when she reaches for her CU shirt. And now she’s starting to criticize little things Deion Sanders does.

“We’re not anything new and shiny anymore,” Stephan, a CU sophomore, told me as the 2026 Black & Gold scrimmage kicked off Saturday at Folsom Field.

“We’re just kind of a mediocre team that somehow still makes headlines because of our coach.”

Talk about a mic drop

On a pleasant, overcast Saturday afternoon along Colorado Avenue, The Coach Prime Era at CU officially shifted from the honeymoon phase to the reality phase. Especially with the undergrads in the crowd.

“I think the honeymoon is definitely not going anymore, personally,” said Stephan, a Minneapolis native and one of those out-of-staters whose parents dug her going to CU, in part, after watching the Sanders Effect from afar. “I think the honeymoon phase has ended. And they’re really struggling to try to keep it up, in my opinion.”

You know the signs. The passion fades. The glow dims. Little things you used to overlook start to get on your nerves. Expectations don’t always line up. Communication can be blunt and awkward.

Saturday wasn’t awkward, but compared to previous Aprils in Prime Time, it was remarkably … normal. No national TV. No Hollywood A-listers — although ex-Broncos great Aqib Talib did show up to talk shop.

The event was ticketed, but free. CU reported a crowd of 27,772 in “claimed” attendance. In person, it looked more like 17,000-18,000, up close.

Which is, you know, fine. Not great. Fine. And pretty close to last year’s reported attendance of 20,430. CU announced a spring crowd of 28,424 in ’24, well down from 47,277 in ’23, Coach Prime’s first public exhibition as the Buffs’ boss.

“As someone who came from a Big Ten-school culture, there’s a lack of culture here in general for football,” Stephan continued. “It kind of feels like, for me, (for) students, it’s like, ‘Show up, it’s a fashion show, smoke, drink, leave.”’

“So,” I countered, “it’s sort of like the SEC?”

“Yeah, but the thing is, they win. And even if they lose, they do a ton of pregame activities. They have more lights, and just … everything.”

The lower bowl of Folsom’s east side was pretty much full; the upper section of bleachers, not so much. Mind you, that was also by design — the west side of the stadium was roped off entirely, so that 50% of capacity was scrunched into one half of the building.

And the eye test made it seem smaller. Like, a lot smaller.

“That’s not just us,” Sanders said after the scrimmage. “No one’s valuing spring (football games) anymore. You’ve got several major colleges not even having spring games. The only thing that would bring it back is if we compete against another school …

“Winning also helps increase that (interest). But people get tired of the same-old, same-old, at a certain point … Things are so different in college football right now with kids moving, kids leaving … so it’s hard for the fan base to get to know all these kids and to buy in and say, ‘You know what, I’m going to support that, (and now) he’s gone.’ So I understand it, wholeheartedly. But we have a tremendous fan base. We have a tremendous student body. We still have a lot of people out there that (are) crazy about CU football. And I’m excited about that.”

On one hand, he’s right. Nebraska, which would fill Memorial Stadium in Lincoln for a “Magic: The Gathering” tournament if it meant setting some kind of record, drew just 27,188 for its spring game late last month. That was the smallest crowd for a Big Red football exhibition since 2000.

“And so to come here and walk in, there’s like 10 people,” said Omaha native Jess Wozniak, a Folsom first-timer whose son played alto sax in the pep band Saturday. “When we first got here … I was like, ‘Wow, there’s not many.’ Now it’s filling up. Now it’s looking better.’

“I think the hype (for Sanders) is still there. I feel like it’s filling up — so the hype has got to be here, still, somewhere, right?”

“It’s also a free ticket,” I noted.

“Oh, true,” she laughed. “I didn’t think about that.”

Garrett Tyrrell of Durango, sitting to her right, piped up.

“Put it this way,” he said. “The old man is still watching.”

So are the kids. Stephan and fellow CU sophomore Colin Chow hiked it up to the top of Section 213 to get an aerial view of Ralphie’s run. Not long after, Buffs QB Julian Lewis opened the scoring for the day with a 13-yard scoring touch pass in the back of the end zone to Danny Scudero, the former San Jose State star and arguably the jewel of Coach Prime’s transfer haul.

“I think (2026) could be better than (last fall),” Stephan reflected. “I don’t think it’s going to be better than (2024) with Shedeur (Sanders) and Travis (Hunter). That was an insane year. A lot of culture. It was really fun. Everyone was excited going into every game.

“But (2025), not so much. There were a couple of games we went into, and we were like, ‘(CU) is going to lose, might as well show up.'”

Stephan stayed for the Buffs’ home finale against Arizona State last fall — all the way to the bitter end of a 42-17 defeat. Her dad, a Badgers alum, taught her to never leave early.

“And I was like, ‘This (stinks),'” she laughed.

“That was the only game I left halfway through,” Chow, a Golden native, added.  “I mean, they were competitive in (’23 and ’24) — even if (CU) didn’t win, everyone was excited. People had expectations for weird games or sudden victories. But (last year), it was like, ‘Well, we’re down 30, no one on this team is going to pull that out.'”

