The Colorado Buffaloes went 1-11 on the college football gridiron in 2022. Following that disastrous campaign, they hired Deion Sanders away from Jackson State, an FCS program. “Coach Prime” brought his children – Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders – and Travis Hunter with him to Boulder. And in two years, he continued utilizing the transfer portal to nontuple the Buffs’ win total.
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As Deion embarks on year three at the FBS level, he’s set to face his stiffest challenge yet. Hunter and both his sons are off his roster and headed to the NFL. He hit the transfer portal hard again in an effort to maintain his progress. His 9-4 record against tough Big 12 competition won’t be easy to replicate. With the way he’s handling practices, it’s clear he knows this.
Deion Sanders Jr. recently released a YouTube video that gives fans an inside look at Colorado’s offseason work. In it, you see his father start his infamous morning meeting. Deion then asked his team how they were going to make this “beautiful day” even more beautiful.
Buffaloes players provided a variety of answers:
- “Win”
- “Get to the ball”
- “Compete”
- “Dominate”
- “Make plays”
What seemed to be Deion’s favorite response, though, was this: “Set the tone.”
Colorado has multiple roles available in its starting lineup. Players who want to entrench themselves in those positions must bring an intensity and intentional nature to practice each day. To do so, they can’t rely on coaches to get them revved up. They must be self-starters who are eager to prove their mettle and ready to seize the moment when it arrives. This led Deion to offer his players some words of advice: Be ready.
“You don’t have to get ready when you’re ready… this is on-the-job training. You got to be ready… some of y’all are going to get an opportunity, and you never know when it’s gonna come. And you gotta be ready,” Coach Prime said.
From there, Coach Prime took his squad to the practice field for the first time. His coordinators “liked what they saw,” and emphasized this was just the beginning. But before Deion, his coaches or players can blink, August 29 will be here. They may not have all aspects of their play fine-tuned by then. But as a whole, Colorado will certainly be ready.
