Compared to most other Power Four college football programs, the Colorado Buffaloes haven't had many players make headlines for negative off-field incidents since coach Deion Sanders took the helm in 2022. Still, a gentle reminder now and then can help keep it that way, especially as many attend social events over Memorial Day weekend.
On Sunday, "Coach Prime" posted a message on X encouraging his players and staff members to stay out of trouble. As Sanders noted, even one mistake can hurt one's goal of playing football at the next level.
"All my PLAYERS & STAFF. I love u @ I miss u," Sanders wrote. "Please be safe & don’t do anything to jeopardize your opportunity to be a Professional. Be careful out there because everyone around u ain’t really down for u and everybody else is just there."
Sanders typically send out a daily piece of advice each morning on social media, and at least one Colorado player is taking Sunday's message to heart. About 15 minutes after Sanders posted his plea to stay safe, freshman defensive end Brandon Davis-Swain commented "yes sir." Davis-Swain totaled two tackles in two games last season but will likely take on a bigger role during his upcoming second season with the Buffs.
A few current Colorado players were in Tennessee on Saturday for Travis Hunter's wedding, including linebacker Jeremiah Brown and cornerback DJ McKinney. Offensive analyst Rashad Davis was also in attendance, along with former Colorado wide receivers Jimmy Horn Jr. and Xavier Weaver.
Meanwhile, incoming freshman linebacker Mantrez Walker was in Georgia on Saturday for his Buford High School graduation. Walker enrolled early this past semester and played in Colorado's spring football game last month. Fellow incoming freshman Julian "JuJu" Lewis, who's competing with Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter for Colorado's starting quarterback job, attended his own Georgia high school graduation earlier this month.
While Colorado has been a disciplined team off the field over the past two-plus years, "Coach Prime" is looking for that to translate into game action next season.
"We're so darn disciplined around here, I don't know why we don't take the disciplinary things on the field, so we're going to fix that," Sanders said after Colorado's spring game. "We got to fix that. We have officials at practice, so we call it then, and they have disciplinary actions when they're offsides or do something stupid to cause us a penalty. But we got to be better with that. We would not be the most penalized team in the Big 12 again this season. I'm putting my name on that."
The Buffs will reconvene in Boulder later this summer for offseason workouts and preseason camp. They'll begin the 2025 season at home against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Aug. 29.
More must-reads: