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Deion Sanders Dealt Blunt Reality Check After Shedeur Sanders & Travis Hunter’s NFL Exits

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Tristan Afshar | Last updated May 22, 2025 12:43 PM ET

Deion Sanders took college football by storm last season with his on-field and off-field headlines— but 2025 might look very different for Coach Prime. Now without his son Shedeur Sanders and star two-way player Travis Hunter, both off to the NFL, questions are swirling about how the Colorado Buffaloes will handle their next chapter.

CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell isn’t sugarcoating his expectations. On a recent segment, he delivered a sobering outlook for Sanders’ squad heading into the fall.

“I think it’s going to be a roller coaster ride,” Kanell said bluntly. “I think in the portal era when you see so much turnover on rosters from season to season and until the dust settles, I think you could see this Colorado once again sputter some.”

Kanell believes Colorado may struggle to find consistency without its two former stars

Sanders has once again leaned into the transfer portal to rebuild Colorado’s roster, but Kanell warns that rapid turnover doesn’t always equal immediate success — especially without two cornerstone talents leading the way.

“New QB trying to replace — whether it’s Kaidon Salter or Julian Lewis, whoever it is — but trying to replace Travis Hunter and others, I think it could be another bumpy ride this season,” Kanell continued.

Coach Prime. Pre-Season CFB Coach Rankings

"I don't even know if #33 is high enough. I might have him slightly higher considering the job he has done. Second highest rise only behind Kenny Dillingham"

️ @CBSSports @dannykanell https://t.co/tBv0BDxqAl pic.twitter.com/tyJAzze5WR
— JaKi (@JaKiTruth) May 22, 2025

Colorado opens the season without a locked-in starter under center, and with major holes to fill on both sides of the ball, the pressure is mounting. While Sanders has built his program on swagger and belief, Kanell’s comments serve as a reminder: the post-Shedeur, post-Hunter era might come with serious growing pains.

Whether the Buffaloes soar or stumble may depend on how fast the new pieces can click — and whether Deion’s rebuild can live up to the hype.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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