Deion Sanders Admits Previous Mistake at Colorado

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders is looking to lead the Buffs back to a bowl game and beyond in 2026. Colorado has had their ups and downs in the “Coach Prime” era.

What does this upcoming season have in store?

Deion Sanders Makes Big Transfer Portal Moves

Colorado Buffaloes Deion Sanders Coach Prime Transfer Portal DeAndre Moore Jr. Omarion Miller Jordan Seaton Big 12 Boulder — Nov 29, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders looks on during the second quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Sanders spoke to reporters about the 2026 team and was asked if it was more challenging putting the roster together than he thought going in.

“I am not going to say that,” Sanders said. “We made some tremendous mistakes at certain positions that derailed us a year ago. The first couple of years, we had stability at those positions that highlighted us. So, we learned quite a bit of not just talent but understanding mentality. And mentality is something that we targeted. It's something that we sat down and interviewed and made sure not only the young men but the parents had that type of mentality."

Sanders is doing what he can do to correct those mistakes in the portal this offseason.

Not many teams out there had more roster changes this offseason than the Buffaloes. Colorado saw 36 players from the 2025 team enter the transfer portal. On the flip side, Colorado has 43 incoming transfers. This amount of turnover may not be a bad thing because the Buffs had a very disappointing 2025 season.

Coming off a nine-win 2024 season, Colorado went 3-9 in 2025. This was the fewest wins in a season for Sanders as coach in Boulder. The previous low was a 4-8 mark in 2023, his first season with the Buffs.

There were big portal moves made in the offseason to address this.

Colorado's New-Look Offense

Colorado had a couple big losses in the portal starting with offense tackle Jordan Seaton and wide receiver Omarion Miller. Seaton was a five-star and ended up transferring to the LSU Tigers. Miller was Colorado’s leading receiver in 2025 and transferred to the Arizona State Sun Devils.

The Buffs countered those transfers by landing a handful of wideouts and offensive tackles in the portal.

The highest rated incoming receiver is former Texas Longhorns wide receive DeAndre Moore Jr. Moore is a four-star transfer who spent the past few seasons with the Longhorns from 2023-2025. The 6-0, 192 pound Moore is coming off a 2025 season where he 38 receptions for 532 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns.

As for the offensive line, Colorado has numerous in coming three-star transfers at offensive tackle: former Rutgers Scarlet Knights tackle Taj White, former California Golden Bears tackle Leon Bell, former Georgia Bulldogs tackle Bo Hughley, and former Missouri Tigers tackle Jayven Richardson.

Colorado’s offense was a major problem last season and these incoming transfers will have to be a hit if the Buffs want to turn things around sooner rather than later. Colorado’s offense ranked near the bottom of the Big 12 in 2025.

They ranked second to last in the conference in yards per game with 328.4 and second to last in points scored per game with 20.9. Only the Oklahoma State Cowboys were below the Buffs in the Big 12 in these categories. Oklahoma State ended up going winless in Big 12 play at 0-9. Colorado wasn’t much better, going 1-8 in conference play.

2026 is a big year for Deion. Another year like the last year would mean the Buffs would have missed a bowl in three of his first four seasons. It would also signal a downward trajectory in back to back seasons after the impressive 9-4 2024.

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