The Colorado Buffaloes football team just got its heartbeat back.
On Monday morning, Coach Prime stood at a podium and, in classic Prime fashion, announced he had beaten cancer. With poise, a little humor, and a lot of gratitude, he said what Buff Nation had been hoping to hear all summer: “I got too much life in me to be thinking about death… we got to win a darn championship.”
Let that sink in. This was a health update and a spiritual gut check for the entire program. The man who had his bladder removed just months ago isn't talking about easing into fall camp — he's talking rings. He's talking legacy.
And he’s not the only one fired up about it.
Sean Payton, head coach of the Denver Broncos and longtime friend of Sanders, lit up when asked about his return.
“Football’s better with him. Colorado’s better with him,” Payton said at Broncos training camp. “I’m proud of him. Excited for him. It was great news to hear yesterday.”
It’s easy to see why Payton feels that way. From the moment Sanders took over in Boulder, he didn’t just bring in a new playbook—he brought in a new excitement for all of football in the state of Colorado.
For a program like Colorado, this kind of energy is contagious. The Buffs went 9–4 last year, a massive leap from the one-win debacle in 2022. But now they’re without Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and several other stars who helped fuel the turnaround.
Coach Prime knows this season will demand more than swagger. It’ll take grit, depth, leadership, and the kind of daily buy-in he preached on day one of fall camp.
“What are you saving it for?” he asked his players. “You’re gonna turn it on during the game, right? But you’re not gonna get the opportunity to play because we don’t see it.”
That’s vintage Prime—calling out the potential in others even as he’s still recovering himself.
And yet, that’s what makes this moment different. Sanders isn’t just coaching anymore. He’s living proof of perseverance, and for a group of 18- to 23-year-olds, that hits different.
Payton knows it. We know it.
Football’s better with Coach Prime. Colorado is better with Coach Prime. And as camp rolls on and we inch closer to the Georgia Tech opener on August 29, one thing is clear:
Coach Prime isn't just back. He’s reborn—and he’s coming for that Big 12 crown.
— Want more stories like this? Follow us on X for all things Colorado Football and Basketball.