Colorado football could see more recruits de-commit from their future classes after Class of 2025 4-star First Baptist Academy wideout Winston Watkins Jr. decided to re-open his commitment according to OutKick’s Alejandro Avila — who believes Coach Prime is eating the crow he started cooking before the season when he hyped up the Buffs.
“After welcoming critics and skeptics to challenge his team, Coach Prime is paying the price for talking up his team as much as he did in the offseason,” Avila wrote. “Prime’s football acumen, and celebrity status, made Deion a prime recruiting tool. Deion splashed on the recruiting scene after boosting talent at Jackson State with then-top recruit Travis Hunter. The Buffaloes are folding under pressure and could stand to lose more.”
Perhaps scarier than the de-commitment itself is the reasoning for why Watkins decided to back off his pledge to be a Buff…
Winston Watkins Jr. is unsure if Coach Prime remains with Colorado football in 2025
Watkins told Rivals that he isn’t sure if Coach Prime would even be at Colorado by the time the 2025 season rolls around.
“I didn’t want to limit the opportunities I already have because when you’re committed some schools try to not talk to you,” Watkins said (h/t USA Today). “I have a lot of schools I want to make sure I’m still good with them because I don’t know if Prime will still be there when I get there.”
Suppose Watkins’ hunch turns out to be justified, and Deion Sanders ultimately does decide to bolt from Boulder after two seasons for a bigger opportunity. In that case, college football insider Bruce Feldman would have called it.
“Two years from now? After the 2024 season? I would not be surprised if Deion Sanders is not the head coach at Colorado,” Feldman said (h/t AthlonSports). “I just don’t think that he is going to be there that long. It’ll either go really well. They were horrible before. So he goes from one win last year to maybe four or five this year. And then maybe eight or nine. Then I think he goes to a bigger school. Or it will not work out at all and they will all be at odds. I think there’s a lot of stuff that has the potential to create a lot of friction. If it doesn’t go great, then I think they go in a different direction.”
Let’s hope Feldman and Watkins are wrong. It’s hard to ignore the growing number of doubters that Coach Prime won’t be at the helm of the Buffs after 2024, though.