Jalen Ramsey Points Out What Makes Deion Sanders Different

A few Colorado Buffaloes heard from NFL cornerback Jalen Ramsey about what makes Coach Prime different during their summer leadership retreat.

Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey addresses reporters at the team facility Thursday. Img 9675 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Colorado Buffaloes took a leadership retreat to coach Deion Sanders’s Texas ranch during the final week of June. Transfer Buffs and returning players used the time to build chemistry and learn from some of the top influences in the football world.

Those influences, of course, included Coach Prime himself, but also an important guest speaker. NFL cornerback and safety Jalen Ramsey spoke to the team, giving the players career advice and helping put their circumstances into perspective. Part of that included telling the players how lucky they are to have the unique experience of learning under Coach Prime and his staff.

What Jalen Ramsey said about Deion Sanders and his staff

Jalen Ramsey, cornerback for the Los Angeles Rams, talks with reporters during a Super Bowl media day event at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks on Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. The Rams will play the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday's NFL championship game. Super Bowl Media Day 10 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

One of the themes most consistent in Ramsey’s conversation with the players was the reminder of how unique their situation is. Playing for arguably the greatest cornerback to ever play the game is an uncommon benefit, to say the least, and Ramsey told the players how they can use those circumstances to shape how they play.

“Being in the presence of greatness, you can’t really pay any of these coaches back for any of that,” said Ramsey to Colorado players in a YouTube video posted by Well Off Media. “The only way you can pay somebody back for that is by being yourself in a respectful way, but also by the way that you play for them…That [greatness] isn’t normal…it isn’t like that anywhere else.”

As a three-time first-team All-Pro, an eight-time Pro Bowler, a National Champion in college and a Super Bowl Champion in the NFL, Ramsey has had about as ideal a career path as a football player could ask for. Still, he even claimed that he wouldn’t have ended up at Florida State had a staff like Colorado’s existed during his college career.

How the Colorado Buffaloes’ leaders feel about Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders walks the field during warmups before Colorado's game against Oregon. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Colorado’s players were receptive to Ramsey’s advice. Several players present at the retreat chimed in on the differences they’ve noticed between Coach Prime and any other coach they’ve played under.

A pair of SEC transfers in former Texas Longhorns wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and former Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Bo Hughley spoke about the differences in coaching relationships they’ve seen since joining the Buffs.

Sep 7, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Texas Longhorns wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. (0) warms up against the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

They claimed they hadn’t been able to be themselves or form close relationships with their coaches at their former stops, and that it was a hindrance to their play and personal lives. Since arriving in Boulder, that hasn’t been a worry of theirs, as they’ve formed tight bonds with Coach Prime and other members of the staff.

Freshman offensive lineman Xavier Payne gave his thoughts on the Buffs’ unique closeness with their head coach as well. Although this is his first season at the college level, Payne still identified how unique an experience like Coach Prime’s leadership retreat is. 

As the team takes shape ahead of the 2026 season, the retreat, as well as what the players learned from Ramsey, will play major roles in their chemistry. Sanders’s players are bought in, and the program’s leadership appears to have made great strides since 2025.

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