CFB Fans Left Divided as Bill Belichick Follows a Polar Opposite Recruiting Philosophy From Deion Sanders

Bill Belichick, the football junkie that he is, didn’t even last a full year away from the sidelines. He accepted a massive deal to become the next head football coach for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels about a month ago. Now, just a week into 2025, he’s already on the recruiting trail visiting prospects in their homes. Predictably, his eagerness to get into the homes of recruits has sparked comparisons with another big-name college coach’s recruiting style: Deion Sanders.

While Belichick wasted no time getting out there, Sanders is known for his unique strategy of staying put during recruiting season. He has yet to make a recruiting trip since becoming a college head coach. While Belichick looks like he’s going to do it the old-fashioned way—to the surprise of absolutely no one—Neon Deion is doing it his own way—to the surprise of even fewer.

“Bill Belichick out on the road visiting high schools on day one. Deion Sanders hasn’t visited a high school in 5+ seasons. It will be interesting to compare these different recruiting philosophies as time goes on,” a report from Adam Friedman read.

Coach Prime is calculating. He takes several things into account before he makes a decision, and recruiting tactics are no different. He recognizes that he is not a regular coach. He’s a well-known celebrity. If he shows up to a small town to recruit a player, it’s going to be a whole big ordeal. Belichick, on the other hand, might get in and out before the media even realizes he was there.

Not to mention that Sanders is also looking out for the university by saving them money on recruitment travel costs, which Colorado budgeted at $200k last year. Another important point to note is that Sanders doesn’t really recruit many high schoolers (just seven in last year’s class) as he instead focuses his energy on leveraging the burgeoning transfer portal market for elite recruits who have already played college ball.

Most importantly, though, Sanders wants his players and their families to come to Boulder, so they can see the project they might be joining. It makes a lot more sense for a family to come see where their son is going to be living, rather than Sanders seeing where he used to live.

“The parents, I love ‘em, and I want to show them Boulder. I want them to see this and how beautiful it is and why I’m so eager and how much I love this city and this state and this team. I want them to see that, because guess what? That’s why the kid is comin.’ The kid comin’ here. Going there is just showcasing for me. That’s just blowing money.”

As with anything Coach Prime does, there was a polarizing online response to the comparison of his tactics versus Belichick’s old-school approach. Here’s a look at how fans reacted:

Whatever the opinions of keyboard warriors across the nation, Deion Sanders’ strategies are clearly working for the Colorado Buffaloes. He had the No. 1 recruiting class in 2023 and the No. 22 class in 2024. He also recently lured the No. 6 QB recruit in the country, Julian Lewis, to Boulder for the 2025 campaign.