Chow grew up nearby. But Stephan’s parents were so enamored of the Coach Prime Experience that they flew down to attend games, just to see Sanders up close.

“I think part of it, too, is (that) Deion isn’t really as new or as (much of) a novelty now,” Stephan said. “He’s been here as long as a lot of students who go to the games.

“That’s cool, but it’s not the same as Deion coming in and ‘saving it’ from what it was earlier. So it’s just a different feel when new students come in. There are expectations now instead of (it being) the new cool thing.”

At 11:35 a.m., about 90 minutes before the scrimmage, a 20-something in a blue t-shirt looked at the line forming across the street and waved at me.

“Excuse me,” he asked, nodding back to Folsom behind us. “So, what is the event today?”

“CU’s Black & Gold game,” I replied. “Spring football.”

“OK, thanks.”

He shrugged, turned on his heel and walked away. Never saw him again. Sometimes, reality bites.

“I truly thank God every day that I’m here because it����ap truly a blessing to be a part of such a fun culture and in a beautiful place,” the Colorado receiver said after the Buffaloes’ annual Black & Gold Day at Folsom Field. “Colorado is a beautiful place, and Folsom Field is … I couldn’t get enough.

“I had to take a moment and just kind of look around and kind of be proud of myself for where I was and where my feet were. So, it was definitely a blessing to be here.”

A senior transfer from San Jose State, Scudero provided one of the few highlights in a spring game that was vanilla by design. His 13-yard touchdown reception from quarterback JuJu Lewis was the only touchdown of the abbreviated scrimmage, won by the Gold team, 7-6.

It was a scrimmage, however, that got the job done, in terms of completing a session of 15 spring workouts that sets the table for the 2026 Buffs.

“You accomplish things, and we need to better ourselves in a multitude of aspects,” CU head coach Deion Sanders said. “We got some good things going on. I think you can see the fruit thereof.”

Offensively, there weren’t many fireworks, other than Lewis’ sensational pass to Scudero for the lone touchdown, but there were some efficient and productive plays.

Lewis, projected as the starter at quarterback, unofficially completed 6-of-11 passes for 60 yards. The redshirt freshman looked more comfortable than he did in last year’s spring game.

“He was a lot better,” Sanders said. “And I think that����ap very easy to obtain when you got Danny Scudero on your side. He is a dawg, and having a comfort level with the playbook and the way (offensive coordinator Brennan) Marion communicates on the set. You gotta understand that was the first time that all the coaches got an opportunity to communicate (on the headsets).”

Isaac Wilson, who is competing for the job as well, was unofficially 6-for-12 for 65 yards and was intercepted by freshman cornerback Mojo Williams Jr. on the last play.

Scudero had two catches for 25 yards, running back Damian Henderson had 39 rushing yards on five carries, and Quentin Gibson caught four passes for 38 yards.

Defensively, end Toby Anene had a sack and batted down a pass, defensive tackle Santana Hopper made several plays at the line of scrimmage and defensive back Boo Carter was active all day.

“The hardest thing to measure when you’re measuring the spring game is if the offense does well, that means the defense is not doing well. And vice versa,” Sanders said. “You hope to see the quarterbacks not throw interceptions like we did on the last play. You hope that they move the ball down the field. You hope that defensive backs are aggressive and physical.

“It����ap a multitude of things, but the main thing is you don’t want to get anybody hurt.”

Sanders said two players suffered “strained MCLs,” but not tears, so he said, “We’re going to be OK with that.”

Coming off a disappointing 3-9 season in 2025 and rebuilding with 59 new players this spring, CU didn’t draw a lot of buzz for this year’s spring game.

It was the first of Sanders’ four spring games to not be televised, although it was streamed on YouTube.

Unlike the previous three years, CU didn’t charge for tickets. Officially, 27,772 tickets were claimed, which would make it the third-most “attended” spring game in CU history, behind the 2023 and 2024 games. However, BuffZone estimates that roughly 10,000 tickets were used.

Around the country, many programs have cancelled spring games and Sanders said that plays a role in the decreased interest in CU’s game.

“No one’s valuing spring anymore,” he said. “The only thing that would bring that back is we compete against another school, and I’ve been saying that for the last several years.”

CU’s disappointing season in 2025 played a role, too, though.

“Winning also helps increase that, but people get tired of the same old, same old at a certain point and you want more,” he said.

He also acknowledged it����ap tough for fans to get to know players when there’s so much movement in the transfer portal every year. Yet, he was appreciative of the thousands of fans who did show up to watch and enjoy Black & Gold Day.

“I understand (the other factors) wholeheartedly, but we have a tremendous fan base,” he said. “We have a tremendous student body and we still have a lot of people out there that����ap crazy about CU football. And I’m excited about that.”

Ponder, 23, was killed early on March 1 when he lost control on a curve and hit a guardrail. The car he was driving, a 2023 Tesla, struck an electrical line pole and rolled down an embankment.

His blood alcohol level was .167, according to the autopsy report. The limit is 0.08. There is a lower limit, of .05, for driving while ability impaired.

