Colorado gets much needed commitment as Deion Sanders steals another from Alma mater

It's been a slow-moving process for Colorado in the 2026 recruiting class. Up until Monday night, Deion Sanders and his staff held commitments from just five prospects. But if we've learned anything from Coach Prime as a recruiter, it's that things can change quickly.

On Monday night, Colorado landed its sixth commitment in this cycle from 3-star OT Xavier Payne, who decommitted a month ago from Florida State after being pledged to the Seminoles for quite some time.

Payne, an Orlando native, has excellent size at 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds. While he's only a 3-star, and ranked as the No. 69 OT in the country in the 247 composite, Payne has an impressive list of offers. He holds 33 offers, including from programs like Florida State, Florida, Arkansas, Miami, Penn State, Ole Miss, and Tennessee, among others.

Payne is a coveted prospect and a player who will help the Buffaloes as they continue to build quality depth on both lines of scrimmage, which has improved already but has been the weakest point of the Coach Prime era thus far.

This will hopefully kick off a recruiting run for Colorado after a quiet summer on the trail. Sanders' health issues have prevented him from being involved as much as he usually would be, and the Buffaloes have struggled as a result. After signing a Top 25 class a year ago, Colorado currently sits at No. 97 in the composite, even after Payne's commitment.

What we do know, however, is that Sanders is always prone to some recruiting surprises. There will be some highly-regarded prospects who are committed elsewhere that will ultimately flip their commitment to Colorado between now and the early signing period in December.

Deion Sanders continues to beat out his Alma mater for recruits

Sanders is a Florida State legend, but even fans in Tallahassee who adored Prime during his playing days have to be getting sick of losing recruiting battles to him. Payne is just the latest example, but none were more famous than Sanders luring 5-star athlete Travis Hunter, a Florida State legacy, to the FCS ranks at Jackson State before bringing him to Boulder with him two years ago via the Transfer Portal.

Earlier in the summer, Colorado beat out Florida State for 4-star CB Preston Ashley, who to date is the highest-ranked recruit in the Buffaloes class. Those are just two of the many examples to date.

Sanders needed some help to get his recruiting class on track this summer, so it only makes sense that he would turn to his Alma mater for help. It probably won't be the last time.