Back in December 2022, the Colorado Buffaloes decided to ink a five-year deal with Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, and up to this point, the decision is paying dividends as the Buffaloes defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday afternoon by the score of 36-14.
Prior to the arrival of Deion Sanders, the Colorado football team went through a tough 2022 season as they finished the year with a record of 1 win and 11 losses. The program was in desperate need of a change, and they turned to the NFL Hall of Famer in hopes that he could bring the team back to prominence.
After a stellar collegiate career of playing cornerback for the Florida State Seminoles, Deion “Primetime” Sanders was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons back in 1989. He played there for five seasons, and then he decided to leave Atlanta and sign a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers.Â
In his first season with the 49ers, the all-pro cornerback helped the team reach their goal of winning the Super Bowl. The following season Sanders signed a long-term deal with the Dallas Cowboys, and during his first year with the team, Sanders played a big role in the Cowboys going to, and winning the Super Bowl.
Deion Sanders played a total of 14 seasons in the NFL, and he is regarded as the best cover corner in the history of the game. After completing a legendary career as a player, Sanders received his opportunity to become a collegiate football coach when he signed on at an HBCU in 2020.
Coach Prime led the Jackson State Tigers to an 11-2 record in 2021, and a 12-1 record in 2022. During both seasons, Jackson State earned the honor of winning the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) Championship.
Coach Prime’s success at Jackson State got the attention of a Power 5 school, as Colorado signed Coach Prime because they believed in his ability to repair and rebuild the program. During his first press conference as the Colorado head coach, Sanders said he was bringing his own luggage, and his luggage is Louie.
The core of his luggage came from his Jackson State team. The high-profile transfers who went from Jackson State to Colorado included his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, his other son, safety Shilo Sanders, and two-way star cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter.
Coach Prime used the transfer portal to bring in a large number of new scholarship players. Due to a dismal season in 2022 followed by a complete overhaul of their player roster, most so-called experts picked Colorado to win a total of three games for the entire 2023 season.
Colorado entered week one as 20-point underdogs on Saturday, September 2nd, when they faced the 17th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs. TCU was the last year’s national championship game runner-ups, but this year, they started their season with a loss, as Colorado defeated TCU by the scores of 45-42.
In the upset win over TCU, Shedeur Sanders passed for 510 yards with 4 touchdowns, Travis Hunter had 119 receiving yards along with an interception, and Shilo Sanders had 9 tackles with 1 assist. After the Colorado Buffaloes big victory, some of the naysayers called it a fluke, and they expected Colorado to have a letdown the following week against Nebraska.Â
Prior to the home opener, Coach Prime was a guest on the Big Noon Kickoff Show on Fox. He spoke about how he slept in his office the night before the game because he wanted to wake up and see the stadium. He also gave the reason why his team wouldn’t have a letdown against Nebraska.
“Because they’re not satisfied. These kids are hungry. They came here for a reason. Some didn’t fit where they were. It just didn’t work out where they were. They didn’t get the reps that they wanted, and now they’re getting opportunity.”
In the game against Nebraska, the offense of Colorado got off to a slow start, but in the end they got into a rhythm and collected their second win of the season. Shedeur Sanders threw for 393 yards with 2 passing touchdowns and 1 rushing touchdown.
Coach Prime praised his quarterback/son’s performance but criticized one aspect of Shedeur’s game. With five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Shedeur scored on a six-yard touchdown run, and then he proceeded to do his dad’s Primetime shuffle dance.
When asked to grade the dance Coach Prime said, “It was horrible. It was horrible. He don’t kick the feet up. He don’t want it.”
Despite the bad shuffle, the Colorado Buffaloes are 2-0, and they’re ranked in the Top-25. With the shades, the gold chains, and the swagger, Coach Prime doesn’t give the appearance of a traditional college football coach, but he’s just as good as the traditional college football coach.
Going into week 3 of the college football season, Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes will continue to receive the bulk of the media attention and viewership. People who support Coach Prime will watch because they want him to succeed, and the people who criticize Coach Prime will also watch because they want to see him fail.
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