There is a mass exodus occurring in Colorado, but coach Deion Sanders claims to have no worries about his Buffaloes.
“We’re good. I trust the recruiting team. I trust our coaches, and please have some faith in me,” Sanders told ESPN on Thursday. “We good. We all right. We all right.”
247Sports has the Buffaloes snagging 25 transfers so far this offseason, the second-most behind Ole Miss.
However, they’re also losing 31 players, most of whom Sanders claims were backups.
“I think we got some [starting-caliber players] coming in from visits pretty soon, maybe even this weekend, but we can attract those type of players,” Sanders said. “I don’t think we’re losing those type of players, and if we do, we’re good. We’re good. We’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
Two big losses for this group are top-ranked defenders DB Cormani McClain and linebacker Demouy Kennedy.
Both of them rank higher than anyone that the Boulders are bringing back at this point, according to the scouting website.
But there could be more reinforcements coming.
Sanders’ son, Shilo Sanders, told all interested transfers to message him and his brother Shedeur specifically on Instagram, with an added note, “This not Last Chance U.”
“That’s how stuff happens,” Sanders said. “Players recruit players, man. We do a wonderful job as the staff, but they got to be validated by players because they play with those players that you’re talking about either in high school or at all-star games. They know somebody that knows somebody. That’s how the recruiting thing works, man. For real. It’s players. They know who the dogs are and who the cats are.”
Sanders brought in 86 new players last season, including 53 incoming transfers in 2023.
The transfer portal just opened on Tuesday and remains open through April 30th, when teams will have finalized rosters for the upcoming season.
The Buffaloes took the college football world by storm in 2023, and it is possible that Sanders will be able to land several big-time transfers to make his team a contender in the PAC-12.
But he will need to work quickly, as 47 of the top 50 transfer portal players, including McClain, had already found a new home as of mid-day Friday.