Urban Meyer reacts to Deion Sanders' proposal to play another team in spring: 'Typical Deion'

Deion Sanders threw out the challenge for a team to come to Boulder and face Colorado in a spring game showdown earlier this offseason. Fran Brown and Syracuse answered the bell, but the NCAA decided to put the kibosh on the idea.

The FBS Oversight Committee would not recommend a waiver to allow the game to take place. It argued other programs are too far into spring practice to schedule such a game, as well as academic concerns and potential recruiting advantages that wouldn’t be available to other programs.

While the news was certainly disappointing, the idea impressed legendary college football coach Urban Meyer. He believes Sanders’ brainchild was a tremendous idea, and he’d like to learn more about how it could potentially take place in the future.

“Typical Deion. I mean, it makes you sit back and say, ‘What?’ and then you’re like, ‘Man, what a hell of an idea.’ … I think it’s a great idea,” Meyer stated, regarding Sanders’ proposal via The Triple Option. “I’d have to see it. I’d have to learn more about it.”

That’s high praise from Meyer for Sanders. Even if it won’t come to fruition this season, perhaps it’s something Colorado and Syracuse can work toward for 2026. The possibility got fans of both programs excited, and it’s something the NCAA should explore with some more time to iron out all the details.

More on Deion Sanders, proposed spring game between Colorado, Syracuse

Moreover, Deion Sanders was the one to get the ball rolling on the matter back on March 17, before Colorado’s spring practice began. He believes spring games should still occur, as programs across the country decide to cancel them. Sanders threw out going head-to-head against somebody else instead of an intrasquad scrimmage.

“The Spring Game will be televised on ESPN2 … on the 19th,” Sanders said. “We got to sell this thing out and pack this thing because the way the trend is going, you never know if this is going to be the last spring game. I don’t believe in that. I don’t really want to condone that. I would like to play in the spring. Actually, I (would) like to play against another team in the spring. That’s what I’m trying to do right now. 

“To have a competitive (game) against your own guys kind of gets monotonous. You really can’t tell the level of your guys because, you know, it’s the same old, same way. Everybody kind of know each other. Towards the end, I would like to style it like the pros. I would like to practice against someone for a few days, then you have the spring game and I think the public will be satisfied with that tremendously. I think it’s a tremendous idea. I’ve told those personnel who should understand that it’s a tremendous idea.”

Word of Sanders’ proposal got around on social media. Brown was the first power conference head coach to speak up, taking to X to basically accept an invitation to Boulder. He claimed Syracuse was willing to travel out West for the event.

“[Deion Sanders] we will come to Boulder for 3 days,” Brown wrote on Twitter. Within 20 minutes of his posting, Brown’s tweet had racked up more than 400 retweets and 2,000 likes. But the idea will have to be tabled for the time-being. We’ll see if they revisit the possibility next year.

— On3’s Griffin McVeigh and Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this report