Deion Sanders slams decommitted players, talks CU’s future

Things have gone off the tracks for the Colorado Buffaloes on the field as their season may end with a sixth straight loss come Saturday and in the recruiting world, stuff isn’t going so well either.

About a month before signing day, Colorado’s incoming class of 2024 ranks at 70 in the country—even three spots behind Colorado State, according to 247 Sports. The Buffaloes took big hits over the last month when 2025 four-star wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr., reopened his decision and three-star offensive lineman Talan Chandler, flipped to home-state school Missouri.

“A kid ain’t even faithful to his girlfriend, you think he gonna be faithful to a school? That’s an emotional thing,” Sanders quipped on Tuesday. “What I wish the NCAA would do is if you commit somewhere you can’t go on other visits.”

Of course, the irony in what the first-year head coach of the Buffaloes has said is the fact that he turned over the school’s entire roster in historic fashion. Not only was he not loyal to players who had already committed to the black and gold, but he lured many players away from other situations around the country. While it was unlike anything the college football world had ever seen before, it was fair players got the chance to move around just like Sanders moved from Jackson State to Boulder.

Now that the shoe is on the other foot and future players have decided they do not want to journey to the flatirons, Sanders is saying he does not like the system or how it is impacting him. Thus lies the conundrum of an old-school coach being in the body of a man whose skill turned player empowerment across multiple sports changed the entire athletic landscape.

“One thing about it is, we’re not an ATM. That’s not gonna happen here. If you come to Colorado to play football for me and the Colorado Buffaloes, it’s because you really want to play football and receive a wonderful education, and all the business stuff will be handled on the back end if that’s the case,” Sanders said. “But we are not an ATM. You’re not coming here to get rich unless you’re really coming here with a plan to go to the NFL and get your degree. Not to come here and be Moneybagg Yo. That’s a rapper, right?”

Sanders and his son, star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, are seemingly in a new commercial every single day. Yet again, father is arguably the greatest two-sport athlete ever, and son might be the best signal caller the Buffaloes have ever had. They’ve done their thing on the field and the money has followed. One thing is for sure, the family could use more help outside of two-way stud Travis Hunter, and the Sanders know this.

Repeatedly Coach Prime has said the team and staff know what they need, and they’re looking to address it. The most sacked team in the country, Colorado, clearly needs offensive line help. In fact, they need help on both lines and likely a defensive back to play opposite Hunter. All this help may not be coming from high school but from the transfer portal, which opens Dec. 4.

“We want players that want us,” Sanders said. “Trying to convince somebody and doing that, being held hostage financially, we ain’t with that. Trust me, there’s not a day that goes by that kids aren’t blowing our recruiting staff up. They’re calling, and we’re responding. We’re not going to buy anybody whatsoever, that’s how we approach it. We have tremendous needs. I’m pretty sure everybody in the country knows what we need and how much we need. That’s not a secret. Recruits are responding.”

As for the current Buffaloes, who are looking to get to 5-7 in Salt Lake City on Saturday and do so maybe without their star quarterback?

“We didn’t accomplish what we wanted, but we accomplished what we needed,” Sanders said. “I think hope is instilled tremendously in this city, in the student body, within this team, within this body. You see the direction that we’re heading. The things you look to as a loss, I see it as a win. You got to put it in perspective.”