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Whitehaven’s Christopher Talley poses for a portrait at Collierville High School on July 15, 2025. Talley is on The Commercial Appeal's 2025 Dandy Dozen list, a collection of the top college football prospects from the 2026 class in the Memphis area as selected by the newspaper. Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Why Deion Sanders' Biggest Win Against Iowa State Came On The Recruiting End

Originally posted on Colorado Buffaloes on SI
By Jack Carlough | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 7:02 PM ET

BOULDER — The present and future of Colorado Buffaloes football look a little brighter after Saturday's upset win over the No. 22 Iowa State Cyclones.

In front of a sold-out Folsom Field crowd, Colorado secured its first ranked win at home since 2019, blasting the Cyclones with the help of several clutch moments. Equally notable, the Buffs beat Iowa State with several highly-ranked recruits on hand.

"Great week as well for recruiting," coach Deion Sanders said after the 24-17 win. "I think we have some top recruits that we really want, high schoolers that we really, really, really, really want, and hopefully this win helps tremendously."

Top Recruits Watch Colorado Upset Iowa State

Several elite class of 2026 prospects, including a few currently committed to the Buffs, were at Folsom Field for Colorado's second ranked win of the "Coach Prime" era. Below are a few of the more notable recruits who were in Boulder:

Four-star cornerback Preston Ashley (CU commit)
Four-star linebacker Rodney Colton Jr. (CU commit)
Four-star tight end Gavin Mueller (CU commit)
Three-star safety D'Montae Tims (CU commit)
Three-star running back Christopher Talley (West Virginia commit)
Three-star wide receiver Kai Meza

.@_humble0 saying hi to three-star RB Chris Talley Preston Ashley also on a visit ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ph0BE4Gmv4
— Nikki Edwards (@nikkiedwardsss) October 11, 2025

Ashley, Colton, Mueller and Tims appear locked in with the Buffs, but "Coach Prime" may have gained some momentum toward flipping Talley from West Virginia. A 5-foot-9, 175-pound running back from Tennessee, Talley committed to the Mountaineers in July and had previously checked out the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Meza is a 6-foot, 185-pound wide receiver from Utah who decommitted from Minnesota late last month. He also has visits scheduled with the Cal Golden Bears (Oct. 17-19) and the Kansas State Wildcats (Nov. 1-3), according to 247Sports.

“The game was absolutely amazing,” Meza told On3. “It came down to who wanted it more and Colorado showed that. Watching the speed of the game was super exciting and that’s something I wanna be around... Colorado stands as one of my top schools that I’m looking at."

Colorado Buffaloes Class of 2026 Commits

Including the four who visited Saturday, Colorado owns 13 class of 2026 commitments.

Four-star safety Preston Ashley (Brandon, Mississippi)
Four-star defensive lineman Emanuel Ruffin (Bessemer, Alabama)
Four-star linebacker Rodney Colton Jr. (Newnan, Georgia)
Three-star tight end Gavin Mueller (South Elgin, Illinois)
Three-star linebacker Colby Johnson (Sammamish, Washington)
Three-star EDGE Domata Peko Jr. (Ventura, California)
Three-star cornerback Maurice Williams (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Three-star offensive tackle Xavier Payne (Miami, Florida)
Three-star linebacker Carson Crawford (Carthage, Texas)
Three-star safety D'Montae Tims (Seffner, Florida)
Three-star offensive lineman Ben Gula (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Three-star offensive tackle Josiah Manu (Loveland, Colorado)
Three-star wide receiver Christian Ward (Bradenton, Florida, via Carrollton, Georgia)