Deion Sanders fires back at critics of his high school recruiting methods at Colorado

Deion Sanders is known for his ability to use the NCAA transfer portal. Colorado will bring in a ton of players while watching just as many leave during the offseason. Not many think of the Buffaloes as a big-time recruiting power in college football. They can win a major recruitment every once in a while but not consistently.

So, there are plenty of critics of Sanders and his high school recruiting methods, something he fired back at on Wednesday. Sanders outlined the opportunities first-year players have at Colorado, saying 13 of the 17 signees in the 2023 recruiting class got playing time during the season.

“To you all that say we only go into the portal, we signed 17 high school players last year and 13 played,” Sanders said at Big 12 Media Days. “So, when we sign a kid out of high school, the expectancy is for him to play. All you kids in high school right now, when we sign you, we want you to play… We played a total of 20 freshmen last year, including seven walk-ons. So if you a freshman and you a walk-on, you can play.”

Colorado will have 13 players incoming via high school recruiting. They ranked No. 57 overall per the On3 Industry Team Rankings and No. 12 when going up against their Big 12 peers. None were in-state prospects and 33% were considered blue-chip recruits.

Offensive tackle Jordan Seaton is undoubtedly the most exciting guy coming to campus. He was a Five-Star Plus+ guy and was a huge recruiting win for Sanders. Not just from a perception standpoint but Colorado really needed some help on the offensive line heading into the 2024 season.

Odds are, Sanders does not really care about the rankings. His recruiting strategy was outlined pretty well in Las Vegas, wanting guys out of high school who can make an immediate impact — similar to what many programs expect out of players in the portal.

Plenty of returning talent is coming back for the Buffaloes, most notably Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. They will play a significant part in how the program performs in the Big 12, hoping to make a massive improvement.

Sanders fully expects freshmen to play a role too. Not just those who were signed by Colorado but even on-campus students looking to play football as a walk-on. Show enough as a youngster and Sanders will get you on the field.