Deion Sanders’ third season with the Colorado Buffaloes has definitely not been one for the books, as Colorado is just 3-7 and has lost five of its last six games. That included 53-7 and 52-17 defeats, respectively, at the hands of Utah and Arizona.
Sanders initially took the job at Boulder back in 2023 and went 4-9 during his inaugural campaign. He then led the Buffaloes to a 9-4 record and a bowl appearance last year, but things have completely unraveled following the departures of Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr.
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As for what other Big 12 coaches and personnel evaluators think about Sanders at Colorado? Let’s just say many are unimpressed.
“College rosters are a blank canvas where it’s not like you have to wait a few years to rebuild,” a Big 12 assistant coach said, via Antonio Morales and Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic. “He’s had plenty enough time to build a program.”
Sanders himself has admitted that he takes a “no-travel” approach to recruiting, which has almost certainly hurt him as he has attempted to build a team for the Buffaloes.
Not only that, but he has certainly done a rather poor job of putting together a balanced unit across the board.
“College football is not about the first-round picks,” the assistant coach said. “College football is about the Day 3 guys. Your fifth-, sixth-, seventh-round picks. That’s what college football is about. That’s what makes your roster competitive. You can’t have a five-star with a bunch of minions.”
A Big 12 general manager offered similar thoughts on Sanders’ roster construction.
“If you take a look at a lot of the guys that they brought in, there wasn’t a ton of production,” the GM said. “They took a bunch of Power 4 big names, big (recruiting) star guys, and they put them in with the expectation that they were going to have big jumps. And they just didn’t.”
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Overall, Sanders has gone just 16-19 at Colorado, and given the health issues he experienced this year, there are some who are wondering if the 58-year-old will ultimately depart Boulder after the season.
One thing is for sure: Sanders definitely has not experienced the type of success many anticipated when he first joined the Buffaloes.
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