Pete Thamel reveals hard truth about Colorado's roster, what it says about Deion Sanders' job

Colorado has gotten off to a scintillating 3-0 start to the season, which says a lot about the coaching job Deion Sanders has done, whether the Buffaloes are able to sustain the high level of success or not.

There are some tougher games coming up on the schedule starting this week. And the reality is that even with the 3-0 start Colorado is not that talented on paper.

“I think at the end of the month there will be a little bit of a course correction,” ESPN analyst Pete Thamel said on the Paul Finebaum Show on Thursday. “I have a story running on ESPN.com tomorrow where I talked to a bunch of coaches who have faced them, scouts who have scouted them, and the reality Paul is they’re not that good if you look from an NFL talent perspective.”

If that’s the case than the job Sanders has done in getting his team to 3-0 is even more impressive. Realistically, two-way star Travis Hunter will be a surefire NFL prospect when he’s eligible to leave.

So too will quarterback Shedeur Sanders, as Thamel noted.

“Shedeuer is the only player on that roster who is draft-eligible who would be picked in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft,” Thamel said. “And I say that, not as an insult to Colorado, but as a compliment to coach Prime, a compliment to Sean Lewis, the very accomplished offensive coordinator he hired who had been a play-calling head coach at Kent State, and obviously Charles Kelly from your neck of the woods, been on the staff at ‘Bama and offensively been a defensive coordinator at Florida State.”

Somehow, some way, Colorado has gotten off to a 3-0 start. Last weekend’s win over Colorado State was a gritty overtime win, one that went deep into the night for most viewers.

And yet just about everyone who cares about college football is tuning in. And even many who don’t care about college football are.

What better compliment is there for Deion Sanders?

“The greatest compliment you can give a coach is that the sum is better than the parts, and through three games the sum has been better than the parts,” Thamel said. “And I’ll say this about Deion: Every coach that I’ve talked to first thing they’ve said is ‘Those guys play hard. Those guys play hard.’ That is coaching, you can call it culture, you can call it whatever you want, but if guys are playing like their helmets are on fire it means the operation is engaged, energized and heading in the right direction.

“I think some of that momentum will get lost in Eugene this weekend, when they go to Autzen. But they could lose the rest of their games, Paul, and the impact has already been indelible on what they’ve done. They’ve transcended college football and dove into pop culture.”