National Analyst Praises Deion Sanders' Impact In College Football

Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders has made Colorado must-see TV since taking over at the helm in 2023. The Buffaloes went 1-11 in 2022 and were a complete afterthought nationally. The second Sanders walked through that door, he changed that.

Sanders and Colorado agreed on a new contract this past week.

Former NFL linebacker and current spot personality Emmanuel Acho spoke about Sanders’s impact on the Colorado football program and university as a whole.

Deion Sanders 'Is the Needle'

Nov 16, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders looks on before the game against the Utah Utes at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Emmanuel Acho says that Sanders isn’t just moving the needle when it comes to Colorado and college football, he is the needle.

“Deion Sanders, he does not move the needle. He quite literally is the needle,” Acho said. “You eat what you kill and you bet on yourself.”

Acho pulled up some staggering statistics, proving his claim that Sanders “is the needle.”

“Average home ticket prices up 285 percent. They’ve sold out the stadium in back-to-back seasons; hadn’t done that in 27 years prior to Deion Sanders,” Acho said. “Sponsorship revenue up 40 percent. Admissions applications up 20 percent. Black application up 50 percent…Television ratings up 50 percent in certain time windows.”

The evidence is all there that people want to see Sanders. While at times being a polarizing figure to some, he has had a positive effect on the program and school. Now factor in that Colorado went from winning one game in 2022 to winning nine games in 2024, while having the Heisman Trophy winner in Travis Hunter and one of the top quarterbacks in the country in Shedeur Sanders.

This is not just some publicity stunt with a lot of flash, Colorado under Sanders is getting the job done on the field with both team and individual success.

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Colorado Buffaloes Future

Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter (7) passes the ball during the Salute to Veterans & Armed Forces game against Middle Tennessee at MTSU on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. | HELEN COMER/The Daily News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Colorado Buffaloes 2025 team will look much different than it did in 2023 and 2024. Aside from Deion on the sideline, the major draw to this team was quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter.

Sanders and Hunter became two of the biggest stars in college football during this time and are now each projected to be taken in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Deion will have to find a way to replace his two biggest contributors in year two of the Big 12.

Colorado is expected to give the nod to incoming transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter when the season kicks off this fall. Salter spent the past four seasons playing for the Liberty Flames. In his four collegiate seasons, he threw for 5,889 yards and 56 touchdowns while also rushing for 2,006 yards and 21 touchdowns.

In recruiting, Colorado landed the No. 10 quarterback in the class of 2025 per 247Sports, Julian Lewis. All signs point to Lewis being the guy a year or two down the road.