Ponder was pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy report lists “multiple blunt force injuries” as the cause of death and “accident” as the manner of death.

Deion Sanders remembers late CU Buffs quarterback Dominiq Ponder

On Tuesday, the Colorado State Patrol said it����ap “conducting a comprehensive investigation which would take a look at factors such as speed, impairment, distracted driving, and more.”

Ponder’s mom, Catrina Hughes, released a statement, saying “what matters most to me is who Dominiq was as a person. He was a determined student-athlete, a leader, and someone with a huge heart who fiercely loved his family, his teammates, and the game of football.

“If anything good can come from this loss, it����ap the conversations it can start about responsible decision-making, supporting young adults, and making good choices even in ordinary moments. One bad decision can alter everything.”

Ponder’s family has started a GoFundMe page and a foundation called “Dominiq Ponder 7/22.” His foundation will support student-athletes, children’s hospitals and families dealing with medical challenges, and help assist with responsible decision-making.

“A big part of his legacy will be to encourage young people to please make responsible choices and if possible to have the courage to step in for their friends when one of them isn’t thinking clearly for themselves,” Hughes wrote. “Kids need to know that it����ap OK to intervene, do anything you can do, one small decision can save a life. Don’t be afraid even if it����ap uncomfortable. A difficult conversation is easier than a lifetime of loss.”

Ponder played in two games for the Buffaloes last season. The 6-foot-5 sophomore from Florida began his collegiate career at Bethune-Cookman before transferring.

Unfortunately for the Buffs, too many of those receivers aren’t on the turf right now.

As the Buffaloes go through spring drills, their talented receiver group has been hampered by injuries. In fact, receivers Jason Phillips couldn’t answer a question about what fans can expect from the group.

“That����ap a great question because right now I don’t know what coach Phillips expects from this group, considering the number of injuries that we sustained over the course of spring ball,” he said Tuesday after CU’s seventh practice of spring. “So, I’m still trying to figure that out.”

CU’s top returning receiver, Joseph Williams, has been out all spring with a right leg injury. Texas transfer DeAndre Moore has been out with a lower left leg injury. Walk-on Tagert Bardin hasn’t participated because of an arm injury. And, the Buffs recently lost returner Hykeem Williams to an injury.

Health aside, Phillips said there is clearly talent among a group that has been rebuilt since last season.

“The first thing that����ap glaring is a lot of speed,” he said. “That����ap the one thing that we definitely did a good job recruiting, and obviously Coach Prime (head coach Deion Sanders) with his hand in the decision-making with this class has improved the speed in the room. So we’re excited about that.”

The group includes Sacramento State transfer Ernest Campbell, who has been running sprints with the CU track team this spring. And, Kam Perry, a transfer from Miami-Ohio, is a speedster who averaged 22.7 yards per catch last season.

Campbell, Perry, Moore and Danny Scudero (San Jose State) all came to CU in the offseason as highly productive transfers. As a group, they combined for 206 catches for 3,560 yards and 28 touchdowns. Scudero led the country with 1,291 receiving yards, on 88 catches.

Joseph Williams was CU’s second-leading receiver last year with 37 catches for 489 yards and four touchdowns. Hykeem Williams, Quanell Farrakhan Jr., and Quentin Gibson also return after playing a bit last year for the Buffs.

“Different type of players,” Phillips said. “Some guys that have done some things, accomplished some things at other places and come in with some production. And so that����ap the thing that we’re starting to see that now. Once we get a couple guys off crutches and whatnot, then we should have a solid group.”

It����ap a group Phillips is looking forward to seeing in the new Go-Go offense being installed by first-year coordinator Brennan Marion. The offense relies on a strong run game, but also gives receivers chances to make big plays.

“I think the offense is really predicated toward setting guys up to be successful,” Phillips said. “I think the skill sets, as far as the speed and whatnot is obviously going to be a plus. The Go-Go consists of a lot of different offenses. … It����ap kind of similar to some of the things we did with the run-and-shoot (when he was a player at Houston in the 1980s). It����ap got a lot of elements of run-and-shoot, air raid, West Coast. It����ap a receiver’s dream, really.”

In addition to catching the ball, receivers in Marion’s offense are required to be skilled at blocking. Last year, Phillips was criticized for saying the Buffs didn’t work on blocking in practice and that it was a task that mainly was about the will to get it done.

Phillips joked Tuesday, “I got crucified the last time I said something about blocking, right? So I won’t make that same mistake.”

He added, however, that this group is doing “an excellent job of blocking.”

“I want to reiterate, it����ap got to be in a guy’s DNA,” he said. “No matter how many drills you do, if it ain’t in his DNA, he ain’t going to want to do it. … But these guys have gravitated to that.

“They’ve done an excellent job of demonstrating physicality.”

Now, the Buffs have to get healthy. But, when they are ready to go, Phillips is eager to see how it looks.

“You’re going to see something totally different than probably what you’ve seen in the past few years,” he said.

Coach Prime announced this past Friday, his first media scrum of the 2026 spring football calendar, that the Buffs are going into his fourth season without a special teams coordinator.

