Deion Sanders is unquestionably the face of Colorado football from now until at least the start of the Buffaloes’ 2023 season, but until someone rises up and helps CU get its first win in a stacked non-conference schedule, “Prime Time” is the headline, the lede, and everything thereafter. That’s why it’s such a blow to Colorado’s image, and potentially, its momentum, that Sanders won’t be there due to another surgery on his foot after blood clots were removed from his leg a month ago.
Coach Prime announced his forthcoming absence in a video titled “Shedeur vs Cormani: Coach Prime Announces That He Will Miss PAC 12 Media Day.” The father of the Buffs’ starting quarterback and mastermind recruiter who brought the 2022 recruiting class’s top prospect, Travis Hunter, and then immediately brought him from Jackson, Mississippi to Boulder, Colorado as a transfer before the start of his sophomore season won’t be representing the nearly-completely overhauled roster he created.
Sanders is the sun that the rest of the Colorado football galaxy will revolve around, much in the same way Cult of Personality coaches like Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, Dabo Swinney in Clemson, and Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor. No matter what stars will come and go through Northern Colorado, the attention will always be on Deion. Even when he’s not there on July 21.
Deion Sanders missing games would be devastating for Colorado football
Attending Pac-12 Media Day is one thing that’s not all that worrisome for Sanders considering the health battles he’s facing right now. Given his comments about not wanting to speak to the CU boosters, it’s not all that surprising he’d be skipping out on what is truly a non-essential event for a head coach when it’s all said and done.
But if Sanders’ absence spills over into the opener against TCU in Fort Worth, and then further into the Folsom Field home opener against Nebraska, the Buffaloes will be in trouble.
CU Assistant Head Coach Gary Harrell could be in over his head if he had to step into the role, and the lack of the kind of viral speeches Sanders is known for would have to do a number on the locker room morale. Heroes can surely rise, but it feels more likely that Colorado would shock the world with Coach Prime if they were to shock the world at all.