Deion Sanders opens up on what he's learned from his Colorado team over last two years

The second season for Deion Sanders as the head coach at Colorado ended in a frustrating Alamo Bowl loss. Despite that, it was still a major step forward for the Buffaloes under Sanders.

Following the Alama Bowl, Sanders opened up on his first two seasons at Colorado. In particular, he shared what he’s learned from the team after an up-and-down first two seasons with the program.

“Patience,” Deion Sanders said. “They’ve taught me a tremendous amount of patience, and they taught me about forgiveness. There’s a lot of young men, a lot of things transpired that you guys don’t know about and aren’t privy to, but I’m a tremendous forgiving person, and I absolutely love these guys.”

Colorado went 13-12 over Sanders’ first two seasons with the program. Each of those seasons saw the Buffaloes win more games than the season prior. After inheriting a 1-11 team, Sanders flipped the roster through the Transfer Portal, winning four games in 2023 and nine games in 2024.

The 2024 season, in particular, saw Colorado players receive plenty of national attention, with two-way star Travis Hunter winning the Heisman Trophy. He and quarterback Shedeur Sanders are now expected to be high NFL Draft picks.

“You don’t understand, you never get an opportunity to see the subtle ‘I love yous’ that go on between us pregame and postgame and practice and this week’s preparation and all of the OBs,” Sanders said. “Original Buffs, how thankful and appreciative they were that they got an opportunity to come participate in a week of bowl festivities.”

The reality for Colorado has been that there’s a lot of outside noise regarding the program. That has included criticism for not winning enough right away. However, the Buffaloes now look to be positioned to compete at the top of the Big 12 moving forward.

“Patience and forgiveness and just overall love, man. That’s what they’ve taught me,” Sanders concluded.

Deion Sanders describes what he has established after breakout season at Colorado

2024 is going to go down as the breakout season for Colorado under Deion Sanders. It’s an accomplishment that Sanders is proud of but knows he needs to build on.

“We’ve established expectation, so now you expect us to perform a certain way. You expect us to win. You expect us to be exciting. You expect us to be a lot more disciplined than we displayed today. You just have expectations of us now. That’s what we’ve established,” Sanders said.

“We’re just trying to develop these young men, win games, make sure they’re consistent men in the community with their relationships, with their families, and then school. Trust me, to get an education. We don’t think about it like that. We’re thankful we play a role in that, but that does not enter our mindset, not one bit.”