Now this got several corners of the ol’ interwebs worked up into quite a lather. After all, CU has to replace Sanders favorite Alejandro “Auto” Mata at placekicker — and when you’re coming off a 3-9 campaign, you need all the gameday advantages you can muster.

But then the cooler heads at the Grading The Week offices reminded us that the Buffs also had gone into the 2024 season without a dedicated special teams coach — without one who was listed on the CUBuffs.com website, at any rate.

So they’ve been here before. Sort of. Reilly resigned just before the start of the 2024 season and multiple reports popped up not long after confirming that he had sought NIL funding for CU from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Now it is unique — among Big 12 football programs, CU was the only one entering spring ball that didn’t list “special teams” as an assignment for any of its assistant coaches.

According to CU athletics’ website, counting analysts, the Buffs had four offensive line coaches, three defensive line coaches, three linebackers coaches, and two coaches each assigned to wide receivers and running backs, officially.

So maybe we’re just gnashing our teeth over semantics.

Then again, maybe not.

No special teams coordinator at CU? — Incomplete

As precedent goes, Ohio State went without a dedicated special teams coordinator during the 2024 and ’25 seasons.

In January, coach Ryan Day hired former Illinois Robby Discher to oversee Ohio State’s special teams units.

CU listed Michael Pollock as special teams coordinator last season. The Buffs ranked No. 131 out of 136 schools in unadjusted special teams position efficiency in 2025 and checked in at just 104th in 2024. Like a lot of things in CU’s Sanders Era, the results for the Buffs’ special teams the last three years — like the rosters, the coaches and the results — have been all over the map.

JR Payne’s CU extension — A

New CU Buffs athletic director Fernando Lovo may be young, but he’s wise enough to know when to leave something alone. Especially when it’s something good.

Buffs women’s basketball coach JR Payne has had the best hoops team, men or women, in the market since the season tipped off. She’s built up the kind of consistency in her program you can set your Apple Watch to. If the fates (and committees) are kind, she’s about to notch her fourth NCAA Tournament bid over the last five seasons, and has already clinched five 20-win campaigns in a row. The last Buffs coach to reach 20 victories or more in six straight? The legendary Ceal Barry.

This past Wednesday, Lovo announced that CU had extended Payne’s contract through 2031. It’s hard to argue that every nickel wasn’t deserved.

DU’s Carson Johnson dominates — A

Meanwhile, the top men’s college hoopster in the metro just might call DU home. A belated tip of the GTW week cap to who on Tuesday was named both Summit League Player of the Year and Summit League Newcomer of the Year.

Dude’s not just a heck of a player. He’s a heck of a story, too. Johnson grew up in Ankeny, Iowa, the same hometown as Broncos cornerback Riley Moss, and wound up at Minnesota State-Moorhead — a Division II program in the Great White North — as a 6-foot-1 freshman.

Johnson followed Minnesota State-Moorhead coach Tim Bergstraser to DU when the latter took the Pios job, and the young man didn’t miss a beat while stepping up a level. Over his first 31 games, Johnson led DU in scoring (20.2 points per game), assists (94) and 3-point makes (85). As of Friday morning, he was tied for ninth among Division I players in 20-point games this season. As Bergstraster rebuilds DU, Johnson’s already shown the goods to be one of his key pillars. To say nothing of an absolute keeper.

He turned up early for 5:30 a.m. meetings. He drove freshmen quarterbacks to practice. He drew up flash cards for one of the funkiest offenses in college football. He scaled 10-foot fences to open up hot tubs for teammates.

OK, about that last one …

“We’re hanging out at my apartment complex,” rehabbing CU safety Ben Finneseth, who walked into the Champions Center with a heavy knee brace and a heavy heart, recalled Monday. “We’ve got a hot tub there. One of my roommates had the key to the clubhouse, so (we) couldn’t get in. And obviously, my knee was a little stuck.”

No problem. he volunteered to climb a fence, Jason Bourne style, and eventually let Finneseth in from the inside.

“He did it without hesitation,” Finneseth said. “He was always just serving his teammates. And that’s just the kind of person he was.”

CU held a news conference to commemorate the opening of spring ball late Monday morning. It was unlike any news conference the Buffs had held in the Coach Prime Era.

It wasn’t even really a news conference — more a series of personal testimonies on Ponder, the 23-year-old Buffs quarterback who had been killed early Sunday during a single-vehicle crash in Boulder County.

“Especially nowadays, with the transfer portal in college football, you’ve gotta come together. You gotta have a ‘why,'” Finneseth continued. “At the end of the day, it’s just a call sheet for these coordinators. The players are what make it come alive. And you’ve got to have a ‘why’ for your brothers, and for doing it for each other. And so that’s been my biggest focus.”

As word spread, CU’s football players met Sunday night. The news, the scars, were still fresh. Sanders gave them the option of practicing on Monday or taking a day off.

The Buffs practiced.

Not always crisply. Or all that brilliantly. But they practiced.

