Deion Sanders Gives Honest Assessment of Colorado's Usage of the Transfer Portal

In his fall camp press conference, Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders gave his thoughts on the modern era of college football.

Deion Sanders spends time with his son, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) at the conclusion of the second day of training camp, July 30, 2026, in Berea, Ohio. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders was asked about the high amount of roster turnover his program experienced during the offseason during his fall camp press conference. In the live broadcast by 9News, Sanders revealed that he doesn’t believe that Colorado is an outlier in that sense.

He stacked the Buffaloes against programs across the country and admitted that, while he may have helped start this new era, he isn’t treating the portal abnormally anymore. In the dog-eat-dog world of college football, Sanders argues that the nature of the game forces teams to employ these tactics, and he is merely among the crowd.

Deion Sanders doesn’t see the Colorado Buffaloes as an outlier

Jul 30, 2026; Berea, OH, USA; Former NFL player Deion Sanders arrives at Cleveland Browns training camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When asked about the high roster turnover Colorado experienced in the offseason, Sanders was quick to shut down the angle. While Colorado’s 42 incoming transfers for 2026 are on the high end, the Buffs no longer boast the drastic lead in that front that made CU the poster child of the transfer portal era.

“But now, everyone else is doing the same darn thing,” Sanders said. “Remember when we first got here, and you guys made a big deal out of the portal? Now everyone's doing it, and I don't see you attack them the same way you attack our program in regards to the portal. If you do the homework on it, which we've done, I think we're right there with many other schools in the turnover that's forecasted.”

Deion Sanders compares Colorado Buffaloes to Texas A&M Aggies

Sep 30, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher before the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Sanders’ claim was that the transfer portal has become the nature of college football. He argues that without using it heavily, it is nearly impossible to build a program. This is due to the fact that many players enter the portal just because it is what everyone else is doing, making loyalty hard to come by in freshmen classes. He pointed to the Texas A&M Aggies’ 2022 class as an example.

“And if you really do your homework and think about those schools,” Sanders said. “Like, let's just say the 2022 Texas A&M team that had the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. Two years later, there were two guys on that team left. What happened to all the rest of them? They left because that's the nature of what's going on right now in college football.”

He wasn’t far off in his guess at how many players remain from the class. Out of the 30 players that committed to Jimbo Fisher’s historic 2022 class, only three players remain at the program in 2026. Even if all of those players stayed at A&M for a traditional four-year tenure, they would’ve had all 30 players at the start of 2025, right? Well, due to the transfer portal, only six players remained at A&M from the 2022 class at the start of last season.

Deion Sanders’ solution to building loyalty

Jul 7, 2026; Frisco, TX, USA; Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks to reporters during Big 12 Conference Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In an era of college football where loyalty is nearly impossible to come by, Sanders is doing what he can to build it. He revealed that building loyalty was one of the key reasons behind having the first week of fall camp off-campus.

“That's why you come on trips like this,” Sanders said. “So you can unite, so you can build loyalty, you can build love, so you can get to know one another, and these kids can really trust us.”

Despite Colorado having one of the oldest rosters in college football, the young players on this team will be the testing point to see if this trip ends up building loyalty after all.

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