Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders is taking heat for saying that he refused to do in-home visits during the recruiting process.
While Sanders has had success recruiting as the head coach for Colorado, some think he is selling himself short and not reaching his full potential by refusing to do things every other good coach does.
CFB analyst says lack of effort will cost Colorado Buffaloes HC Deion Sanders
Ari Wasserman of The Athletic said on his podcast that Deion Sanders will struggle to reach his “unfathomable potential” if he continues to sell himself short on the recruiting cycle. Sanders explained that there are certain aspects of recruiting that he doesn’t adhere to, and Wasserman says that he will be out at Colorado in two years because of that.
USA Today: “Deion Sanders’ unique recruiting style at Colorado: Zero home visits since hiring in 2022”
Kinda wild that Prime is pulling this off pic.twitter.com/TclKipx53L
— Josh Cobb (@joshcobbler_) March 14, 2024
I don’t hate Deion Sanders. I am disappointed that he isn’t embracing being a college football coach in a way that would allow him to reach his unfathomable potential. He won’t go visit kids and seems disinterested in recruiting high school classes. Because of this, I feel like… pic.twitter.com/UMRjIFESh2
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) March 28, 2024
Many recruiting greats, such as former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban and former Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Tom Osborne, swore by in-home visits.
If Saban, who produced 46 first-round picks in his career, would use in-home visits, then it is safe to say that they weren’t useless. In an article from On3, Saban explained why they are so important.
“I think really what it helps is it really helps relationships,” Nick Saban said. “You know, you get to know the parents better, you get to know the families better, you get to know people better.”
Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are doing alright with Sanders’ current recruiting methods
Deion Sanders has already managed to do things in recruiting that haven’t been seen before. During his time with the Jackson State Tigers, he managed to get the first-ever five-star recruit to come to an HBCU.
Cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter was the No. 1 overall recruit in his class, yet Sanders convinced him to stay away from Division I football in the early part of his college career.
As it stands right now, Sanders and the Buffaloes are fairing pretty well when it comes to recruiting players out of high school. While Wasserman thinks they could be doing better, they still have one of the top classes in the Big 12.
Top recruiting class in the Big 12 in both total “points” and average rating. CU’s avg recruit rating of 88.72 puts CU at 25th overall and would put CU 6th in the B1G and 4th in the ACC.
— Sean Humphreys (@Shump9) March 28, 2024
While Sanders disappointed many fans by falling to 4-8 after a 3-0 start, there is no doubt that he had the Buffaloes in a much better place than where they were before he got there. The 1-11 Buffaloes of 2022 evolved into a team that beat several Power-Five teams en route to being just two games away from a bowl game.
The record wasn’t where many expected it to be after the hot start, but it was only Sanders’ first year as the head coach. If Sanders can continue the trend and make a bowl game, it is hard to see the Buffaloes moving on from him in such a short time just because the bar is so low, unless he decides to move on himself.
On the other hand, if Sanders doesn’t continue an upward trend and Colorado reverts to a team with less than three wins, Wasserman’s prediction could prove accurate.
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