'I'm coming': Deion Sanders' move to Colorado a perfect recruiting storm

Deion Sanders was direct with his future players at Colorado.

“I’m coming,” he said.

Sanders went on to lay out what the new standards are for the program moving forward. Many were thrown off and some were offended by his candidness with players he’d never met.

“I’m bringing my luggage with me and it’s Louis,” Sanders told the group of Colorado players.

There are always two ways to look at anything. Sometimes there are more. With Sanders, there tends to be a bit of negative colored lenses. Again, there are more ways to look at this.

The man known as PrimeTime has turned into Coach Prime. Those who watched his career know him as an incredible athlete. One of the best, in fact. Sanders starred in the NFL and then played Major League Baseball at the same time.

He did it with flair and he did it his way. That hasn’t changed. His speech to his new players showed that. It’s not cockiness. We could just call it confidence. It’s all perspective.

Sanders talked his talk. He walked it. That hasn’t changed. Jackson State wrapped up a 12-1 season in 2022 with Sanders as the coach before he took the job in Boulder. Whatever you feel about Sanders’ impending move, you can’t say he didn’t improve the visibility of HBCU football or he lost football games.

Making noise

That will be the same at Colorado. Recruits are also lining up to play for CoachPrime. He landed 2025 four-star wide receiver Winston Watkins within hours of announcing the move. Four-star senior running back Dylan Edwards quickly flipped from Notre Dame. Colorado was thrown around a lot on Wednesday when Five-Star Plus cornerback Cormani McClain didn’t sign with Miami. Former five-star athlete Travis Hunter once again chose Sanders as a coach as he announced his transfer to Colorado. They won’t be the only high-profile recruits in Boulder in the coming years.

Must be the money

There are a few reasons why. The obvious one is the attention Sanders brings. Sanders is a lightning rod, and he’s a brilliant businessman. In the era of NIL, it would be hard to find a better teacher.

Sanders was a brand by the time he was drafted in 1989. He had his own dances. He talked smack. A lot of what football looked like through the 90s, 2000s and even now began with some of the things Sanders did.

Since he left football, Sanders has hit every part of the business world. He owns his own businesses. He’s broadcasted, coached, and gone through the recruiting process as a parent.

As a recruit, there’s a wealth of knowledge waiting to be accessed.

Now that the flashiness has been addressed, there’s more to Sanders than dancing, making plays and talking. Players have begun inquiring about making their way to Boulder. NIL hasn’t been the focus.

“I think what’s going on at Colorado has changed the game,” one Big 12 collective operator said. “Deion Sanders had 200 four and five-star players reach out to him in 12 hours after he took the job. They’re not asking anything about NIL. They just want to play for him.”

Family first

Sanders is a family man. Parents of high school recruits want to know that their children will be cared for when they leave for college. Sanders gives off that impression. He has the trust of parents. Leon Edwards, a former college player himself and father of the four-star rusher from the Wichita area, was immediately comfortable with his son making the move to Boulder.

“We came down to see him, and we’re sitting there before committing and it was transparent. It was like there was a second father in the room,” Edwards told On3. “He’s also the head coach. He has those relationships where it’s an open door. That’s hard these days. It’s all about the money and getting these kids in seeing how they can benefit from that. He (Sanders) is far from that.”

Sanders, as a coach, is cut from the “old school” cloth. He played under Bobby Bowden. Sanders leans heavily in his faith, just as coaches like Mark Richt, another disciple of Bowden’s and Dabo Swinney, who coached under Bowden’s son Terry, have in their coaching careers.

“He has a little bit of all those coaches that surrounded him as well,” Edwards said. “He has a holistic approach and he puts God first. What you see is what you get. This is coach Deion on and off the field. He loves his coaches, he loves his players and he puts his neck out for them if he has to. When he says you’re family, you’re family.”

Deion Sanders’ standards are high

Sanders is going to win. At some point, that’s inevitable. He has done it at every level and in every endeavor. Sanders has two Superbowl wins and an appearance in a World Series. Jackson State finished 12-1 after a 12-1 season in 2021.

He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. That comes with respect from the younger generation. Players coming to play under him feel that responsibility.

2024 three-star wide receiver Daijon Calimon has already felt his mindset shifting. Calimon committed to Colorado back on Dec. 3 just before Sanders announced his move to Colorado.

“It’s Deion,” Calimon told On3. “Everyone doesn’t get the chance to play for him. It’s a blessing. He’s a GOAT, one of the greatest of all time… Everybody gets the same respect from me, but it’s more of me being hungry to play for him. I’m not saying I wouldn’t be hungry to play for anybody else, but it’s him. I’ve got to impress him.”