Deion Sanders compares recruiting, transfer portal to NFL Draft, free agency
A Hail Mary pass and game-clinching forced fumble on the goal line in overtime secured Colorado one of the most thrilling wins of the college football season. Defeating Baylor at home in a 38-31 victory that had fans storming Folsom Field in Boulder.
The iconic moment for the Buffaloes also led to several commitments from high school players on visits at Colorado over the weekend. Which led to head coach Deion Sanders being asked after the game how his 2025 recruiting class is coming along.
“Pretty good, but you got to understand man, you have to look at your roster,” Sanders said. “You gotta balance that between high school guys, portal guys, what you have coming back. It’s a balancing act. It’s no one way to do it, I think everyone knows that. It’s no one way to do it.”
Colorado only has eight high school commits for the 2025 class, ranking just 75th in the nation and last in the Big 12 according to the On3 Industry Ranking. But they have been notorious for their use of the transfer portal since Sanders’ arrival last season. Brining in 50 new players through the transfer portal last offseason and 42 players this offseason.
“I know we get criticized for going in the portal, but if you talk about other teams and how much they went in the portal, it ranks right up there with everyone else,” Sanders explained. “But we’re just the portal kings, it seems to be, and that’s not the case.”
“We have a few freshmen playing and doing a phenomenal job right now,” he added. “I think I gave you a statistic one week of how many freshmen we played last year, even freshmen walk-ons. They got in there and got some experience.”
Teams like Ole Miss and Louisville have also been notorious for using the transfer portal, but in the last two offseasons, there has not been a Power Four program that’s brought in more transfers than Colorado. Which Sanders views as free agency at the NFL level and high school recruiting as the NFL Draft.
“So I think we’re doing a good job with the guys from high school, but also the guys from portal. It’s just like the NFL to me, man. It’s free agency and draft choices. You don’t take a lot of draft choices, but you you get what you need in free agency,” Sanders said.
Colorado’s win on Saturday pushes their record to 3-1 on the season and secured their first Big 12 win as new members of the conference. And while Sanders’ roster-building philosophy has been criticized in the past, it will be fascinating to see if his NFL mindset can translate to more wins on the field for the Buffs this season.