Deion Sanders and the Colorado football program continue their recruitment efforts after losing several players to the college football transfer portal. Safety Shilo Sanders and his star brother quarterback Shedeur are making a concerted effort to increase the team’s reach, given their social media activity.
Shilo Sanders asked players on Instagram to direct message him if they were a defensive player interested in transferring to Colorado, while offensive players were to message Shedeur, per the @SkoBuffsGoBuffs X account.
The move comes just after the Buffaloes lost receiver Tar’Varish Dawson, offensive tackle Savion Washington, safety Myles Slusher, offensive lineman David Conner, and defensive lineman Chazz Wallace.
Before that, OT Isaiah Jatta also entered the portal. It is not clear how many players intend to leave the Colorado football program. Their exodus is alarming but should not be too big of an issue considering the talent they are bringing in.
The Buffaloes 2024 recruiting class is promising, and one of the top offensive linemen in the country is set to visit the program. Arkansas transfer OL Andrew Chamblee is planning a trip to Boulder as he assesses options for his next team.
Outside of the college football transfer portal, Deion Sanders will have some stout returners for the 2024-25 season. Namely, star QB Shedeur Sanders is coming back after a respectable season. Sanders amassed 3,230 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, and held a QBR of 63.1 in his junior year.
In addition, Sanders’ brother Shilo returns after totaling 54 solo tackles, four forced fumbles, one interception, and three passes defended.
Moreover, two-way star Travis Hunter will be back after missing a significant portion of the season with an injury. His presence should help the Buffaloes make strides on both sides of the ball.
Things are looking up for Colorado despite the offseason buzz.
Colorado football looks to make a jump after a middling 2023-24 season
The Buffaloes finished the 2023-24 season with a 4-8 record and were last in the Pac-12 standings. Nevertheless, Deion Sanders believes in what the program is building. He expressed confidence in his team following their subpar season.
“Yeah, most definitely. Shoot, I believe, man. I don’t just wear this on my shirt and on my chest. I truly believe that what we have in-house — last year, Key[shawn Johnson] watched all these games; we were seven points away from a multitude of wins, probably seven or eight more wins,” Sanders said.
“We got our butts kicked twice. We got our butts really kicked twice. There wasn’t no winning. When we walked in, there was 30 on the scoreboard. But several of those games, we could’ve won those games. We could’ve really been — definitely a bowl team — but we could’ve been someone who made a lot of noise. We made noise, but now, we gonna make some sounds.”
If Colorado can tighten up its offense, defense, and special teams unit, it will have a chance to stay competitive in 2024-25.
All in all, it will be interesting to see how the team looks by the start of the new season amid their changes.
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