Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders took the Colorado Buffaloes college football program to new heights last season by achieving a 9-3 record and getting them to their fourth Alamo Bowl in program history (they fell to BYU 36-14).
Sanders, who has had a meteoric rise in college coaching since he took over as Jackson State’s head coach during the 2020 season, is not done yet and he made it clear to the newcomers at Colorado that he does not want good players on his team.
That’s a huge statement if we take into consideration that, adding to the list of accolades collected in 2024, the Colorado Buffaloes had the Heisman Trophy winner in dual threat player Travis Hunter and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in Shedeur Sanders, other players were honored by the Colorado Chapter of the National Football Foundation end-of-season awards.
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Sanders sends strong message to Colorado’s new players
During a team meeting, “Coach Prime” made headlines by sending a strong message to the newcomers. “We are going to have some pros and we have some good players, but I don’t want good players, I want a great team, that’s the difference. It’s a bunch of great players that we had but I want a great team.” Sanders stated.
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“Coach Prime” earned his first Coach of the Year Award at Colorado after leading the Buffs to a 9-3 record and tied for first place in the Big 12 at the end of the regular season. Colorado was picked to finish 11th in the preseason poll at the start of the season but rose to as high as No. 16 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Travis Hunter was named first team at both defensive back and wide receiver. He was joined on the first team by Sanders, Nikhai Hill-Green, Alejandro Mata, and Chidozie Nwankwo. Five Buffs were honored on the second team: BJ Green II, Jordan Seaton, Will Sheppard, Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, and LaJohntay Wester.
Who’s going to be the starting quarterback for Colorado?
One of the biggest questions that’s gonna get answered before the 2025 college football season starts is who’s going to take Shedeur Sanders’ spot at starting quarterback for a rising program like the Colorado Buffaloes and the answers is not going to be easy.
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Colorado landed 5-star quarterback Julian Lewis and eigh other players who are rated as 4-star recruits. Lewis is the third 5-star recruit signed by “Coach Prime” alongside Travis Hunter (a 5-star out of the transfer portal, joining him from Jackson State) in 2023 and offensive tackle Jordan Seaton in 2024. Sanders now has three of the five 5-star recruits credited to Colorado by the services.
Lewis is a rhytm and timing passer with comparable athletic traits to Shedeur Sanders but is maybe not as resourceful when things break down, according to recruits. He’s a right-handed version of Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, they added.
He’s gonna have to compete for the quarterback starting position with Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter, who only has one year of college eligibility left and who’s not looking to seat on the bench next season. He’s a dual-threat quarterback who led Liberty to a 21-4 record the past two seasons with his legs and arm.