Without a doubt, the most remarkable story in college football this year has been Coach Prime (Deion Sanders) and what he has accomplished thus far at the University of Colorado. Before being named the head coach at Colorado, Sanders kicked off his collegiate coaching career at Jackson State University in 2020. Prior to his coaching days, Deion was a stellar athlete himself. Collegiately, Sanders tallied 14 interceptions as a cornerback at Florida State and was also a vital member of the baseball team. Deion went on to have a career in the NFL, earning himself a spot in the Hall of Fame in 2011, and at the same time, from the years 1989-2001 (excluding ‘96, ‘98, ‘99), Sanders was crushing baseballs in the MLB on the side.
In 2022, the Buffaloes amassed an unimpressive 1-11 record. The transfer portal was undoubtedly the most important tactic that Sanders utilized to breathe new life into a program on life support. Headlining the group of guys he brought in were Sheduer Sanders, one of his sons and star quarterback, and Travis Hunter, a top-ranked cornerback/wide receiver recruit. Both of these players played for him at Jackson State, and each had an outstanding 2022 campaign.
When he initially entered the portal, many suspected that Hunter would eventually end up at Florida State, one of his top choices out of high school. However, Hunter disregarded the NIL figures from FSU and plenty of other major programs and decided to follow Coach Prime to Boulder. Also following him to Colorado was Sheduer, his son and record-breaking quarterback. These two were bought into what Coach Prime was building, and they wanted to continue to have a seat at the table.
This season, Colorado football has had an unbelievable start. In their season opener, despite being 21-point underdogs and heavily overlooked, the Buffaloes upset the 2023 National runner-ups, TCU 45-42. Colorado was led by the new faces of its program: quarterback Sheduer Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter. In just the first game of his Power-Five playing career, Sheduer was 38/47 in the air with 510 yards and four touchdowns, breaking records and already putting himself on Heisman watch after only one game. On the other hand, Travis Hunter was also remarkable. On offense, he amassed 119 receiving yards while tallying 11 receptions. On defense, Hunter had three tackles and a pivotal interception. With this historic win under their belts, many wondered how Colorado would respond the following week with a meaningful game in their home stadium against Nebraska.
However, the Buffalo train stayed on the tracks and did not look back. Sheduer followed up his record-breaking performance with another outstanding game, as he was 31/42 passing for 393 yards and two touchdowns. Their other star, Hunter, also had another great game, recording four solo tackles on defense and three more receptions for 73 yards on the other side of the ball. The Buffs ended up beating Nebraska 36-14, many now fully buying a one-way ticket to Prime Land.
The Colorado Football program has shattered expectations. Along the way, Coach Prime has developed a Heisman candidate who also happens to be his son at quarterback and another Heisman hopeful in Hunter. No matter what occurs from here on out this season, the Coach Prime era has already made its mark on College Football history.
