And so it begins...(tracking Coach Prime decommits/transfers)

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I’m sure Prime will get a few guys out of the portal who are really good who he knows are entering the portal soon

But he basically needs a new o-line and a new defense and he can’t get all of those guys out of the portal

And isn’t he stuck with all of the guys he brought in last year? They can’t transfer again unless they’ve graduated
 
I’m sure Prime will get a few guys out of the portal who are really good who he knows are entering the portal soon

But he basically needs a new o-line and a new defense and he can’t get all of those guys out of the portal

And isn’t he stuck with all of the guys he brought in last year? They can’t transfer again unless they’ve graduated
I haven't looked at what they have for cruits, but do they have any OL commits? There's probably something going on behind the scenes with Sean Lewis relieved of his duties and Brewster quitting at the end of the season. Wouldn't be surpised if it has to do with the rumors of bringing Warren Sapp in. I'm waiting to see if Oboyle leaves as well.
 
I haven't looked at what they have for cruits, but do they have any OL commits? There's probably something going on behind the scenes with Sean Lewis relieved of his duties and Brewster quitting at the end of the season. Wouldn't be surpised if it has to do with the rumors of bringing Warren Sapp in. I'm waiting to see if Oboyle leaves as well.
They have one OL croot. A 5.5 3-star from JUCO.

 
On Monday afternoon, Colorado player personnel director Corey Phillips took to social media in an effort to calm Buffaloesfans down.




It’s clear that Phillips is telling fans not to be concerned that the Buffaloes have lost commitments from two quarterbacks (Danny O’Neil and Antwann Hill) and one running back (Jamarice Wilder) in the last few days. O’Neil is a three-star prospect in the Class of 2024 while Hill and Wilder are both in the Class of 2025. Hill, a Georgia native, is ranked in the top 100 nationally in the 247Sports Composite.

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If you read the tea leaves from Phillips’ post, Colorado might have another quarterback prospect picked out or have someone it feels good about coming in via the transfer portal. Another Colorado recruiting staffer, Darrius Darden-Box, posted the eyeball emoji later in the day — usually a sign that something is coming. Stay on alert for that.




But this isn’t about whether Colorado can replace O’Neil or land another big-time commitment. Deion Sanders has already proven multiple times he can pull a rabbit out of his hat late in a recruiting cycle.

This is more about a big-picture look at Colorado’s recruiting.

It’s bad. And it’s time to push the panic button.

go-deeper
GO DEEPER
Meet Danny O'Neil, Deion Sanders' first hand-picked QB recruit at Colorado

This isn’t what Sanders was supposed to do at Colorado. His high school recruiting, even with late fireworks in the 2023 cycle, hasn’t been average. It’s been far below average, which is shocking given the shot of adrenaline his arrival provided the Colorado program.

Colorado’s 2024 class ranks No. 65 nationally, three spots ahead of Colorado State. The Buffaloes have only nine commitments, including three who rank in the top 400 nationally.

Colorado's Class of 2024 commits
PLAYERPOSSTATERANK
Aaron ButlerATHCA101
Kamron MikellATHGA104
Brandon Davis-SwainDLMI225
Omar WhiteDLGA423
Zycarl LewisWRFL527
Eric BrantleyDLGA593
Amontrae BradfordEdgeGA631
Micah WelchRBGA744
Issiah WalkerOTFL25 (Juco)
This isn’t June. It’s Nov. 28, and we’re roughly three weeks away from prospects being able to sign with schools. There aren’t a lot of elite-level prospects there for the taking, either — only 12 of the top 200 players in the class remain uncommitted.

Yes, Sanders can theoretically flip a five-star prospect in December like he did with Cormani McClain last year and Travis Hunter the year before at Jackson State. But it seems unreasonable to think that Colorado is going to go on some massive flipping spree and somehow wind up with a top-30 class.

This class is almost finished. And it’s nothing like what you’d expect from a Sanders build.

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There’s no questioning Sanders’ star power or the way he can light up an audience. He is special, and it was astounding the way he was able to move the needle at Colorado in a matter of months.

But that was hype.

What about the actual construction of the Colorado football program? That takes manual labor, elbow grease and good, old-fashioned hard work on the recruiting trail.

Sanders’ roster flip at Colorado was unprecedented. There were only nine players on last year’s Buffaloes team who were still on the roster when the 2023 season started. There is no question Sanders utilized the portal to elevate the baseline talent level on his roster, headlined by his son, quarterback Shedildo Sanders, and Hunter, who may be one of the best players in the entire sport.

But what now? Is he going to sign a high school class with maybe one five-star prospect and flip another 60 players off the roster? Is he going to use the portal to rebuild an offensive line that couldn’t block anyone? It’s exciting when you flip someone else’s roster. It’s detrimental when you do it to players you personally brought in. That’s treating players like commodities, and it’s a tough sell for future recruiting efforts, both in the high school ranks and in the portal.

Then it got me thinking: When was the last time you saw a picture of Sanders at a high school? Or doing an in-home visit? Or making a public appearance that isn’t an Aflac commercial? Does he even get on planes to recruit high school athletes? Does he leave Boulder at all for recruiting purposes?

One thing is for sure — Sanders doesn’t recruit traditionally. He’s not a traditional coach, so it stands to reason he approaches things differently. But is he going to travel across the country to visit five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton of IMG Academy in Florida, perhaps the most important player the Buffaloes could sign in the 2024 cycle?

