The state of Florida has been a pipeline for Colorado since Deion Sanders took over in Boulder. Coach Prime has taken pleasure in beating his alma mater, Florida State, for prospects, whether that's for uncommitted recruits or, even better, flipping recruits who were already pledged to the Seminoles.
Sanders has done it time and time again. None more high profile than luring Travis Hunter, the No. 1 recruit in the country and long considered a Florida State lean, to Jackson State in the 2022 class.
In the 2026 cycle, Sanders already has one former Florida State commitment in the class: 3-star OT Xavier Lucas. He's now trying to add a second in another effort to stick it to his alma mater.
4-star RB Amari Thomas picks up a Colorado offer
4-star RB Amari Thomas announced his decommitment from Florida State last Friday. On Tuesday, he picked up an offer from Colorado that he shared on X:
Blessed to receive an offer from The university of Colorado!! @CUBuffsFootball @On3Keith @247Sports @CoachWaggonerGT @CoachBox6 @Rivals pic.twitter.com/e8ArVlp7eu
— Amari Thomas (@Amari_Thomas4) July 22, 2025
Several predictions came in quickly following Thomas' decommitment for him to ultimately land in South Carolina's class, but Sanders and the Buffaloes could change that with their recent offer.
Thomas is rated as a 4-star in the composite and sits as the No. 21 RB and No. 338 overall player in the 2026 class. Thomas is a burner with game-changing speed that figures to be a real weapon offensively for whichever school he ultimately ends up choosing.
The Florida native is coming off a monster junior season. He rushed for 1880 yards and 34 touchdowns in just 10 games. He showed his ability as a receiver, too, catching 14 passes for 247 yards and three more touchdowns.
Thomas announced a commitment date of August 9th shortly after he decommitted from Florida State, signaling to recruiting insiders that he already has an idea of where he would like to go instead. However, recruiting is fluid, and things change quickly. Now that Sanders and Colorado are in hot pursuit, plans could change for Thomas.
Sanders has a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail as he nears his return to Boulder following his health issues this summer. As things stand, Colorado sits dead last in the Big 12 in recruiting with the 80th-ranked class. That's more of a quantity over quality issue, however, as Colorado's average recruit rating sits 5th in the Big 12. They just only have nine total commitments coming out of the summer season and are in desperate need of a major run on the trail.