Colorado’s recruiting selling point won’t be NIL

CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee explained what will be the primary selling point for Coach Prime’s Colorado football program during the upcoming offseason’s recruiting cycle — and worryingly, it won’t be NIL.

“While Colorado stars Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and Shilo Sanders have all parlayed on-field accomplishments into successful name, image and likeness ventures, coach Deion Sanders doesn’t believe money should be a primary recruiting tool,” Sallee wrote.

“The Sanders effect is real. Despite the struggles during the final two months of the season, the program stayed in the national spotlight as the sports world became fixated on the rebuilding job that Sanders is doing. That will be the selling point after they finish the season on Saturday and hit the transfer portal and high school recruiting trail.”

Is this the best game plan to field a winning roster? That remains to be seen. However, it indicates that the focus will be on transfers looking for an expanded spotlight over marquee high school recruits raised in the modern NIL recruiting landscape.

Coach Prime on what he’s looking for in Colorado football recruits

Coach Prime offered reporters what he and his coaching staff are looking for during the upcoming recruiting cycle: players who want to be in Boulder who aren’t looking for a bidding war for their talents.

“We’re not going to buy anybody whatsoever,” Deion Sanders said. “That’s how we approach it. We have tremendous needs. I’m pretty sure everybody in the country knows what we need and how much we need. That’s not a secret. Recruits are responding.

“We want players who want us. Trying to convince somebody and doing that and being held hostage financially … we ain’t with that. We want players who want to be a Colorado Buffalo.”

It’s a bold strategy, Coach Prime. Let’s see if it pays off for ’em.