Deion Sanders Meets With Top Recruit in State of Colorado

Jackson Roper is a 6-5, 305 pound interior offensive lineman out of Englewood, Colorado. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 9 interior offensive lineman in the class of 2027 per 247Sports. 

Brandon Huffman of Rivals revealed what Roper had to say about the Buffaloes on his recent visit there. 

“Overall, we had a great time in Boulder on Friday,” Roper said. This was the first time I’ve met any one from the CU staff in person, but they’ve done a really good job over the last month making sure I felt like a priority in this cycle.”

Roper is the highest ranked class of 2027 recruit from the state of Colorado. The Buffs have struggled at retaining the highest rated recruits in Colorado to stay near home. In the 2026 cycle, zero of the top 17 ranked recruits from the state of Colorado signed with the Buffaloes. Buffs coach Deion Sanders will look to change that trend with Roper. 

Roper talked about his meeting on his Colorado visit with “Coach Prime.”

“It was great to hear him talk about why he loves coaching and a few of his thoughts on where the program is going,” Roper said. “It was easy to see why guys want to play for him and the CU program.”

Since Deion took over as Colorado coach in 2023, he has primary used the transfer portal to build his rosters. The same was the case for the 2026 team as Colorado has 43 incoming transfers. It is not common to see an incoming number of transfers this high when there isn’t a head coaching change. 

The Buffaloes have just 17 incoming recruits in the class of 2026. This ranks as the No. 57 overall recruiting class in the country per 247Sports. They rank No. 14 in the Big 12 conference, only ahead to the UCF Knights and Oklahoma State Cowboys. 

Colorado Buffaloes' 2026 Outlook

Something that could play a role in how well the Buffs recruit for 2027 is how their 2026 season is going on the field. 2025 was not pretty as Colorado struggled, going just 3-9 overall with a record of 1-8 in Big 12 play. 

Through big roster and coaching changes, the Buffaloes will aim to turn it around in 2026. Their 2026 season will kick off on the road against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday, Aug. 3. Colorado and Georgia Tech played last season in Boulder, with the Yellow Jackets pulling out a late 27-20 victory in Week 1. 

The starting quarterback in Week 1 this season for Colorado appears to be redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Lewis. Lewis played in four games for the Buffs in 2025 and showed promise and reason for optimism heading into 2026.