Buffs Beat

Colorado Buffaloes Recruiting: Deion Sanders Lands Commitment From Multi-Talented Georgia Athlete

Class of 2025 athlete Kyle Carpenter announced his commitment to coach Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes football team on Saturday evening. The Georgia prospect played at Buford High School, which produced current Buffs Mantrez Walker and Alejandro Mata.
Jack Carlough|
Nov 23, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up prior to the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Colorado Buffaloes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images
Nov 23, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders watches his players warm up prior to the game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Colorado Buffaloes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images | Nick Tre. Smith-Imagn Images

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Colorado Buffaloes

A potential two-way, two-sport athlete is joining the Colorado Buffaloes.

On Saturday evening, class of 2025 athlete Kyle Carpenter announced his commitment to coach Deion Sanders' program with just over two months until the regular season kicks off. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound recruit played cornerback and wide receiver at Buford High School in Georgia and was also a standout basketball player, scoring 17 points in a state playoff game last season.

Carpenter will likely first have to establish himself on the gridiron, but one day walking on to coach Tad Boyle's Colorado men's basketball program could be an intriguing possibility. Not too long ago, quarterback Drew Carter briefly played both sports at CU before transferring to UC Davis and later Oregon.

Dec 8, 2022; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders enters the Coors Events Center before the st
Dec 8, 2022; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders enters the Coors Events Center before the start of the second half against the Colorado State Rams. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

"If the coaches allow me to play both sports, I would love to," Carpenter told Athlon Sports.

At Buford, Carpenter was teammates with four-star linebacker and recent class of 2025 Colorado signee Mantrez Walker, who totaled 60 tackles and three TFLs last season. Carpenter closed the year with nine catches for 142 yards and one touchdown for the 12-2 Wolves. Buford reached the GHSA 6A state semifinals before falling to Carrollton High School, led by CU freshman quarterback Julian "JuJu" Lewis.

Carpenter becomes the third Buford product on Colorado's roster, joining Walker and placekicker Alejandro Mata. The Buffs' facilities, coaching staff and culture also played a big factor in his commitment.

"The facility was like no other," Carpenter told Athlon. "The coaching staff with 'Coach Prime' is the greatest to ever do it. Everybody in Boulder just feels like family as soon as I came in."

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Carpenter announced his commitment to Los Angeles Valley College in February but has now shifted gears to join the Buffs. While his commitment post didn't clarify, Carpenter is likely coming to Colorado as a preferred walk-on. It's also unclear whether he'll play both cornerback and wide receiver at the college level.

Highlighted by Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, "Coach Prime" allowed a few Buffs to play both ways last season, including cornerback/wide receiver Isaiah Hardge and lineman Tyler Brown. Hardge is now focusing solely on the offensive side of the ball, however.

“A lot of coaches lie, and they tell them (recruits), 'I’m gonna give you the opportunity to play on both sides of the ball,' and we never see it,” Sanders said following Colorado's win over Utah last season. “First of all, I don’t lie. Second of all, I did it, so I know it’s doable. I know it can be allowed if a young man has that type of talent. Now, some of these guys, you were like that in high school, but you ain’t like that in college. You really need to focus on one thing, but we’re fortunate to have three guys."

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Jack Carlough
JACK CARLOUGH

Jack Carlough is lead reporter for Colorado Buffaloes on SI. Jack graduated from the University of Colorado with a bachelor's degree in journalism and minors in business and sports media. Born and raised in the Boulder area, Jack began covering Colorado athletics in 2018 and was the head sports editor of the CU Independent during his college career. More recently, he spent over three years as the managing editor of the USA Today Sports Network's Colorado Buffaloes Wire, where he covered Colorado's hiring of head football coach Deion Sanders. Other publications Jack has written for include the Boulder Daily Camera, Left Hand Valley Courier and SB Nation’s Ralphie Report. In 2022, the Colorado Press Association awarded Jack second place in its annual Class 5 Best Sports Column Writing category.

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