Despite my efforts and the buffs 36-14 loss to BYU, Colorado and Deion Sanders have won me over. For 2 years I have heavily criticized how the program has been ran and what goes on there on a day to day basis. But now, despite Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders leaving, I like what Deion has done in Boulder. But lets explain my beef and why I like what is going on in Boulder.
Via Denver sports.com
Pre-Deion
The Colorado Buffaloes were once one of the top teams in the country. Led by legendary players like Eric Bieniemy and Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam. The program has history and claims 1 national championship in 1990 which was led by one of my favorite head coaches of all time Bill McCartney, Bill McCartney is one of my favorite coaches because of the ESPN 30 for 30 "The Gospel According to Mac" which I recommend you watch. In the doc it highlights McCartney character which carries similar beliefs to mine own. McCartney also shared what the it took to build the school into a national powerhouse at the time. But in 1994 he stepped away from the program to focus on his personal life.
The program after McCartney became unrecognizable. They were okay in the early 2000's with their last conference championship coming in 2001. Their last great year before Deion was in 2016 but by the next year they were back into their losing ways. I have always had respect for the program and their history. In 2023 the program made history by hiring Deion Sanders.
Via Football Scoop
The Early Deion Days
Could Deion's success at Jackson State transfer over to Boulder, no, is what I initially thought. Deion won at the HBCU level with a 27-6 record in 3 seasons with 2 SWAC championships. So, Deion wins, but can he recruit? At Jackson State he was able to land big time recruits like Travis Hunter but Boulder Colorado is not an easy place to sell to players not from the area. So, lets take a look at each of his seasons and my opinions of both.
2023 Season:
Record 4-8
Conference Record 1-8
Recruiting Ranking 21 (Per 247 Sports)
Transfer Ranking 1 (Per 247 Sports)
I did not like Deion during this time. From throwing his o-line under the bus in front of the media to complaining about everything wrong with the sport, it was hard to like the guy. Yes, he brought tons of eyes to the sport, yes, he brought more money to the sport, but I hated seeing him coach. It didn't help that Colorado was all the media could talk about as well. Every time you turned on your TV that all they talked about. So, lets look at his 2024 season.
2024 Season:
Record 9-4
Conference Record 7-2
Recruiting Ranking 22 (Per 247 Sports)
Transfer Ranking 8 (Per 247 Sports)
Give Deion his flowers because this is impressive. He turned around a rough season into one to build onto into the future. He didn't talk as much and just let the play speak for himself and it worked. I enjoyed watching them play this year with Travis Hunter too. So why did I change my stance?
Via Athlon Sports
The Changing of Stances
It takes a man to admit when he was wrong, so, I was wrong. In the rare chance Deion sees this, I'm sorry I doubted you and your team. I honestly believe that Deion was ahead of the curve in the sport through his use of NIL and the transfer portal. Some coaches have ran from those 2 ideas, some have embraced and we see those coaches reaping the benefits. Deion fully embraced them and has been able to land some highly rated recruits, and while they lose a lot of talent to the draft, they can easily replace it. So, my opinion can be summed up as this, I was not ready for Deion Sanders to be in college football, but I can now say I hope he stays.
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