Deion Sanders wants the world to know that he has ears everywhere. Coach Prime needed the world to understand that he knew more about what was said behind his back than people realized — especially rival coaches.
During recruitment visits, Colorado players recorded rival coaches saying not-so-nice things about Coach Prime and his edition of the Buffs. However, he reached out to his naysayers in real time with a little game.
“Now kids have recorded conversations with head coaches – not just assistants – head coaches, downing us and selling us out,” Prime said on “RGIII And The Ones.” “I just politely call the head coach and say, ‘Look here, man. I don’t really know you. I wish the best for you, but be careful, because when these kids bring phones into your meetings, you’re exposed to certain things.”
The Colorado Buffaloes went 4-8 during the season, winning three more games than the pre-Deion regime. That is the only tangible sports measure of success. Any other metric is measured in popularity, and the early hype train around Deion’s first year as coach was loud. The team and, by default, the school became a pop culture sweetheart during their three-game winning streak.
Then they hit the deeper parts of the Pac-12, and after losing to USC, they rebounded against Arizona State but then lost six games straight to end their season. However, they still had a Cinderella season of sorts based on the media attention and celebrity attendance to games in Boulder.
Now, all the focus is on building up the organization through the transfer portal, key personnel hires, and constructing a better offensive line to protect Shedeur Sanders.
The first move was to announce he was hiring former defensive tackle Warren Sapp invariably to whip the defense into shape. Sanders sang his praises during an interview last month.
“Even the offensive linemen, they glean from him too because he’s so thought-provoking that he can tell them, ‘Don’t let the defensive lineman get you at that point or this point or this point.’ I think he’s that — he’s a wealth of knowledge and he’s hilarious, man,” Sanders said on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
Former Wisconsin defensive coordinator and interim head coach Jim Leonhard is rumored to also be close to joining Deion Sanders to become their new defensive coordinator at Colorado.
The college football world changed seismically when Alabama football’s long-serving head coach, Nick Saban, announced his retirement. For Sheduer Sanders, it meant another way to swing the conversation back to the Buffs.
Shedeur took to X and offered his advice, “Alabama players tap [in],” he posted with wide-eye emojis.
“I texted him, ‘Man, you’re crazy,'” Deion continued laughing. “He said, ‘We gotta win, Dad. We gotta win.’ That’s what he’s on. But, if you’re talking about probably our best recruiter, it’s Shedeur and [standout wide receiver] Travis [Hunter].”
Now that the first year is over, salute Deion’s efforts while realizing he and the team are a work in progress and it could be lengthy. In the meantime, he is keeping receipts and doing the opposite of what he says is being done to him.
“I don’t allow our coaching staff to ever comment on another school,” Prime said. “You don’t have to put another school down to put us up. Our staff knows, the way you get fired is to let me hear you talk about another institution with a kid.”
