Robert Livingston describes the feeling around Colorado practice with Deion Sanders back

Colorado defensive coordinator Robert Livingston was ecstatic to see Deion Sanders back at practice this week. The Buffaloes head coach revealed to media that he had successful surgery after finding out that he had bladder cancer.

It was the first time Sanders had mentioned the cancer publicly, and he told reporters that removing the bladder had cured him of the cancer. Now he can focus on leading Colorado into the 2025 season.

Obviously the main concern of the coaching staff while he was away was about Sanders’ health, but when he came back, it wasn’t even the first thing on his mind. Livingston relayed a story from the first conversation he had with Coach Prime upon his return, saying that he was surprised to hear him ask how he was doing before anything else.

“Who he is as a person, we talked about that,” the DC said. “I haven’t seen him in a long time. Friday, we have a staff meeting and we’re kind of talking one-on-one. We’re having a conversation and the first thing he asks about is my family. We talked about Luke played baseball, my son. Prime’s talking about his stance and all these things and he wants to know how that’s going.

“It’s just a testament to who he is. Obviously, his leadership is one-of-one. He’s the pied piper. The world would follow him if they just listen to him. We’re blessed.”

Sanders will have some different personal things he has to deal with after the surgery. But for the most part, he’s just happy to be back with the team. Livingston and the rest of the staff are also glad that it wasn’t a more dire issue than what it seemed like at the time.

“We’re talking about a life here,” he said. “So this football stuff, it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. But it’s a testament to who he was. He keeps a tight inner circle. He was away and we were working, just knowing that when he comes back he’s going to hit the ground running.”

Colorado is coming off of a 9-4 finish this past season in just the second year under Sanders. However, the Buffaloes have a lot of star power to replace with Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter gone. Despite this, Sanders believes CU has a better overall team and will look to put this battle behind him.