Colorado head football coach, Deion Sanders, comes on to the field field before the CU Spring football game on April 27, 2024.(Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)
After nearly a year and a half in Colorado, Deion Sanders has yet to visit the hot springs in Glenwood Springs, and it’s certainly on his list.
“I would love to be a little more adventurous and go see other things,” he said Saturday after his Colorado Buffaloes completed its annual Black & Gold game. “Like, I want to go to the hot springs things. Is the water really hot? Because I don’t want to get there and the water’s cold and now I’m mad.”
Yes, the water is actually hot, and if Sanders does visit, it’ll cross an item off from the bucket list. It’s a list that includes owning his own line of jet skis, he said, and possibly fly fishing.
“I don’t really fly fish but I’ve been known to be fly when I fish,” the Buffaloes’ head coach said in only the way he can. “I want to do that.”
Certainly none of those things require long-term residency in the Centennial State, but they were all part of an answer to a question about what he tells parents and players who question whether he’ll be at CU for a while.
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Entering the second year of a five-year contract, Sanders is also coming into the last year that he can coach his sons, quarterback Shedeur and safety Shilo, who are both seniors. Both will be pursuing NFL opportunities next year, which Shedeur projected as the potential No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, Coach Prime, as he’s done several times in interviews, continues to give hope that he won’t be bolting Boulder along with them.
“I tell (parents and recruits) the truth,” he said. “I tell them I’m a father, not a baby daddy. I don’t follow my kids. I pave roads for my kids. I build generational wealth for my kids. I lead my kids. I don’t follow my kids. So I do not plan on following my kids to the NFL, but I’m thankful. I’m glad that you already pretty much put them in the NFL. That means you believe in them wholeheartedly, but I’m not that kind of father. I have work to do here. I absolutely love it here.”
Coach Prime has already enjoyed a lot that Colorado has to offer, but insists his true goal is to make sure the Buffaloes, who went 4-8 last year, win.
“I love everything about this part of the country and the fan base that we have here,” he said. “I just want to really bless you with a tremendously successful team. I really do. That’s my heart.”
To do that, Coach Prime continues to build the roster through the transfer portal, as well as the high school ranks. The Buffs picked up several commitments last weekend and still have 10 open scholarship spots.
“I tell them everything they get they’re gonna have to earn,” he said. “I don’t promise you a number. I’m not promising you a position. I’m not promising you to start. If you want to, come and get it. We don’t sugarcoat anything. We’re not gonna baby you, we’re not gonna hold your head.
“You have 127 years of NFL experience up under this roof (on the staff). It’s on you. We are a tremendous navigational system to the game that you want to play. We know what we’re doing. We know how to get there because we’ve been there, especially as a collective group.”