“And we decided as a team, Dom wouldn’t miss the day,” Finneseth explained later. “He wouldn’t miss the day of workouts. And that’s what he would have wanted for us.

“He would have said, ‘Life’s gotta move on. We’ve got championships to win, and we still have goals, and the clocks are still rolling. The world’s still going to spin. Don’t stop just because I’m done, you know?’

“So, obviously, there (were) a lot of emotions (Sunday) and a lot of guys breaking down and tearing up. But we’ve got to keep working. That was the biggest thing. We’ve gotta be there for each other, gotta keep working. We’ve still got a goal, still got a mission … That’s your ‘why’ now, you know? And we’re gonna be honoring Dom with everything that we do from now on.”

, whose “Go-Go,” high-tempo, option scheme was expected to be the subject of the day, instead talked about Ponder’s impact, fighting back tears valiantly as he went.

“(Other Buffs) saw how hard (he) worked, how hard he wanted it,” Marion said of Ponder, whom he’d only known a few months. “To prove that he could play at the collegiate level and be a college quarterback.

“In an era where you have to force people to work hard, you had to tell Dom to stop working so hard. Just being around a kid like that, his energy was contagious as far as his work ethic.”

Marion admitted that those 5:30 meetings wouldn’t be the same without Ponder already there, ready and waiting to go to work.

“He flash-carded my whole entire playbook that we gave him,” Marion said, marveling at the attention to detail. “I mean, he flash-carded every play.”

Ponder picked up one of CU’s freshman quarterbacks and brought him to practice. The Buffs have a ton of new faces, old and young alike. People knew they could go to Dom for help. Dom would set them straight.

“We have the type of group that adversity won’t break us. It’ll help us break records,” Marion said. “So I know that we’ll find a way to get through it and and and honor Dom in the way that we work every day.”

CU running back DeKalon Taylor had just left church on Sunday when he heard about the crash.

“I (felt) like I got hit by a train, almost,” Taylor said.

Still. They practiced. They even said his name when they broke the huddle on Monday.

DOM!

“It was almost like a boost of energy,” Taylor recounted. “Like he was there with us.”

He always will be. Marion said that the QB room would keep a seat open in Ponder’s name. Team leaders are discussing a more permanent memorial for the upcoming season.

“He always was joking, playing around, and that’s just kind of what we’ve got to do this season, kind of just (be) playing for Dom,” cornerback RJ Johnson said. “Just not taking anything that we go through this year for granted. Because you never know when it’s your last time you can step on the field and put those cleats on.”

Marion had been playing with his son on Sunday when Ponder’s father called to tell him what happened.

“And I just stopped,” the coach said. “I couldn’t move. And my son’s like, ‘Daaaaaaad!’ And I’m like — I was speechless talking to Dom’s dad.”

Eventually, the tears won.

“We’ll just save a spot for him in the room,” Marion said, voice cracking.

The Buffs have their “why.” The next nine months are about building a “how” to sail them the rest of the way, the wind and Dom at their backs.

A few days back, One picked Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell, whom I’m amazed still has his job. Another took Lincoln Riley at USC. A third chose Deion Sanders at CU.

Pressure?

No question. That 3-9 doesn’t go away.

Hot seat?

Not the way Sanders’ contract is structured.

If terminated without cause, Coach Prime is owed 75% of all of his remaining base supplemental salary through 2029. Which means the Buffs would be on the hook for $33 million this year; $25.5 million in 2027; $17.25 million in 2028; and $9 million in 2029.

Boulder’s not a drinking town with a football problem. It’s a drinking town with an accounting problem.

CU has confirmed multiple reports that project its athletics department was, as of December, on a pace to finish the ’25-26 fiscal year with a $27 million deficit.

Sanders landed a $5-million raise a year ago. He’s slated to make about $10 million this season. That five-year, $54-million extension celebrates its first birthday in a few weeks.

Which begs the question: Was it worth it?

, only 13 FBS coaches at public schools were paid more than Sanders last year. Of that club, Brian Kelly was 5-3 when he was fired by LSU midway through the year. Mark Stoops went 5-7 and was fired by Kentucky after the season.

Among the coaches who collected the sport’s top 15 salaries last fall, only Sanders (3-9), Stoops (5-7) and Bill Belichick (4-8) had losing seasons. The latter was in charge of a college program for the first time. It showed.

But outgoing Buffs athletic director Rick George has been at this a long time. He should know better.

Why, 11 months after the fact, does it feel as if George was pretty much bidding against himself last winter when it came to Coach Prime’s services?

The Cowboys? Come on. Yeah, Jerry Jones is wacky enough to try anything once. But Sanders grasps the politics of an NFL locker room and the mindset of NFL veterans better than anybody. His approach wouldn’t land the same with grizzled adults.

ESPN? Maybe. That off-ramp is always there, though. Sanders is ratings gold, a TV master, and he knows it. Disney gave Pat McAfee a five-year, AAV deal of $17 million in 2023. The Mouse will pony up for personalities that bring eyeballs.

