Deion Sanders a ‘lightning rod on a more national scale’ since CU hire

Deion Sanders has become a “lightning rod on a more national scale” since being hired to be the head coach of the Colorado football program according to Footballscoop’s John Brice — who backed that up by pointing out that Coach Prime has overseen one of college football history’s most dramatic roster overhauls.

“Sanders, on the job less than eight full months at Colorado, already has overseen one of college football’s most dramatic roster overhauls in history, raised the Buffaloes’ brand back to national prominence and proved a lightning-rod on a more national scale amongst the coaching community after Sanders guided FCS, HBCU-program Jackson State to unprecedented heights,” Brice wrote.

Having landed the No. 1 transfer class of the 2023 cycle in a way that has set media row ablaze — what with his grandiose demands to the recruits he inherited from Karl Dorrell to hit the transfer portal — it’s unquestionable that Coach Prime has put CU in the headlines. His tenure has already been solidified with the Buffaloes’ jump to the Big 12 before his Colorado team has even hit the field.

Deion Sanders defends Colorado football during August 4 press conference

Sanders wasn’t going to let Oregon head coach Dan Lanning’s comments about CU’s Big 12 jump not meaning much since the Buffs never won anything of note on the chin. Coach Prime addressed Lanning and conference realignment in general during his August 4 press conference.

“Same teams that talked about us, right?,” Sanders asked prefaced before saying, “Whew, oh, Lord, that was good! Man, I don’t care nothing about no different teams moving. We’re trying to win, man. I don’t care where we play. I don’t care what conference, who we’re playing against; we’re trying to win.”

Sanders’ unwillingness to let someone get the upper hand on him typically has translated to on-field results based on Coach Prime’s tenure at Jackson State. It remains to be seen how that bears out in the final season of the modern Pac-12; or perhaps the Pac-12 in general.