Colorado has built some recent momentum on the recruiting trail, but it is still lagging behind as we approach August. At first glance, Colorado's 80th-ranked class, which sits 16th out of 16 schools in the Big 12, raises major red flags.
It's easy to point to the why. Deion Sanders has been notably absent from Boulder most of the summer as he recovers from a mysterious illness that has kept him on his ranch in Texas. He missed the summer official visits, and while he talked to plenty of recruits over the phone, Sanders' top recruiting quality is his ability to sell himself and his program to prospects in person. It's a lot easier to tell him "no" over the phone than it is sitting in front of one of the all-time great players and all-time great personalities.
Sanders is expected to be back at Colorado sometime this week, according to his oldest son. He has a lot of work to do once he gets there. Not only does he have to get the Buffaloes ready for the season - fall camp starts next week - but he has to make up a ton of ground on the recruiting trail to prevent having to punt on this cycle completely.
Sanders is a master in the Transfer Portal, so even if things don't pick up exceptionally well on the trail, he'll attract talent to Boulder for next season in December during the winter portal window.
But as disappointing as Colorado's class looks, it's more of a quantity issue than a quality issue.
Colorado's class ranks 5th in the Big 12 in average player rating
Colorado only holds nine total commitments in the 2026 class, which is the fewest by a lot in the Big 12. Houston is the next lowest with 14.
Despite that, the Buffaloes have found some quality players among those nine, and because of that, the Buffaloes rank 5th in the Big 12 with an average player rating of 87.47.
Colorado's class is headlined by a pair of four-stars - S Preston Ashley (Brandon, MS) and LB Rodney Colton Jr. (Newnan, GA).
Colorado could get its biggest commitment yet of the 2026 class in the middle of August. 4-star ATH CJ Sadler, a consensus Top 100 player in the composite, is set to make his announcement on August 15th. Colorado is one of four teams in contention for the Detroit native, joined by Miami, Maryland, and North Carolina.
Coach Prime will also have plenty of recruits on flip watch between now and the early signing period. He's already secured an in-season visit with 4-star Oklahoma WR commit Daniel Odom.
Despite the slow start, there should be plenty of optimism in Boulder for this class. Sanders is a proven recruiter, and will undoubtedly fill out this class with talented prospects.