‘Not surprising’ high school recruiting classes have become Colorado focal point
With a strong foundation showed by the 3-0 start through the season’s quarter-mark and 4-2 at the halfway point, the Colorado football program is now able to focus on building a sustainable talent factory for years after Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and the rest of Coach Prime’s talented 2023 transfer class are gone — and because of that hot start, according to USA Today’s Rick Suter, what’s playing out for Deion Sanders and his first-year coaching staff on the high school recruiting trail is “not surprising.”
“Deion Sanders’ run so far at the helm of the Buffaloes’ football program has been a successful start (win or lose) as the team continues to gain national attention,” Suter prefaced before saying, “With such headlining, it’s not surprising that the recruiting classes have become more of a focal point, complementing the transfer portal into Boulder, Colo., that has become just as much of the scouting fodder as the high school athletes who are on Prime Time’s radar.”
Thus far, the Buffs sit at just No. 66 nationally, though, so there needs to be an increase in volume — with just nine commits having hopped aboard the “Prime Time” roller coaster in Boulder — before the Buffs get left behind in their first Big 12 season in 2024.
Colorado football must stave off flip threats and show coaching staff stability
The end of the 2023 season is so important for Colorado beyond simply becoming bowl-eligible. Sure, making the Alamo, Las Vegas, Holiday, Sun, or Los Angeles Bowl would be nice, but the current state of recruiting dictates constant attention to detail.
Georgia and Alabama, and even Oregon for that matter if they can steady the ship after the Washington loss, all threaten to offer Coach Prime’s top recruit, cornerback Aaron Butler, a chance to revisit his decision should the Buffs crash and burn in their final five games and join a team potentially coming off a College Football Playoff berth. If not more. Brandon Davis-Swain had his eyes on the Big Ten before choosing Colorado, so USC, Michigan, and Purdue loom as flip threats if they can take advantage of any late-season dysfunction.
No recruit is safe, so Sanders cannot allow losing to swallow his recruiting momentum whole and allow other programs to pick the bones of what is already a thin class thus far.