LAS VEGAS – Charles Kelly didn’t originally plan to be at Pac-12 media day. And there was a hiccup after his initial flight to get here was canceled.
On Friday, however, Kelly represented the Colorado Buffaloes, filling in for head coach Deion Sanders, who had to skip the event because of a surgery on Thursday.
“His No. 1 priority is to be back for fall camp, be full-go,” said Kelly, the Buffs’ defensive coordinator. “He’s doing good. He’s raring to go.”
Kelly was ready to go on Friday at Resorts World Las Vegas as he went through the media obligations of the day, along with quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter.
For starters, Kelly provided an update on Coach Prime, who has had a couple of recent procedures to get his left leg feeling better.
“Itap been a challenging process for him, but like anything else he does in his life, he attacked it and he’s gonna hit it head-on,” Kelly said. “He’s in good spirits and everybody said if he goes through what he’s doing, he’ll be fine.”
Shedeur added that his father “is doing good. I talked to him. Everything is good.”
Even without Coach Prime on hand, the Buffs were able to get their message across that they are eager to start the new era of CU football, and they aren’t too concerned about an 11th-place projection by Pac-12 media.
“If they are basing it off last year, I would have ranked us that, too. They were 1-11,” Shedeur Sanders said. “But, if you’re actually doing your research and understand, OK, cool, they’ve got new players, they’ve got a new coach, they’ve got a new quarterback out there, then you know, 2 not going like that (referring to himself, as he will wear No. 2). Two not going 11th-ranked.
“Itap good for you all to get that out there and just post it and create commotion, but c’mon now.”
Following a 1-11 campaign in 2022, CU overhauled its program. First, the Buffs hired Coach Prime on Dec. 3. He then assembled an experienced coaching staff that includes Kelly, who spent the previous four years at Alabama. And, the Buffs have almost completely revamped the roster, with 88 newcomers (including walk-ons) on board.
“There’s a sense of urgency,” Kelly said. “In fact, I can tell you nobody outside is going to put any more pressure on us than we’re going to put on ourselves. Coach Prime made it very clear his vision from the beginning.
“We want to do it now. We’ve taken criticism. Thatap fine. People have their opinion to say what they want to, but we did within what the rules allow for us to be able to create the best roster possible for the University of Colorado. We don’t apologize for that.”
That roster includes Sanders and Hunter, who, outside of reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams of USC, might have been the two biggest stars at media day. In terms of social media followers, the Buffs’ duo was at the top – and itap not even close.
Kelly said there’s no doubt the two Buffs on hand, who led Jackson State to a SWAC title last year, deserved to be in the Pac-12 spotlight.
“I’ve been knowing both of these young men since they were freshmen in high school,” Kelly said. “We recruited them both at Alabama. I can remember Shedeur and Travis coming to camp. … They deserve to be here. Now we’ve got to go out on the field and compete and both those guys know that and our coaches know that, but yeah, they deserve to be here.”
Not that it was a big deal to either. Sanders and Hunter fulfilled obligations on Friday, but they likely would rather have been in Boulder working out with their teammates.
“Itap just, I guess, a part of the process,” Sanders said of being at media day.
“Itap good, simple. Just a lot of walking,” Hunter said of the day. “I’m just ready to get to the season. Ready to play.”
Kelly is ready, a well. He made more media appearances Thursday than he probably will all season, but was proud to be picked by Coach Prime as his replacement as the Buffs gear up for the season.
“Huge honor,” Kelly said. “Coach and I, we believe in the same things. Thatap why I’m at Colorado, because of Coach Prime. I have a lot of respect for what Colorado has done (in the past), the tradition they have, but I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for coach. I believe in the same things he believes in.
“First of all, he’s a good man. He has a crystal-clear vision of where he wants this program to go and he has conviction about what he believes in, and those are the things that I believe in. Those are the values that I have. So, I’m very honored to be here, I’m very honored to represent Colorado. To me, there’s so much tradition that this university has; our job is to help them. We’ve never lost the tradition; we just have to get the winning back so the people are excited about it.”
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.
