Coach Prime gives the State of the Buffs at Signing Day press conference

Feb 2, 2023 - 12:30 PM

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There was a lot of build up coming into Signing Day for the Buffaloes. For the first time in program history a Colorado coach has been the national topic of discussion since he was hired two months ago.

Deion Sanders addressed the media on Wednesday afternoon and gave his thoughts on the Colorado Buffaloes’ 2023 football class which includes top transfers and No. 2 overall recruit Cormani McClain. The Lakeland, Fla. native will be paired in the secondary with Travis Hunter, who transferred from Jackson State as the top overall recruit in the 2022 class.

“You need elite corners and elite pass rushers from anywhere. A lot of coaches build ‘inside-out’ [Starting with defensive linemen and moving to the secondary]. I build both ways,” Sanders noted. “I build ‘outside-in’ [Starting with the secondary and then down to defensive linemen] when thinking defensively.”

The addition of McClain and Hunter, along with Arkansas safety Myles Slusher and Ole Miss cornerback Kyndrich Breedlove breathes life into a secondary that was the worst in the Pac-12 last year. They’re held up by a plethora of talent on the Buffs’ defensive front with West Virginia’s Taijh Alston, Clemson’s Vonta Bentley, Arkansas’ Jordan Domineck, Michigan’s Taylor Upshaw and Alabama’s Demouy Kennedy.

The class has the most five-and-four-star players in CU football history with fourteen. Not to mention, it’s the best class since the modern-day ratings system was established in 2000, a remarkable accomplishment for Coach Prime with only being on the ground at CU for a short nine months. It speaks to his ability to pull in talent and have a staff around him who’s on the same page at all times.

“I don’t talk about any other school, I don’t have time for that because I’m so engulfed in what we do,” Sanders said about recruting against other schools.

“But when you make those comments, who else has the possibility? And the city sells itself. We don’t have to sell it. You look at the darn winters and see those mountains, it’s a wrap. I mean, it’s over. The city is beautiful, virtually crime free, everybody has been pleasant, everybody has been wonderful, everybody has been energetic and ecstatic about the potential of what we’re putting together. You see it. You see we comin.’ We can’t wait and we’re anticipating, but you know what we’re putting together, we’re comin.’”

Colorado’s overall class rank is at No. 21 nationally, according to 247 Sports.

That ranking jumped as of late due to Prime getting McClain to flip from Miami, and the addition of former Notre Dame commit Dylan Edwards. Sanders has a special connection with the Kansas running back, having known him and his family since the age of nine. The four-star rusher is a Top 200 recruit and brings depth to a depleted CU backfield.

“Our coaches are up there preparing practice scripts and game plans because they’re comin.’ We’re recruiting our butts off,” Sanders said. “We’re not recruiting just no ordinary Tom, Dick and Harry. We recruit some guys that can light up the scoreboard and prevent touchdowns from occurring. We’re comin’ and we’re serious about that.”

We can’t talk about the offense without mentioning Sanders’ son, Shedeur, who comes into Boulder on the heels of back-to-back 30-touchdown seasons as quarterback at Jackson State. Fox Sports’ too early 2023 Heisman candidate has the ability to be a game changer for the Buffaloes and is bound to make an immediate impact in a heavy-stacked offering of QBs in the Pac-12 conference.

Shedeur is not only bringing his Louis luggage, but a good amount of weapons to set up CU’s offense in the right direction. He’ll be throwing to a corp of top-tier receivers including Adam Hopkins, Omarion Miller, and Jimmy Horn Jr as part of the incoming class, with emerging stars like Montana Lemonious-Craig and Jordyn Tyson. Oh, and Hunter and McClain both have respective backgrounds as two-way studs and could be used at wideout in certain situations. Good luck to the rest of the Pac-12 trying to keep up with the world-class speed from either one.

Make no mistake, Colorado’s secondary right now is has the most talent it has had in a long, long time. At no time prior have two of the highest-rated cornerbacks been teammates, especially pure athletes like Hunter and McClain. Next year is going to be exciting to watch. Coach Prime gives the Buffs a new life at the right time.