Deion Sanders Wants To Play Bill Belichick, North Carolina In NFL-Style Spring Game

During Monday's presser, the Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders revealed his idea of an NFL-style format to preserve spring football in Boulder. Rather than the usual intrasquad exhibition, the plan would allow programs to practice and scrimmage against each other in the spring, something not allowed under current NCAA regulations.

"I would like to style it like the pros," Sanders said. "I'd like to go against someone [in practice] for a few days, and then you have the spring game. I think the public would be satisfied with that tremendously ... I've told those personnel, who should understand that, that it's a tremendous idea."

During summer months, NFL teams will often put on joint practices with each other, leading up to an exhibition game between the two sides. Would other schools be interested in this idea? According to Carl Reed Jr., "Coach Prime" is interested in teaming up with North Carolina Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick for the scrimmage.

Deion Sanders Spring Game — Apr 27, 2024; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during a spring game event at Folsom Field. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

At the college level, especially in recent years, the prospects of spring football entirely are looking bleak.

The Texas Longhorns, USC Trojans, Ohio State Buckeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers are among power programs that have canceled spring games for this season. The chaotic mid-April transfer portal window often engulfs these schools with roster moves and NIL concerns.

Before his plea, Sanders revealed that Colorado's spring game on April 19 at Folsom Field will have a national broadcast at 2:30 p.m. MT on ESPN2.

"We've 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," Sanders said. "I don't believe in that, and I don't really want to condone that. ... To have it competitive, and to play against your own guys, it can kind of get monotonous, and you really can't tell the level of your guys, because it's the same old same old, everybody kind of knows each other."

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Coach Prime's idea set off a firestorm of social media buzz, with coach Fran Brown and the Syracuse Orange being the first notable school to take Sanders up on his offer.

.@DeionSanders we will come to Boulder for 3 days 🎯🍊🙏🏾 https://t.co/RFkyveLPv1
— Fran Brown (@FranBrownCuse) March 17, 2025

The Buffaloes and Orange have had a unique connection since Sanders's hiring. Brown has been a longtime supporter of Sanders's work, remarking in his weekly coaches show in November that the pair became acquaintances nearly a decade ago.

Defensive ends coach Nick Williams also departed for Syracuse from Colorado after the 2023 season, as well as left tackle Savion Washington via the portal.

Newly hired Prairie View A&M Panthers coach Tremaine Jackson also expressed interest in this groundbreaking spring format, posting on social media in response to Sanders' idea. Jackson also coached the Colorado Mesa Mavericks from 2020-21.

Perhaps the most ambitious potential opponent came from Sanders himself, who reportedly told Klutch Sports agent and personal confidant Carl Reed Jr. he wanted Colorado to face coach Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels in a spring game. A meeting between two NFL icons in the midst of revitalizing collegiate programs would stir massive national intrigue if it were to materialize.

I just talked to @DeionSanders , and he has thought this spring game idea through thoroughly.

He would like to play a spring game against @Belichick_B and @UNCFootball

“Everything should follow a professional structure, as this is what the pros do. I’m trying to help salvage… pic.twitter.com/iTAO4mU5J0
— Carl Reed Jr. (@CoachReedLive) March 17, 2025

Sanders has made clear a desire to incorporate the next level in every aspect of the Colorado program. Whether or not the NCAA bends its rules to allow the Buffs to face another team this spring, Sanders's proposition turned heads and signified college football's cultural shift in development for the pros.