During a press conference earlier this month, Deion Sanders was asked if he thought the national media would pick up on his story as the first-year head football of the Colorado Buffaloes so quickly.
“Yeah. Why not?” Sanders said with a laugh. “Why not? I mean, I don’t understand why you’re shocked or puzzled.”
A Pro Football Hall of Famer who has been in the national spotlight since the late 1980s, Sanders certainly isn’t surprised. But for many who have been around or followed CU, there’s still amazement at the high level of attention being given to the football program.
“In hype, they’re top five in the country,” ESPN’s Chris Fowler said. “Top five in hype in the spring is pretty good when there was no pulse (last year).”
Less than five months ago, the Buffs wrapped up a dismal 1-11 season with an embarrassing 63-21 loss to Utah in the regular season finale. A week before that, BuffZone was the only media in a postgame press conference following a 54-7 loss at Washington.
On Saturday, Sanders will lead the new-look Buffs into Folsom Field for a spring game unlike any other in the program’s history (1 p.m., ESPN).
“I mean, the pressure is on,” linebackers coach Andre Hart said. “To sell out a spring game, I don’t know if thatap ever been done before, so we’re very proud of that, to be the first team to do that. So yeah, the kids are really excited. They’re really excited to show their talent.”
Typically, the CU spring game has been a ho-hum practice that draws a few die-hard fans to Folsom Field and the regular group of reporters who cover the team. The record attendance before this year was 17,800 in 2008.
Last year, an estimated 1,950 fans showed up, about 50 press credentials were issued and the game was broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
Saturday’s spring game will played in front of a sold out crowd of more than 45,000 fans, 310 press credentials were issued and Fowler will be on the call for ESPN. Itap the only spring game in the country on the main ESPN network this spring.
The game will put Sanders’ immediate impact at CU on display, but to him, this is just a step.
“We haven’t won a game; ain’t no impact right now,” he said. “Impact to me is winning. Impact to me is changing lives. Impact to me is making someone smile, man; bringing peace to people that were in desolate situations. Thatap impact.”
To be fair, the football program was in a desolate situation before Sanders arrived. The Buffs had one of the worst offenses and the worst defense in the country last season, have gone 5-19 in the past two years and have endured more in-season head coach firings (three) than bowl games (two) in the past 15 years.
Sanders, of course, is well aware of CU’s struggles and what it means to the program to sell 45,000 tickets to a spring game – plus parking, concessions, etc.
“The financial aspect of whatap all going on, thatap a blessing,” he said. “Somebody is profiting really well and I’m happy for that, especially this university, because they deserve it, and to display and to show whatap here in your beloved city I think that’s a beautiful thing to bring that to fruition. I can’t wait till the spring game. I’m looking really forward to that because I want to see the difference of the atmosphere and the feeling and the spirit of everything.”
From the day he was hired in December, Sanders has expressed that he can feel the desire among Buff Nation to have a winning football team. He embraces that and the challenge that goes with it.
“I love that,” he said. “If we’re going to change the game, that means the fans got to change too. So we want to impact them, as well. We want them to be ready for us like we want to be ready for them.”
As for the game itself, CU has 92 players on the roster, 62 of them on scholarship. For many, such as quarterback Shedeur Sanders and receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, it will be the first opportunity to shine in front of CU fans. For many, this will be their last chance, as coach Sanders and his staff continues to mold the roster for the 2023 season.
“I don’t want them to get misguided because what you see (Saturday) is not what you’re gonna see (during the season),” Sanders said.
Who stays and who goes is unclear. Earlier this month, Sanders said, “We already know who’s who, but we’re still giving a multitude of opportunities for guys to show that they can play at a certain level and reach a certain expectation that we have. Those guys that we feel like can, we want to make sure they could do it in front of company.”
There will be a lot of company at Folsom Field on Saturday, which is just the way Sanders likes it as he’s still in the early stages of building his program.
“I think itap going to be a wonderful moment for this university,” he said. “Itap gonna be a wonderful moment for the city. And I think a lot of people are gonna prosper.
“This city’s gonna shine.”
