Deion Sanders addresses his health status after recent operation

After undergoing a handful of procedures to treat blood clots, Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders is back at the team facilities, working on leading his team to a successful 2023 campaign. Sanders took over in the offseason coming over from Jackson State with the goal of turning around a Buffaloes program which went 1-11 a season ago.

With the recent health issues, some might wonder if the Colorado headman is ready to be on the sidelines any time soon. According to Sanders, he will be soon. And he didn’t stop there as he made a bold prediction for Colorado’s early season matchup against the TCU Horned Frogs.

“I lost a few steps, but I’m still Prime. I lost a few steps, but I’m still Prime,” said Sanders. “I should be able to run out with the team in Fort Worth. That’s the goal, and we’re going to eclipse it. It’s going to happen.

“We have some wonderful doctors, man, a wonderful staff, (and) wonderful trainers, that are committed to getting help as well as players and staff. But I’m going to run out with the team in Fort Worth.”

Sanders has undergone multiple procedures in recent years. In 2021, while at Jackson State, he had several surgeries and had to have two toes amputated because of his issue with blood clots forming in his body.

This offseason was more of the same, with the belief that the Buffaloes’ headman would have to amputate his left leg. Fortunately, that is not the case, which means fans should anticipate Sanders on the sideline in a full coaching capacity in 2023 and even running out on the field with his Buffaloes players.

Greg McElroy evaluates realistic expectations for Sanders, Colorado

Realistic expectations for Sanders and Colorado are tough to measure, but there might be more pressure on them than most realize, says ESPN’s Greg McElroy.

As far as Colorado, the football program, the move to the Big 12 in 2024 shows a future of promise. As does Sanders’ roster transformation and previous success at Jackson State. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

But with the amount of hype rolling into Boulder this fall, McElroy measured how there’s a decent amount of pressure on Sanders to push the right buttons fast at Colorado.

“Right now you would think that the pressure would be a little bit low,” McElroy said on Always College Football. “I however don’t necessarily see it that way because people have already tapped Deion as the savior. He’s the guy that’s going to take what’s been a struggling Colorado program for the better part of the last decade and revitalize what was once a proud and storied program. I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. 

“(They went) 1-11 last year and lost seven games by 30-plus points. The reason why the (pressure) number is not a little bit higher is because they were so bad just a year ago, so having marked improvement won’t be that significant.”