So, what did you think when you saw Deion Sanders’ introductory speech at Colorado last month? Did you feel he was the right pick for the top Buff? Or were you thinking more top Buffoon?
The talk was certainly polarizing. In Sanders, you had a Hall of Fame cornerback telling current Colorado players that they didn’t “respect” what was given to them, that they “didn’t want it,” and that they might want to hit the transfer portal to avoid being displaced by talent that he was bringing in. He repeated the words “I’m comin’” at least a dozen times, and had players chant words such as “smart!” “tough!” and “disciplined!” after the dress-down.
Longtime sports writer and author Jeff Pearlman — who covered Sanders in detail for his book “Boys will be Boys” — excoriated the speech, saying it was “everything that grosses me out about big-time college sports.” Then there was eight-year NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, who praised Sanders’ honesty and noted that the Buffaloes were 1-11 last season and noncompetitive in every loss.
It was a viral address that had folks wondering whether Sanders could carry the success he had at Jackson State to a Power Five conference. That’s to be determined … but — he is already delivering on the recruiting front.
Last week, Sanders managed to persuade the nation’s top-rated high-school cornerback, Cormani McClain, into committing to Colorado. McClain was previously committed to Miami, and though the switch to Boulder isn’t in writing yet, it appears emblematic of the Prime Effect that may change the power structure of the Pac-12.
Remember, one year earlier, Deion lured No. 1 cornerback Travis Hunter away from Florida State and onto Jackson State’s roster. Hunter has since come with Sanders to Colorado. Obviously, a couple DBs won’t instantly make for a conference champion — but Sanders is clearly backing up his bluster with blue chips.
Perhaps Deion is particularly appealing to young corners who want to learn from someone who might be the greatest defensive back of all time. That’s where the five-star whales have been coming from. But as Yahoo! noted, Sanders has brought in more than 20 transfers while signing 18 high-school prospects, including four-star running back Dylan Edwards, a former Notre Dame commit.
The future of the Pac-12 is unclear with USC and UCLA moving to the Big Ten. Though most people are talking about Washington and Oregon emerging as the leaders of the conference — is it nuts to think Colorado might join them at the top?
I admit I was ambivalent about Sanders following that initial speech. No doubt what he did at FCS school Jackson State — leading the Tigers to back-to-back 8-0 conference records in his two years at the helm — was impressive. But could Prime Time Deion Sanders handle Big Time college football? Well, as some like to say — people vote with their feet. And nationally coveted talents are migrating to Boulder in ways we haven’t seen in a long time.
So what does this mean? Could this signal a shift in the way athletic directors seek football coaches? Will big-name players start taking over those big-name programs?
Too early to say. I think this might have been a different conversation five or 10 years earlier, before NIL emerged as one of the primary agents dictating where student-athletes want to go to school. Doesn’t matter to a lot of kids how famous or inspirational a coach is if one collective is offering $5 million and the other $500,000. But Sanders at Colorado is a distinct, if not unique, situation.
It’s clear he can influence a program. Jackson State went seven straight years without winning more than five games before Deion’s teams captured 11 victories in 2021 and 12 last season. And we’re seeing that he can bring in talent as well.
Some might see the way he talks to his players and want nothing to do with him. Others might see him and say, “There’s nobody else like this! Sign me up!” Deion isn’t Bobby Knight, but Knight had a similar effect at Indiana. And Knight won.
Personally, I find this whole scene fascinating. You have a set-for-life, Hall-of-Fame athlete grinding his way from the FCS to the Power Five and almost instantaneously shaking up the Pac-12. Not sure we’ve seen something like this before. It’s exciting. Unless you’re a Washington, Oregon or another conference school — in which case it’s just plain frightening.