Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has seen what it looks like when a great football team goes through spring practices in Boulder.
And, he’s seen what a not-so-great team looks like in spring.
With the Buffaloes nearing the end of spring practices – Tuesday was their 13th out of 15 sessions – Sanders is not ready to compare this year’s group to the 2024 squad that excelled or the 2025 team that stumbled.
But he’s pleased with the progress coming off a disappointing 3-9 season in 2025.
“You hate to kind of compare — you hate that — but … I’m trying to say this in a real polite manner: I think we’ve gotten better everywhere, starting with me and understanding what to go get, what we have, how to mature it, how to develop it, as well as this staff that we have. I think itap tremendous.”
CU will conclude spring with a practice on Thursday and the annual Black & Gold day on Saturday at Folsom Field (1 p.m.).
Itap been a transitional spring for the Buffs, who hired two new coordinators – Brennan Marion on offense and Chris Marve on defense – and several other assistant coaches, in addition to bringing in 59 new players.
“You have two new coordinators that have a track record of really doing well. And I’m happy with what I’m seeing from the young men that we’ve chosen, from the staff, from the support staff, from everything all the way around — I am elated. I don’t want to clap with my feet just yet, but I feel really good about whatap going on.”
Marion came to CU after serving as head coach at Sacramento State last year and he brings his innovative Go-Go offense to the Buffs. Marve came to CU following a year off that was preceded by a solid run as Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator.
“They’re pushing the envelope, what they’re doing creatively, what they’re doing structurally,” Sanders said. “I like it.”
The roster looks quite different, too.
A year ago, CU was coming off a 9-4 season and trip to Alamo Bowl, led by his quarterback son, Shedeur, and Heisman Trophy-winning receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, as well as numerous other top players and leaders. All of them exhausted their eligibility after 2024.
In rebuilding last year, the Buffs fell short in a lot of areas, particularly in identifying leaders, and Sanders is hoping to avoid the same mistakes.
“We made some tremendous mistakes at certain positions that derailed us a year ago,” he said. “The first couple years we had stability at those positions that highlighted us, so we learned quite a bit of not just talent but understanding mentality. And mentality is something that we targeted, itap something that we sat down and interviewed and made sure not only the young men but the parents had that type of mentality, because the parents play a tremendous role in these young men’s lives.”
About a dozen players brought in as transfers were captains at their previous schools, and thatap not a coincidence.
“That shows leadership, that shows that we chose some guys that are used to being in front,” Sanders said. “And we have some young guys, especially some young corners, that came from winning programs; like they were winners. So they’ve experienced the understanding of winning and we like that characteristic inside the locker room.”
Of course, the Buffs won’t truly know how good this team is until the fall, but Sanders feels good about the group as it nears the end of the spring phase of the offseason. And, he looks forward to putting the team on the stage for fans on Saturday at Folsom Field.
“Just want to see some guys really fight, man — fight for what they want in life, and thatap to go to the next level, but it all starts here I want to see that,” he said. “And hope we get a phenomenal turnout by our wonderful fans. We have some of the best fanbase I think in college football, I really do, and these young men and women on this campus, they usually show up and show out. So I look forward to that, as well.”
