When Deion Sanders first accepted the head coaching honor at Boulder, Colorado, the program was a mere afterthought to most college football fans. The Buffaloes had just bottomed out with a 1-11 regular season record, and it was readily apparent that changes needed to be made.
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Fast forward two years, and Colorado is routinely discussed on every major sports talk show in America. Sanders delivered their first bowl game since 2020, while the nine-win season proved to be the Buffs’ second most successful season of the last decade.
Nevertheless, his recruiting strategies are routinely questioned. In light of Texas Tech landing star OT, Felix Ojo, the host of Coach Prime’s self-based news and updates podcast commended Sanders for prioritizing “brand over bag” with his recruits.
“Let’s work on building you. Get you, yourself right, your situation correct, instead of just trying to get a quick dollar and then moving on. I want to build you up, I want to build your brand up. And then we’re moving you to the NFL, where you can continue on. And if you don’t go to the NFL, then you still have a brand that you built, an enterprise, a market.”
Ojo ultimately chose to sign with Texas Tech due to the program offering him a three-year, $5.1-million deal that is fully guaranteed. The NIL era has already seen several programs shell out multiple millions of dollars in an attempt to win a National Championship.
However, as the host points out, “Not everybody has Texas money.”
“In a world where you see everybody going one way, you’ve gotta figure out the road less traveled. But I’m going to make sure this road is smooth, and that everybody wants to follow down this road, and Coach Prime has been about this from day one.”
With both Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter having left for the bright lights of the NFL, Colorado’s lack of 5-star recruits has some fans concerned. Then again, the former Atlanta Falcon has managed to attract a fair bit of talent without having to pay hand over fist in order to do so.
In a time where larger programs are offering straight-up cash in exchange for commitments, Sanders is selling his recruits an idea, a plan. You may make more money during your first season in the SEC, but if you can produce on the field at Colorado, then Sanders has the ability to make you a star.
It may not pay the most on paper, but it’s a dream that will still be enough to convince an ample amount of talent to sign up for the experience.
Sanders has already produced a Heisman trophy winner and a 2024 Golden Arm recipient. Simply put, missing out on a top recruit has yet to prove to be a breaking point for Sanders, and it is unlikely to do so here now in 2025.
