Shedeur Sanders on the responsibility of recruiting portal players: 'That's always been mine'

At Colorado, coaches aren’t the only ones recruiting players out of the portal. In April, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders revealed his desire to be involved in the recruiting process.

“That’s always been mine. It’s [about] getting the guys that we need to be able to have success,” Sanders said. “I like putting a lot of things in my hands. Like, if it’s fourth down, you know the ball has to be in my hands. In the final seconds of the game, it’s got to be in my hands. I like having control over everything and even having control over my real life.”

Colorado has reeled in no shortage of fresh faces this offseason. During or since the 2023 campaign, the Buffaloes have added 37 players via the NCAA Transfer Portal, earning the No. 1 spot in On3’s Transfer Portal Team Rankings.

Sanders and his brother, Shilo, have been proactive on the recruiting trail. In April, Shilo put out a public call for talent on Instagram.

“Defense transfers DM me,” Shilo wrote. “Offense transfers DM [Shedeur].”

Shilo added a final note.

“This not Last Chance U,” he wrote, a reference to the popular Netflix series about junior college football.

While Shedeur and his brother have been helpful at times in the portal, they’ve also garnered controversy. Shedeur received significant backlash after he ridiculed former teammate Xavier Smith, claiming he didn’t “even remember him.”

Deion Sanders addresses Colorado’s transfer portal losses

Colorado has lost 44 players to the transfer portal during or since last season. While many fans have panicked about Colorado’s substantial losses in the portal, head coach Deion Sanders never worried. Last month, the NFL Hall-of-Famer addressed the program’s substantial transfer departures.

“I wish you guys do a little more homework when you start talking about the portal and understand what we losing, What are we losing? I got time today,” Sanders said. “What are we losing? Potential? Where? You haven’t been watching practice have you? We good. We’re good.

“I trust the recruiting team,” Sanders said. “I trust that coaches and please have some faith in me. We aight. We alright. What happens with the portal man, and you guys need to know, a lot of people are fighting for backups. When a guy is a starter and he transfers you got to really think about that. I mean, is he really that? I don’t know how many starters have really transferred around the country.”