Coach Prime keeps making moves in the transfer portal, adds two former SEC talents

Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders has been active in the transfer portal ever since he stepped foot in Boulder back in December 2022. Coining the phrase, “I ain’t hard 2 find,” he has used to portal to revamp Colorado football and bring the Buffaloes back to national prominence.

With the departures of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, who had their jerseys retired at the university’s spring game recently, Prime knows that he has big shoes to fill, and knows that there are a lot of needs he needs to address in the portal ahead of the 2025 season.

"One tremendous defensive tackle, another linebacker or two, two safeties, probably three corners, one receiver that's a grown man, that's a dog, couple of running backs, tight end, maybe a guard, tackle, maybe two centers." Coach Prime on his portal targets. pic.twitter.com/xHJnrWQmPk

— Nikki Edwards (@nikkiedwardsss) April 19, 2025

After he added a former-five star recruit from Florida State on Tuesday, he kept the recruiting train going on Wednesday, this time dipping into the SEC.

BREAKING: Tennessee transfer OL Larry Johnson has signed with Colorado, @PeteNakos_ reports🦬https://t.co/kSYG7dYADj pic.twitter.com/rN9CHVGPJU

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) April 30, 2025

BREAKING: Tennessee transfer safety John Slaughter has committed Colorado🦬https://t.co/kSYG7dZ8sR pic.twitter.com/AvpT6CkxqD

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) April 30, 2025

Both players coming over from the Volunteers are rated as three-star prospects in the portal, according to On3. While they weren’t key contributors for Tennessee, they bring College Football Playoff experience to Boulder, something that this program needs as the Buffs aspire to reach heights the team hasn’t seen since Bill McCartney was at the helm.

John Slaughter, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound safety, appeared in 10 games in 2024, recording five total tackles, an interception and a pass deflection. In 2023, he played in 13 games and recorded one tackle.

Coming out of high school, he was a three-star recruit and the 11th-highest rated safety in the state of Mississippi. He held offers from Ole Miss and Florida State along with Tennessee and others.

Larry Johnson is a massive player, standing at 6-foot-7, 348 pounds. He started his career at Hutchinson Community College in 2022 before heading to Tennessee. In two seasons, he served as a backup, but saw some playing time in 2024 due to injuries on the line early in the season.

Prime also added an FCS player from the portal on Wednesday, picking up running back DeKaylon Taylor from Incarnate Word. Not everyone coming from that program is going to end up like Cam Ward and be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, but Taylor is a good add for the Buffs running back room. In 2024, he had 909 yards and nine touchdowns on just under six yards per carry. He is also rated as a three-star recruit by On3.

BREAKING: UIW transfer RB DeKalon Taylor has signed with Colorado, @PeteNakos_ reports🦬https://t.co/IsvvwElufg pic.twitter.com/Y5tSJpIjBZ

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) April 30, 2025

While the transfer portal officially closed back on April 25, that just means that no new undergraduate players can enter the portal. Players who entered the portal before than can still sign and negotiate with whoever they want just like they could when the portal was technically open.

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