Colorado projected to fall short of big-time OL recruit in upcoming announcement

The most important news of the offseason came on Monday with Deion Sanders announcing he was back, and cancer-free. But Coach Prime has a lot of work to do to salvage Colorado's recruiting class, which ranks 82nd in the country in the composite rankings with just 9 total commitments.

It's a far cry from where Colorado usually sits in recruiting under Sanders, but it's not all that surprising, either. Coach Prime had to focus on his health the last few months as he underwent a bladder removal procedure to get rid of a tumor.

All the rumors swirling around his future in Boulder certainly didn't help on the trail, and rivals undoubtedly used that against him and the Buffaloes.

Colorado has a big recruiting run in them this fall. It just might take a little bit longer before it gets started.

4-star offensive lineman Breck Kolojay, a Colorado native who plays high school football at IMG Academy in Florida, looks like he's going to spurn the home-state Buffaloes.

Colorado is one of five finalists for Kolojay, alongside Georgia, USC, Miami, and Oklahoma. But according to two recruiting experts, Colorado is going to come up short.

Breck Kolojay is trending toward USC

Recruiting experts Chad Simmons and Steve Wiltfong have logged expert predictions for Kolojay to join USC's crowded class. The Trojans have thrown a lot of money at this class in order to increase the talent in the cupboards for Lincoln Riley. Kolojay would become the 32nd commitment in this class for USC.

Kolojay is set to make his college announcement on Friday.

Even if Kolojay commits to USC as expected, it's not likely to end the pursuit of Deion Sanders and Colorado. With so many of the top 2026 recruits already pledged to other schools, Sanders and his staff will be working on a multitude of flips.

Sanders is a heck of a salesman, and his press conference on Monday is likely to light a fire on the recruiting trail for Colorado.

Even if Coach Prime ultimately strikes out on this recruiting class, we've seen his ability to do major work in the Transfer Portal. There will be plenty of talented players available when the winter portal window opens in December, and Sanders and staff will be working the phones to continue building toward something greater.

Sanders is motivated by winning a championship at Colorado. The Buffs got close last year to playing for the Big 12 Championship. He'll keep adding talent, and eventually will break through.