams in the country and home games at Folsom Field started selling out.
But the on-field results have not matched the noise. Sanders is 16-21 in his first three seasons in Boulder, and Colorado went 3-9 in 2025, missing a bowl game for the second time in three years. Lindsay’s warning is simple: the spotlight doesn’t stay bright if the wins don’t follow.
There was one offseason move Lindsay did like, though. He pointed to Sanders’ hire of Brennan Marion as offensive coordinator as a positive step. That comes after Colorado’s offense struggled badly in 2025, averaging 20.9 points per game and ranking 116th out of 136 FBS teams.
Marion arrives after coaching Sacramento State in 2025, where he guided the Hornets to a 7-5 record and an average of 33.75 points per game. He is expected to bring a different look to Colorado’s offense with the go-go system, an up-tempo approach that puts the quarterback in shotgun with two running backs beside him.
Lindsay knows the program from the inside. He played his entire college career at Colorado, appearing in 51 games and piling up 3,770 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns, along with 116 catches for 1,079 yards and three scores. He earned Second-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2016.
After going undrafted in 2018, Lindsay still carved out a strong NFL run. He spent five seasons in the league from 2018-2022, and his best year came as a rookie with the Denver Broncos in 2018, when he rushed for 1,037 yards and nine touchdowns, made the Pro Bowl and landed on the PFWA All-Rookie Team. Over his NFL career, he finished with 2,848 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.
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