The summer of 2025 is one that Deion Sanders and his family won’t soon forget. After overcoming from the removal of a cancerous bladder tumor, Coach Prime is back in Boulder, leading the Colorado Buffaloes into the NCAA season. With Shedeur Sanders no longer in college football, Sanders didn’t waste time before making an emotional announcement on one of his son’s former teammates.
Football can be a cruel sport. Players put their bodies on the line week in and week out, but sometimes enough is enough. On that note, former Buffaloes running back Charlie Offerdahl made the painful yet healthy decision to step away from the sport he’s played his entire life. After several concussions, the would-be senior has hung up his cleats.
He informed his decision to his teammates as the group reunited in Boulder on Tuesday, but it wasn’t long before Coach Prime intervened, announcing a surprising decision regarding the youngster’s scholarship.
As the Buffaloes head coach informed the former tail-back teammate of Shedeur and company, the University of Colorado in Boulder will extend his scholarship, albeit stepping away from the gridiron. Offerdahl entered the program as a walk-on, and earned the financial aid during Deion’s first year at the helm, as reported by The Spun.
Charlie Offerdahl #44 of the Colorado Buffaloes celebrates after scoring a fourth quarter touchdown against the Utah Utes at Folsom Field on November 16, 2024 in Boulder, Colorado.
Sanders’ statement
“I love him, he deserves it,” Sanders said, all while hugging Offerdahl. “I wish to God that we just had 11 players with what he has inside of him and what makes him who he is. Charlie never had a bad day. Always came to work, came to play and [he was] raised wonderfully. I love you man and I appreciate you. We’re going to take care of you.
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“You guys know how I feel about the OG’s, the OB’s – Original Buffs. If there’s somebody out there that’s in control of a dental school, I want to make sure we take care of him. We are going to get somebody out there to bless you.“
Offerdahl’s farewell message
“Obviously I haven’t been here this summer, and if it’s not obvious already, I won’t be coming back this year,” Offerdahl admitted in front of his teammates. “With how serious this last concussion was, and the many I’ve had leading up to it, it’s been pretty scary for me and my family. I will be hanging it up. I just wanted to take this time to let everybody know here, and thank you guys.
“And Coach Prime, I love you coach. When you first came in, you believed in me when nobody else did. Not even myself. I can’t thank you enough for that. As a player, you can’t ask for anything else in a coach.”
Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes celebrates with Shedeur Sanders #2 after a fourth quarter touchdown against the Utah Utes at Folsom Field on November 16, 2024 in Boulder, Colorado.
Close-knit family
The Buffaloes’ togetherness can be felt throughout the locker room as well as on the football field. Colorado boasts a team that goes out of its way for one another, and that’s usually a recipe for success in the NCAA.
However, the Buffs have already faced tougher challenges this offseason than they might encounter by fall. Deion has overcome a significant health scare—one that had everyone in Boulder holding their breath.
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“Whatever hardship trials he goes through, he always makes it through,” defensive back CarterStoutmire told ESPN. “Seeing him back, just a breath of fresh air for the whole team. I mean, it hit different for me, just because that’s like family to me. That was like real, genuine concern.”
Stoutmire’s father, Omar, played with Coach Prime on the Dallas Cowboys in 1997 and 1998, and Carter has been around Deion for as long as he can remember. “First time I met him? I don’t remember—he was in my birth room,” he said about his current coach in CU. “We’ve just got a whole lot of history, so it’s hard to remember the first genuine time I really met him.”
Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders walks the field during the two minute warning time out against the Kansas Jayhawks at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO.
Bring on the season
Thankfully, Deion Sanders is back healthy and fully energized as college football looms just around the corner. Despite the departures of Shedeur and Travis Hunter, the bar has only risen for the Buffs, who know they have their work cut out for them. There’s never been an obstacle too tall for Sanders to overcome, and after winning a big battle in life, nothing on the gridiron can make Coach Prime’s pulse tremble.