Analyst ponders who will poach Deion Sanders from Colorado football at season’s end

Colorado football defied all the doubters on September 2, delivering the most awe-inspiring performance of the young college football season so far with a 45-42 triumph over defending College Football Playoff runner-up TCU in Fort Worth — this off the strength of 510 passing yards and four touchdowns from Shedeur Sanders and four of his weapons broke 100 yards receiving.

AL.com’s Joseph Goodman witnessed all of that, and instead of christening the Buffs as the next big thing in the Big 12 and a dark horse in the Pac-12’s final season of existence as we know it, he pondered about which program around the country can poach Coach Prime at the end of the 2023 season.

“What did we just watch? What does it mean for the sport? And, most importantly, who’s going to win the sweepstakes at the end of this season and hire Sanders away from Colorado?” Goodman questioned in the most dismissive way possible to the Colorado football program.

Alabama could be a potential Coach Prime poach threat to Colorado football

The NCAA being less lenient in handing out eligibility waivers may actually help keep Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders, and Travis Hunter in Boulder for the remainder of the latter two players’ careers at the college level.

But when his son and his top recruit eventually go to the NFL — which feels far more a certainty than before after watching the two in action in Week 1 — it’s possible that one of the country’s top programs inquires about bringing “Prime Time” to their city.

Alabama is the most likely school to come calling that actually has a legitimate chance of landing him.

Nick Saban isn’t going to be around forever, and whoever Alabama AD Greg Byrne chooses to replace him is going to have some of the biggest shoes the coaching game has ever seen across college athletics to fill. Sanders is likely the only name who could satisfy a Crimson Tide fanbase that sees one-loss seasons as disappointments.

Colorado football defensive coordinator Charles Kelly laid the groundwork for such a move by saying that Sanders and Saban are more alike than not. Sanders’ pride in graduating from Talladega College, an HBCU an hour and a half east of Tuscaloosa, only adds to that fire with his alma mater Florida State seemingly off the table as a landing spot.

Sanders won’t leave Boulder soon, but if Alabama comes calling when Saban retires, it’s hard to picture Coach Prime turning that down.