"He's more than just a coach," new Colorado commitment raves about Deion Sanders

It might be a little bit longer before Deion Sanders is back in the Colorado football facility, but Coach Prime is helping the Buffaloes get some much-needed traction on the recruiting trail.

Three days after landing OT Xavier Payne, Sanders dipped back into the Sunshine State, where he has found so much success in his career, and landed 4-star safety D'Montae Tims from Seffner.

Tims is a consensus 3-star prospect, and ranked as the 95th best safety in the country per the 247 composite, but he had offers from some of the top programs in the country, which speaks to his quality as a football player a lot better than arbitrary recruiting rankings.

Tims holds offers from Georgia, Louisville, Miami, and Ole Miss, to name a few. If there's one position Coach Prime knows how to evaluate, it's in the defensive backfield. And it's his legendary status as a Hall-of-Fame CB that swung the pendulum in Colorado's favor for Tims, despite getting involved in his recruitment later than the others.

New Colorado commitment D'Montae Tims raves about Deion Sanders

Colorado didn't offer Tims until June 1st, but they quickly rocketed up to the top of his list. To the surprise of no one, Sanders played a pivotal role.

“Being committed to Coach Prime is different because you know you’re learning from one of the greatest to ever do it. He’s more than just a coach; he’s somebody who’s been where I’m trying to go, and he keeps it real with you while still pushing you to be great. It’s a blessing to be able to play for a legend like that.”

You can credit the aura of Prime for helping Colorado to land Tims. Sanders hasn't had a major role in anything related to the program the last few months due to his illness, but recruits are still drawn to Boulder to have the opportunity to play for one of the greatest of all time.

Tims' commitment continues some recent and much-needed momentum on the recruiting trail for Colorado. The Buffaloes are well behind the pace currently, but there's still plenty of time before December's early signing period to right the ship. Sanders still has some tricks up his sleeve, and if he's able to help the program land commitments when he's ailing, imagine how quickly things are going to ramp up when he's back to 100%.

Tims is the 8th commitment for the 2026 class for Colorado, and the third defensive back. The Buffaloes' class currently sits at No. 88 in the country.