Another college, though? Not likely. It’s hard to picture many major collegiate athletic directors giving Coach Prime the power/perks/protection/political capital he covets. CU had an empty throne and a lonely, waiting crown.

Was it worth it?

George and CU didn’t really have a choice, did they? Not when it came to an extension. A hot coach always commands some gesture of good faith, even if it’s symbolic.

After last fall went so badly off the rails, the wiser play for the Buffs surely would’ve been to wait until this year to re-negotiate — to see what a post-Shedeur/post-Hunter roster looked like.

Or perhaps the school could’ve offered a 50% raise for 2025 after 2024’s 9-4 record, instead of basically doubling Sanders’ pay ($5.7 million two seasons ago) right from the get-go. Stagger those incentives.

Hindsight, alas, is for suckers and columnists. The Buffs, who open spring ball Monday, are full-speed ahead at pretending 2025 didn’t happen — so much so, in fact, that nearly half the roster, both coordinators and a chunk of the coaching staff are brand new.

For months, CU faithful wanted changes. Wise-cracking scribes wanted changes. Sanders listened. Or someone told him to listen.

Coach Prime replaced offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur with Brennan Marion — a move widely considered an upgrade, if simply for the fact that Marion isn’t Pencil Pat.

The more surprising turns came a few days ago. This past Tuesday, The Post’s Luca Evans, among others, reported that CU’s wonderboy defensive coordinator, Robert Livingston, was leaving the Buffs to join the Broncos as defensive passing game coordinator — largely the same position he’d held with the Bengals before coming to Boulder.

The plot thickened later in the week when CU confirmed reports that longtime Sanders friend and confidante Warren Sapp, who was elevated to defensive pass rush coordinator in ’25, had resigned from the program.

Sanders is on his third defensive coordinator and third offensive play-caller since March 2023. Ordinarily, $10 million is the kind of money a university typically pays for Saban-like stability — not volatility.

CU just doesn’t have the money to buy out big mistakes. Or even little ones, frankly.

Was it worth it?

The Buffs remain a mandatory selection for TV executives, almost entirely because of Sanders. Although from mid-November 2024 to mid-November 2025, reported broadcast ratings for Buffs games had dipped 44%. Irrelevant football is irrelevant football, no matter who’s coaching it.

Enrollment of black students at CU-Boulder in fall 2025 was up 13.8% over fall 2024. Undergraduate enrollment and out-of-state undergraduate enrollment jumped in ’23-24. These are all good things. Football is a school’s best marketing front porch.

The Buffs reported $31.216 million in 2023 football ticket revenue to the NCAA; CU’s 2024-25 report, released last month, said football ticket sales brought in $24.026 million during the 2024 campaign.

The website Oddspedia.com recently . Assuming that’s reasonably in the ballpark, it would mean CU athletics lost $1.6 million off ticket sales during its final two home games of last season when compared to its last two home contests in 2024.

Meanwhile, the Buffs listed a departmental profit of $8.24 million in ’23-24. And all of that was before the House vs. NCAA ruling went into effect — which will account for an additional $20.5 million in expenses for student-athlete revenue sharing in ’25-26.

Was it worth it?

Ask us at Halloween. What limited history we have to go on says the Buffs, and Sanders, will be better this fall. For sanity’s sake, they’d better be.

Yet Johnson went toe-to-toe with arguably the top freshman in the nation during Colorado’s narrow 90-86 overtime loss at BYU last week, scripting another chapter in what is becoming one of the greatest rookie seasons in program history.

“Isaiah Johnson’s the best freshman in the country that nobody talks about,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said following Saturday’s near-upset of BYU. “Part of that is because we’re not winning. We’re struggling in Big 12 play. But, Isaiah Johnson is as good … he’s legit, and I believe he’ll be an NBA player someday. He’s got a ways to go. He’s obviously undersized, but he’s got the heart of a lion. He can finish with contact. He missed some shots (at BYU) that he normally makes, but I’ll go to war with him.

“I told them in the locker room, I’ll go to war with you guys when you perform like you did (at BYU) in terms of your effort, your togetherness, your energy. It����ap hard for me to go to war with the team that showed up at (Texas Tech). But Isaiah Johnson is legit.”

The 6-foot-9 Dybantsa is projected as one of the top picks in this summer’s NBA Draft, but he went 6-for-20 with a season-high seven turnovers against the Buffs. He still managed to approach triple-double territory, though, finishing with 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Yet Johnson was equally impactful once again for CU, scoring 16 of his 27 points after halftime as the Buffs kept pace with the then-No. 22 Cougars until the final moments. The 6-foot-1 Johnson did miss some open looks and finished just 4-for-12 on 3-pointers, but his fearless drives to the rim ended with a season-high 27 points.

“He’s a peer of mine, so just being able to go out there and compete with another high-level freshman is always good,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s scoring average of 16.5 has him on track to be the fifth-best scoring average for any CU player in 16 seasons under Boyle, and Johnson is set to top McKinley Wright IV’s 2017-18 mark of 14.2 as the top-scoring true freshman under Boyle. Johnson’s 430 total points is the fifth-most by a true freshman in team history. Next on that list is Wright����ap 2017-18 total of 454, and with a minimum of six games remaining Johnson has a chance to break the CU freshman scoring record of 512 points by Alec Burks in 2009-10.

