Bruce Feldman weighs expectations for Deion Sanders, Colorado in Year 1
Deion Sanders overhauled the entire Colorado roster ahead of Year 1 in Boulder. So what are exactly the expectations for the Buffaloes this fall?
Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman isn’t expecting national titles to suddenly roll into the state of Colorado, but Sanders’ transformation of the program was already felt. Now, can it translate onto the field?
It’ll be a matter of what actually defines a successful season for Sanders and Colorado.
“Remember he beat everybody in the country, including his alma mater Florida State to get Travis Hunter, the No. 1 recruit in the entire country to get him to go to Jackson State and he followed him now to Boulder as well as a bunch of other guys,” Feldman said on The Herd. “Like there are good receivers that he has brought into this, some pretty good defensive backs. I think the thing to keep in mind was Colorado was awful last year. They were by far the worst Power Five program, they won one game, so they’re going to be a lot better.”
Sanders and Colorado won’t win just one game, barring something unforeseen. But that was the mark left by last year’s squad.
So what is successful in the minds of Sanders and Colorado? A bowl game?
“The question is 4-8, you know, that’s marked improvement, but considering the hype around the program (is that good enough),” Feldman said. “He has got everybody’s attention. The transfer portal is the thing that has given him the flexibility to completely overhaul the roster, which needed a lot of overhaul.
“What I wonder about though, is both offense and defensive lines, a lot of those bodies were not even in there because a lot of this overhaul on the roster is happening after spring football. So now all these things that go to really the continuity of especially with an offensive line, it’s going to be all on the fly adjusting, right?”
The transformation of the roster at Colorado was done by Sanders’ work in the transfer portal. Now you add recruiting to the mix? The program could improve at a rapid pace.
“He’s going to get the eyes and ears of a lot of big time recruits. Hey, I want to check out what Deions’s doing because he is way more charismatic than any football coach in the country,” Feldman said. “It’s not even close. So they’re gonna visit, they’re gonna get on zooms and hey, it’s Deion. I want to see what he’s about. And I think he will get more talent in there. I think the first year, if they win five games, if they can somehow get to a bowl game that would be huge.
“But even if they get to four or five, and don’t get embarrassed in some of these games early when people are watching, against TCU, against Nebraska, I think that they’ll get momentum because after those games, they have USC and Oregon and it could get rough.”
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A competitive product is what most fans expect out of Sanders and Colorado.
“I think if you can just sustain it and show ‘Hey, we have a chance to be competitive and give some of the other pieces time to gel,’ they’re going to be there,” Feldman said, “It’s going to be an interesting subplot in the Pac 12.”