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Even when Sanders landed Hunter at Jackson State, neither he nor anyone from his staff ever stepped foot at Hunter’s high school in Georgia to recruit him in person. You may call that powerful recruiting, and it is. But that isn’t going to cut it when you’re trying to build a Power 5 program.

There may be reasons why he isn’t more aggressive in his off-campus recruiting efforts. He utilizes FaceTime to talk to prospects from all over the country and convince them to visit campus. Who wouldn’t want to hop on a plane to meet Deion?

Also, Sanders has had some pretty serious issues with his foot and that may be limiting what he’s able to do physically.

Eventually, though, Sanders is going to have to stop being a celebrity and start being a Power 5 football coach.

It’s almost December and coaches are on the move. If Nick Saban can get on an airplane to impress a teenager, so can Prime.

This is a critical juncture in the Colorado build. When the Buffaloes started 3-0, there was proof of concept of how fun it would be to play for Sanders. Colorado can offer things to prospects that other middle-tier programs cannot. Between Sanders’ profile, the beauty of Boulder, the promotion on social media and the income that comes with it, you’d think this would be a very attractive destination.

But we’re not seeing it. The results aren’t there.

And that makes it easy to question whether Colorado is ever truly going to get where Sanders promised it was going.

(Photo: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
 
Will Ferrell Lol GIF
 
Is Raiola reallyyyy a Nebraska fan though? What has he had to cheer for in his entire life? I can’t imagine a star recruit type who has never lived in the area being enamored with anything NU has done since they were born.

I know his dad is a legend here but I always figured he was doing his dad and uncle a favor during the Frost debacle and then was pleasantly surprised enough by Rhule to give us a fair shot. But come on, “a massive massive fan”? Of what? The color scheme? The Holiday Bowl whale trophy we got when he was 4?
That’s all bs. He’s a passive Husker fan but nothing more. Herb needs to chill out.
 
I think the whole coaching thing with Deion was to give him the ability to coach and control Shadeur in college. Colorado was the only FBS program willing to give him the keys to their program so he could run it as Deion and Shadeur University with everything centered around his documentary, brand, and son. Once his son graduates I think you will see Deion promptly leave the coaching world.
 
Interesting article: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ot...TS&cvid=7d2234e7c3ac42ccb529457f71eedfc5&ei=5


Less than a week after Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes (4-8) concluded their 2023 season, one can’t help but question where things went wrong. After starting out 3-0 with impressive non-conference wins over CFB National Championship game runner-up TCU, Nebraska, and Colorado State, the Buffaloes stumbled across the finish line losing eight of their last nine games.

The Athletic published an article on Wednesday, written by David Ubben, Bruce Feldman, and Justin Williams, in which six Pac-12 coordinators and assistant coaches spoke anonymously about Sanders’ first year in Boulder. Highlights from the article included an assessment of the players brought in this season, the offensive line struggles that plagued the Buffaloes, and reactions to offensive coordinator Sean Lewis’ mid-season demotion.

Here are some of the more notable excerpts from The Athletic article.

On the roster-building prior to the 2023 season:

“They were loading up on all these skill players, but they weren’t getting great players on the line,” said a Pac-12 assistant. “Offensive line-wise, they didn’t take a single coveted guy out of the portal.”
On the Buffaloes offensive line struggles and quarterback Shedildo Sanders getting sacked 52 times:

Said another Pac-12 assistant: “They were horrible on the front. They couldn’t protect (Shedildo). He was getting massacred in our game. It’s really hard to do anything when you can’t block anybody.”
“They have a lot of speed outside, and their receivers were just as good as anyone we played. It was really just that the offensive line was so overmatched and they didn’t have a tight end at all,” said another Pac-12 assistant. “Not having a tight end who can block was a bigger deal than a lot of people think. That really hurts an offense. They didn’t have any answers in protection because of that.”
Regarding Coach Prime’s decision to relieve OC Sean Lewis of play-calling duties mid-season:

“That was embarrassing. … If I’m Sean Lewis, I’m outta there on the first opportunity,” said one assistant. That coach said that Shedildo’s propensity to hold on to the ball didn’t always fit with Lewis’s quick-release tempo system, causing a rift. That coach also said that when his team faced Colorado, after a three-and-out by the Buffs, he saw Lewis try to get Shedildo’s attention but Shedildo “pushed (Lewis) off and went to the other side of the field.”
“A lot of OCs will be hesitant to come into Colorado now seeing what Sean Lewis did,” the assistant continued. “People were talking about him as a head coach candidate after Week 4, and for you to demote him? That’s telling.”
Lewis recently accepted the head coaching position at San Diego State. Buffaloes Tight Ends Coach Tim Brewster left at season’s end for a role with the Charlotte 49ers. Perhaps the most impactful words within The Athletic’s article came when the coaches were asked whether the Buffaloes would improve in Year 2 under Coach Prime.

Said one coach: “It’s gonna get dark for Colorado.”

Next month will be very telling for Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes. The winter transfer portal window opens Dec. 4, while the early signing period takes place Dec. 20-22. Regarding his second offseason, Sanders and his staff are hard at work filling needs as their prepare for Colorado’s return to the Big Twelve Conference.

“You’re gonna be pleased with what’s coming. I promise you that” Sanders told reporters.
 


JFC. Was the deadline for this story in September?
No man has ever gotten such miliage over three wins over losing teams.
Just getting started at what? 🤣

Maybe it was one of their AI creations.

 
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