Colorado Buffaloes' Deion Sanders Battling Bill Belichick For Pair Of Touted Recruits

Umu-Cais will commit to a school on Saturday at 4 p.m. MT, live on the CBS Sports College Football YouTube channel. The state of Colorado's top prospect for 2026 is down to a final five of the Buffaloes, North Carolina Tar Heels, Oklahoma Sooners, UCLA Bruins and Washington Huskies.

In June, he also visited with the Colorado State Rams.

While prepping at Cherry Creek in nearby Englewood, Umu-Cais has established himself as a wrecking ball in the trenches. He's garnered offers from the Texas Longhorns, Miami Hurricanes and Tennessee Volunteers, but geared his recruitment more toward the West Coast.

Currently, the finalists' westerly sides have emerged, but the Buffs are still in the mix.

"It has seemingly been a UCLA-Washington battle for Umu-Cais, but Colorado and North Carolina are still involved here," said 247Sports national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman.

He'd be a massive addition to the Buffaloes' nucleus, especially following the hiring of defensive line coach Domata Peko. The NFL veteran was brought to Boulder by Sanders in part to help restore a pipeline of Polynesian talent and Colorado.

On the other hand, Sadler is slated to commit on Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. MT.

The four-star athlete from Cass Technical High School (Detroit, Michigan) is ranked No. 85 among his entire class by 247Sports, No. 7 among two-way talents and best in his state.

He'll be deciding between Colorado, North Carolina, Miami and the Maryland Terrapins. He officially visited with the Buffaloes on June 20, but coach Bill Belichick and the Tar Heels may be closing in on him.

"UNC seemingly pulled ahead in this race when he officially visited campus, per sources," Don Callahan of Inside Carolina reported. "Holding on, even beyond his announcement, will be the true task."

Predictably, Belichick has been a recruiting force since his earth-shaking hire by UNC this past offseason. His time spent as one of the NFL's greatest coaches is extremely attractive for high schoolers with pro aspirations.

However, Sanders is building a similar program in terms of preparation for the next level. Colorado currently has over 150 years of NFL experience on its coaching staff, with potential for more in Byron Leftwich and Mike Zimmer.

Sanders and Belichick may battle for top prospects for years to come, both bringing unique philosophies and backgrounds to the college game. Sadler and Umu-Cais are just two of countless bouts the gold jacket-wearers could have.