Despite the lofty numbers, Johnson still might be challenged to land a spot on the Big 12’s five-player All-Freshman team. Through Monday, Johnson ranked fourth among Big 12 freshmen in scoring, behind Dybantsa (24.0), Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou (18.4) and Houston’s Kingston Flemings (16.6). The Big 12 features a number of other highly-productive freshmen like Darryn Peterson of Kansas and the Arizona duo of Brayden Burries and Koa Peat.

“I’m not taking anything away from all the good freshmen in the country. Because there’s a lot of good ones, there’s no doubt about it,” Boyle said. “And (Johnson’s) not a one-and-done guy. We know that. He knows that. But he’s going to be a hell of a player, not only at Colorado but in the Big 12 in the years to come. And the rest of the season. He’s the real deal.”

The not-so-bright ones are the wingtips who gave it to him. With money they didn’t have. And, again, money they might never, ever see.

“I don’t know anyone who’s just kind of ho-hum (on Coach Prime),” former Buffs quarterback Charles Johnson told me Friday. “People will respond (in a) ‘ho-hum’ way, but within two minutes of conversation, I know exactly where they’re coming from. Again, that’s the nature of who Deion is.

“There are no fence-sitters when it comes to Deion, frankly. And I happen to be a huge (Sanders) fan, a big advocate. And I have some of my best friends, some of my dear friends, who are not. It doesn’t cause a divide. This is clearly one of those situations where we can agree to disagree.”

The “situation” landed a few days ago, when one of Johnson’s friends, ex-Buffs great Christian Fauria,

“I’m just not a fan of the coach (at CU). I’m not. I’ll never be a fan of the coach … I love the school, and this isn’t me picking on Deion Sanders, because I picked on Joe Gibbs. The worst coach I ever had was Joe Gibbs. So me picking on Deion Sanders is nothing. I just don’t like the way he coaches football. I don’t think he’s very bright. I don’t think he can manage a game. I think there’s a lot of flash but there’s no substance. And he’s got a lot of people brainwashed.

“And we’ll see what he can do. But I’m just not a fan of him. Not a fan of his coaching style. Not a fan of his messaging. There’s a lot of things internally that I know about that I’m not a fan of. And it����ap just not worth my energy to sit there and follow it and go back and forth with the emperor-has-no-clothes crowd that support him, regardless of how stupid he is sometimes. So, yeah, that����ap the way I feel about it. And it bugs me that a lot of alumni just don’t speak up about it. They don’t say anything. But I will.”

Fauria went too far — and far too low — in attacking Sanders’ intelligence. The former starred for the Buffs from 1990-94 before a 13-year NFL career that included two Super Bowl victories as a member of the Patriots. Christian’s son Caleb was a tight end at CU from 2020-2023, a member of Coach Prime’s first Buffs team.

The younger Fauria left, eventually transferring to Delaware. To the uninitiated, those comments came off like a football father airing out old grievances.

“My son has absolutely nothing to do with it,” Fauria told me. “Everyone wants to kind of make that be the reason I’m critical, almost to rationalize it for themselves. ‘There’s no way he can say this on his own.'”

He did. And he meant it. But Fauria also said Friday that the “bright” part was taken out of context.

“I did not mean to imply Deion Sanders lacks intelligence overall,” Fauria wrote in an email. “As a marketer and self-promoter, he is a genius. He built an empire around his name and created a real revenue stream that benefits his entire family, especially his kids. That’s extraordinary and worth admiring.

“If you evaluate him strictly as a football coach, the guy who’s paid to be an expert in the game itself … you know, all those details that win or lose games on Saturdays … I’ll be polite and non-confrontational: I’d call that part of his profile a developmental need.”

The Buffs are 16-21 under Sanders, bouncing from four wins to nine to three. They’re also 1-4 over their last five games decided by seven points or fewer.

Coach Prime either blows up (2024) or blows it up (2023, 2025), and ne’er the twain. Sanders’ second year was the best by any CU coach since Rick Neuheisel’s 10 wins in 1996. After three seasons, his career record in Boulder looks eerily similar to Dan Hawkins’ 13-24 from 2006-2008.

Brennan Marion is Sanders’ third different offensive play-caller since February 2023. Robert Livingston is his second defensive coordinator in three years. Game management, especially when it’s late and close, is one narrative that refuses to go away.

A roster built largely through the transfer portal has made every Sanders CU team a spin of the roulette wheel. You’re never quite sure what you’re going to get — week to week, year to year. Some guys take off. Others check out.

So, yeah, Fauria’s fellow Buff football alums say his critiques of Sanders’ coaching are absolutely valid — especially after last season. And more than a few CU icons still shake their heads when they see Shedeur Sanders’ retired number (2) next to Rashaan Salaam’s and Byron White’s. They just could’ve done without the dad stuff.

