Father of departed Colorado football transfer explains why son entered portal

Alton McCaskill III, the father of former Buffs running back Alton McCaskill IV, explained why his son chose not to return to Deion Sanders' Colorado football program and instead entered the transfer portal on April 17.

Not unsurprisingly, his reasoning in a since-deleted tweet revolved around playing time and touches in Colorado's backfield.

"If my son's not RB1, we gotta go," McCaskill III prefaced before saying, "He was ready last year! He's 100% this year! Unfortunately (we) have to find another home where there's no favoritism and he is valued, appreciated and has no doubts about RB1...He is the best RB in Colorado, but he is not settling! We going! Thank you Colorado for your hospitality."

Colorado football losing big names, but not much production from 2023 roster in transfer portal

McCaskill's transfer follows Cormani McClain's, and while some pundits may paint a picture of the sky falling in Boulder, that's simply not reality.

McCaskill redshirted the 2023 season for medical reasons, though his father seems to be explaining that the former Houston transfer was actually healthy enough to play and wasn't. Regardless, he played four games.

McClain, on the other hand, played nine games after missing the first three due to Sanders' lack of faith in his off-field endeavors. He had 13 tackles, one for a loss, and no interceptions after coming in as a highly-touted 5-star flip from Miami.

Neither player was a star by any means, and the Buffs still have Week 1 hero Dylan Edwards and workhorse back Sy'veon Wilkerson to carry the load in McCaskill's continued and now permanent absence, and the corner position has Oklahoma State transfer DJ McKinney ready to turn heads as Travis Hunter's new CB counterpart.

Colorado freed up plenty of NIL money with these departures, and if Coach Prime can find cheaper replacements with more buy-in potential, it's possible the Buffs will be better off.