The Colorado Buffaloes’ rapid ascension under head coach Deion Sanders was powered by superstar talent. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter both accompanied Coach Prime to Boulder following their stint at Jackson State. Next year, though, Shedeur and Hunter will be in the NFL. Their departures leave Deion in a tough predicament moving forward. Fortunately, he has the charisma and influence to succeed in the transfer portal.
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PrimeTimeCFB analyst Jay Smith thinks Sanders’ comments ahead of Colorado’s bowl announcement have put him in excellent position to pounce when it opens on Dec. 9. Smith felt that Sanders’ words could have “already won [him] the transfer portal”.
“[Deion Sanders] knew [his comments] were gonna be viral. People were gonna hear him say, ‘I’m going in the portal. I’m gonna pull guys in’… this was a huge step forward in what [Colorado] is trying to accomplish,” said Smith.
Coach Prime had said that the Buffs would hit the transfer portal like never before.
“You know we don’t take a lot of high school players. The ones we do take, we want them to play immediately… but you know we’re gonna hit that portal like it hasn’t been hit before… that’s what we do. There’s some wonderful talent that’s walking out that door, but we plan on bringing some tremendous talent [in], as we did last year,” Deion had stated.
The players the Buffaloes contact when the portal opens know there’s an opportunity to play at Colorado. They also know the Buffs are a staple in the news cycle and will almost always be featured on national television. Those aspects, along with Sanders’ history of fighting for his players, will be immensely appealing to many players switching schools.
Deion is trying to exercise his pull at the NFL level
Rumors detailing how Deion could attempt to impact where Shedeur begins his NFL career have been reported for weeks. Those came to a head yesterday when video surfaced of Colorado’s coach asking Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce to pick his children in the NFL Draft.
“I need you to draft those Sanders boys”
– Deion Sanders to Raiders HC Antonio Pierce pic.twitter.com/QCk2IRVNLz— JT (@CondorSZN) December 7, 2024
Shedeur, one of the top quarterback prospects, is all but guaranteed to go off the board early. Saying the Raiders (2-10) could use a legitimate franchise signal-caller may be the understatement of the year. Las Vegas’ operating history wouldn’t be attractive to most, but Deion clearly has confidence in Pierce maximizing Shedeur’s potential.
Shilo Sanders, a safety for the Buffs, shapes up as a day three prospect. His draft status is much more up in the air than Shedeur’s. However, Deion could possibly make life easier for the organization that picks Shedeur if they select Shilo as well.
Deion has made it known he won’t be joining his sons, or Travis Hunter, at the next level. He’s happy in Colorado. But if he needs to throw his weight around, he will. We’ll see how much intervention he feels is necessary to ensure the trio’s success as the draft process unfolds in the coming months.
