Updated Recruiting Rankings After Colorado Buffaloes Latest Commitment

The Colorado Buffaloes landed a commitment from three-star offensive line prospect Josiah Manu, giving Colorado coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes 11 total commits in the 2026 recruiting class.

With the commitment of Manu, Colorado moved up slightly to No. 78 in 247Sports' recruiting rankings for the class of 2026. Earlier in the summer, the Buffaloes were as low as No. 93 in 247Sports' rankings.

There is still some time remaining for Sanders and Colorado's coaching staff to continue recruiting top prospects, but the Buffaloes currently have the lowest-ranked recruiting class in the Big 12.

Colorado Buffaloes Deion Sanders recruiting rankings transfer portal Big 12 Preston Ashle — Dec 28, 2024; San Antonio, TX, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders walks on the field between plays during the first quarter against the Brigham Young Cougars at Alamodome. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Big 12 Recruiting Rankings:

Here are the current Big 12 recruiting rankings (overall ranking in parentheses) as of Aug. 10:

1. BYU Cougars
2. Texas Tech Red Raiders
3. Baylor Bears
4. TCU Horned Frogs
5. Kansas Jayhawks
6. Houston Cougars
7. Arizona State Sun Devils
8. West Virginia Mountaineers
9. Arizona Wildcats
10. Iowa State Cyclones
11. Utah Utes
12. Oklahoma State Cowboys
13. Kansas State Wildcats
14. Cincinnati Bearcats
15. UCF Knights
16. Colorado Buffaloes

Despite Colorado's low ranking relative to other Big 12 teams, the Buffaloes are ranked above ACC schools like Virginia and Virginia Tech as well as Missouri, from the SEC.

If Sanders and the Buffaloes can sustain success without former Colorado stars like Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, will more recruiting success follow?

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Under "Coach Prime," Colorado has added fewer high school recruits than transfer portal prospects. Still, the Buffaloes' 2025 recruiting class had 14 commits and was ranked No. 2 in the Big 12, only behind TCU, according to On3's rankings.

In 2025, Colorado's recruiting class was headlined by quarterback Julian "JuJu" Lewis and offensive lineman Carde Smith.

Jul 9, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; Colorado quarterback Julian Lewis speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Colorado's Recent Recruiting Momentum:

Despite Sanders' absence from Boulder, Colorado, for most of the offseason, the Buffaloes had some success on the recruiting trail over the summer.

Gula is Colorado's second commitment of August after interior offensive line prospect Ben Gula pledged to the Buffaloes on Aug. 1. In June and July, Sanders and his coaching staff landed the following prospects:

Four-star safety Preston Ashley
Four-star linebacker Rodney Colton
Three-star linebacker Carson Crawford
Three-star offensive tackle Xavier Payne
Three-star safety D'Montae Tims
Three-star offensive lineman Colby Johnson

Meanwhile, the Buffaloes had one of the larger transfer portal classes in the country in 2025, adding 33 new players to the roster. Colorado's transfer portal class was ranked No. 19 overall by 247Sports.

During the spring, Sanders spoke about recruiting to Colorado and how the Buffaloes attract top recruits from around the country:

"I don't think I have to explain 'Why Colorado?' I think they see that on an everyday basis. Why Colorado? I don't think I have to sit up there and sell us to anybody. I think by the time they get here, they're looking for confirmation. Our program sells itself. . . . We do a great job of really exposing our program. We did a great job on pro day," said Sanders.

Big 12 Recruiting Rankings:

Colorado's Recent Recruiting Momentum:

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