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Deion Sanders 'amazed' by Colorado fan turnout for spring game

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•04/23/23•

BarkleyTruax

Deion Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes football coach
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders runs onto the field during the team's spring game on April 22, 2023. (Ron Chenoy / USA TODAY Sports)

To say the tides are shifting at Colorado is an understatement. Deion Sanders and his group of former Jackson State stars took the field in front of a record amount of fans on Saturday for the annual spring game.

It was a scrimmage, a pep rally and was just a preview of what the new Colorado under Coach Prime will look like from now on.

“I was amazed. I didn’t expect it to be like that, but the energy from just walking out of the locker room with the team — it was unbelievable. It was one of those moments that you will never forget,” Sanders said postgame. “It was one of those moments where it was something special. You had to be there.

“A couple of GA’s that were on either side of me, they were our GA’s in Jackson [State] as well. So just lining up in the tunnel, getting ready and feeling it. Then our song comes on and here we go. When we werer running out there it was unbelievable. Even with the weather, it was unbelievable.”

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Snow plows were used to remove several inches of snow that built up in Boulder, Colorado on Friday and Saturday. Sanders was worried that the piles of snow would turn recruits off to his program. After seeing the crowd and experiencing the atmosphere of what a Colorado home game would be like for the first time, those recruiting worries went away after coming out of the tunnel.

Colorado‘s famous 98-year-old fan Peggy Coppom opened the game with an honorary opening kick. With Sanders by her side, Coppom kicked off the new era of Colorado Buffaloes football. Sanders sung her praises after the game as well, and added some humor to the mix as well.

“Peggy balled. Peggy was the MVP of the game,” Sanders said. “She was quick. The first step was unbelievable. She was very physical when she grabbed me and made sure I held her arm.”

47,277 fans showed up to watch Coppom kick off the Coach Prime era in Boulder. That number is good for 88 percent of the stadium’s maximum capacity — a spring game record for the program. The previous attendance record for a spring game at Colorado, 17,800, was completely shattered. It was the 10th best spring game turnout of any Power Five program, the most in the Pac-12 by over 10,000 fans.