“I love Christian; he’s always been a good man, a stand-up, character guy,” ex-CU tailback J.J. Flannigan told me by phone. “I do want to make sure I say that … he’s always showed me respect when he sees me, he makes sure to reach out, give me a hug. I have mad respect for Christian. I just think that comment (on intelligence) right there shouldn’t have been made. It sounds personal. As we say in sports, some things need to stay in the locker room.”

Fauria, 54, recently transitioned from the locker room to the classroom — he’s served as a “professional-in-residence” at Bryant University, a private school in Rhode Island, since the spring of 2025. Earlier this month, he took 10 students to the Super Bowl’s radio row at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Needless to say, the man’s social media accounts have been an interesting place over the last 72 hours.

“Oh my God, dude. Blowing up,” Fauria told me. “I’ve been screen-shotting them. I’m going to use them in my class.”

He also says his comments came from a place of love. Not for Sanders, necessarily. But for the university itself. For the Buffs beast he was a part of building.

“As a proud CU alum who just wants the Buffs to win big and stay relevant for the right reasons, I hope (Sanders) proves me dead wrong!” Fauria said via email. “I hope he shuts everybody up, builds something unstoppable in Boulder, and rubs it in my face. If he does, I’ll be the first one out front saying, ‘Job well done, Coach,’ and give him (credit). Until then, though … for the love of Bill McCartney… learn the (expletive) fight song!”

Bring that smoke.

“I think (what) ties into the comment that Christian made, there’s a bit of a cultural gap there,” Johnson said. “When there’s an individual who creates so much just guttural discomfort, because it’s so different, people repel against that. Coach Prime does that in spades. I think he thrives in creating discomfort.

“And some may say that discomfort is the first step toward progress. I’ve talked to (people), not about Christian’s comments, but about Coach Prime. As you can imagine, everyone has an opinion and a thought. And they’re all over the damn board.”

We won’t lie: Your friendly neighborhood Grading The Week crew had our collective hearts in our throats during the first half of Nuggets-Clippers at Ball Arena late Friday night.

Would Nikola Jokic’s knee hold up? Did the three-time NBA MVP, the Front Range’s passing prodigy, our hoops hypnotist, still have the goods after a month off the floor?

By the fourth quarter, there wasn’t any doubt.

Floater? Still there.

Sombor Shuffle? Still sweet.

3-pointers from the top of the arc? Swish.

Behind-the-back-dribble to set up a floater in the lane? Money.

No-look passes to cutting teammates? Ask Peyton Watson, whose two-handed slam off a Joker dime with 4:05 left put the hosts up 113-97.

“I was not scared of it,” Jokic told reporters when asked about the left knee he’d hyperextended in Miami on Dec. 29. “I was not scared to use it or thinking about it when I was running or playing. So, I think that����ap a good sign that I’m ready.”

There were others, too. The 31 points. The 12 rebounds. The five assists. The three steals. The eight makes on 11 tries from the floor. All in a span of just 25 minutes. The Big Honey averages about 35 minutes per game. Which means if Jokic wasn’t on a “pitch count,” he was a pace for 43 points, 16 boards and seven assists. All after a month on the shelf.

Nikola Jokic’s return — A

Even the timing was classic Joker. The Nuggets won, 122-109. At one point, the Clippers clawed back, trimming Denver’s cushion to 100-95. Jokic then went on a 1-man, 8-2 scoring run, and his teardrop with 5:22 left put the Nuggets up 108-97.

The pick-and-roll was back, and Murray and the Joker had locked things down to the point where coach David Adelman emptied the bench for the final two minutes.

No, the Clippers aren’t the Thunder. They’re not exactly the Kings or Pelicans, either. The Clip Show hit the floor having won nine of its last 10 games. L.A. had scored fewer than 110 points during that stretch against one other team — Detroit (in a 98-92 win), because nobody really does that to the Pistons, either.

“I really think the One from upstairs protected me,” Jokic told reporters after the game. “And He knows that I did everything how it����ap supposed to be, and I was hoping He would protect me.”

If the Man upstairs takes requests, we’d love a little Light to shine on Aaron Gordon’s right hamstring and Christian Braun’s left ankle going forward. But with Joker rolling like he never left, any Miracles between now and Valentine’s Day would feel like we’re playing with Holy House Money.

Shedeur Sanders to the Pro Bowl — C

Team GTW would suggest reading the Pro Bowl its last rites after the whole Shedeur Sanders kerfuffle this week, but that ship sailed long ago. If a game we — and, frankly, most of the American viewing public — stopped caring about years ago wants to simply play for clicks from here on out, who are we to stop them?

The Pro Bowl itself — F

But if you’re going to go full popularity-contest-mode, Commissioner Goodell, can we make one suggestion? Don’t toe-dip into the idea of turning the Pro Bowl into sort of an MTV Rock N’ Jock clone. Steal that format outright. Have the NFL legends who’re coaching their respective teams draft random celebrities to play in the game. Have Shedeur throwing it to Timothee Chalamet on a seam route, for all we care. Just don’t prop it up as the best of the best anymore. Because that’s gone now. Just like those TV eyeballs.