CU Buffs lose another recruit as 2026 class dwindles

The CU Buffs have not had the 2025 season that they, and many of their fans, had hoped. Following an offseason in which head coach Deion Sanders, who recently said that he needs more time to prove he’s the right man for the job, wasn’t around much due to his health issues, the Buffs never got on track and have sputtered to a 3-7 record with just two games left.

While pundits, fans and the rest of the college football world have taken note, the recruits have also taken note. After Sanders and the Buffaloes lost 4-star tight end Gavin Mueller to Miami on Tuesday, they had another talented recruit flip on Thursday.

BREAKING: Class of 2026 Safety D’Montae Tims has Flipped his Commitment from Colorado to Indiana, he tells me for @rivals

The 6’1 190 S from Seffner, FL had been Committed to the Buffaloes since July

“I’m home. Hoosier nation let’s ride!!!”https://t.co/Z39umjOgIM pic.twitter.com/6WLWQwjjO2

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 20, 2025

D’Montae Tims, a 3-star safety, verbally committed to the Buffaloes in July, but after the underwhelming season in Boulder and seeing what great things the Indiana Hoosiers have done this season, he flipped to Bloomington.

Sanders now has just 10 high schoolers in the 2026 class committed to his program — two 4-stars and eight 3-stars. Overall, CU’s 2026 class ranks 96th nationally, below UTEP and Tulsa. This season showed that the transfer portal hasn’t exactly been working in Sanders’ favor, while his high school recruits have been some of the best players on the field all season, but this philosophy shows that he’s still planning to lean into the portal heavily.

Losing recruiting battles isn’t the end of the world, it happens all the time in college football. However, two decommitments in three days could show that some of these younger guys aren’t willing to wait around for Colorado to experiment with their coaching and their roster. When they have opportunities to go to schools like Indiana, a program that is a lock to get a top-four seed in the College Football Playoff, and Miami, a program that is consistently competing to get in the Playoff, Colorado doesn’t look so appealing.

After the Buffs were blown out at home against Arizona a few weeks back — their second blowout loss in as many games — Sanders said that he didn’t have to explain things to recruits and their families because they all saw what transpired on the field. He then went on to say that players who are cats see something like two consecutive blowout losses and run to other programs, while the dogs want to come to Boulder and fix things.

So, is Mims a cat because he flipped to Indiana? Or is he doing what’s best for his future and going to a program where he knows he’s going to be able to win and compete for a championship?

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