Mark Ingram: Year 3 in Colorado 'a credibility year' for Deion Sanders' coaching reputation

It’ll be a rebuilding year of sorts for Deion Sanders and Colorado. Gone are Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and star quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

But that provides some opportunity for the Buffaloes, said former Alabama running back Mark Ingram, speaking on The Triple Option podcast recently. The former Heisman Trophy winner explained.

“This is a credibility year for Deion’s coaching,” Ingram said. “You lose Travis, you lose Shedeur and now it ain’t about flashing it. It’s about coaching, it’s about leadership, it’s about teaching, it’s about adjusting.”

Colorado has plenty of questions to answer, but the primary one will be quarterback. Can Deion Sanders find another elite guy to play there?

Perhaps more importantly, though, will development of other positions lead to an increase in productivity across the board? That could be more beneficial than anything else.

“Like I said, they have those coaches,” Ingram said. “And I’ve got faith in them but, you know what I mean, it’s not about Instagram clips, it’s not about celebrity power. It’s about can you get this team looking like a football team?

“That’s going to be through coaching. It’s not going to be through star power. It’s going to be through building your roster, building the chemistry. And I have faith in Deion, I have faith in this coaching staff he’s assembled. I think they’re going to do it, man. So I’m looking forward to watching them.”

To date, Deion Sanders has done a wonderful job. He inherited a downright terrible program and nearly turned it into a Big 12 title contender in two years.

And one of Ingram’s co-hosts on the podcast, former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, also sees some signs that Colorado’s rise recently could have staying power. Meyer broke down his observations of the program after spending some time with a front row seat.

“I want to add one last thing, Mark, because I got to go backstage of the whole scene and so did you,” Meyer said. “You met with the players. But I went and watched them practice. And as uncomfortable as I am sometimes when I see the watches and I see the cars and all the flash — that’s just not me — but when I saw what went on behind the scenes, I agree with you. There’s a culture there.”

That culture starts with Deion Sanders. Whatever you see on TV, Sanders backs it up behind the scenes.

“He is tough on them, man,” Meyer said. “He is demanding of that team, and that’s what blew my mind. I remember calling you guys. I said, ‘Guys, this is not a 1-10 program.’ … They had good-looking players, they had fast receivers and their coaching staff worked really hard.

“One of the ways I always evaluate a team and their staff: There’s no wasted time. They went out to work and they left. And in between those two hours it was go time. I’ve left other practices like, ‘This is awful. Let’s go, let’s go.'”

As Ingram said, 2025 will be a credibility year for Deion Sanders. The jury is still out and there’s a lot to prove. That’s where the real winners typically thrive. So we’ll wait and see.