Projecting Who's Staying and Leaving from Deion Sanders' Colorado After Final Game
Deion Sanders' first season in Boulder didn't quite live up to the hype.
The Colorado Buffaloes finished their season on Saturday with a 23-17 loss against Utah, finishing their season with a 4-8 record. That left them ineligible for a bowl, a disappointing result after the team started the season 3-0 but faltered once the PAC-12 schedule hit, losing their final six games of the season.
Next season it will be off to the Big 12. But who will be making that trip with the Buffaloes? And which players will be getting off the Deion ride, either as seniors or for the greener pastures of the NFL?
Let's break it down.
Who's Leaving?
The Seniors
Xavier Weaver had an excellent season at wide receiver and could find himself selected in the later rounds of the NFL draft. He's out of eligibility regardless and will be one of the big-name departures.
Other players out of eligibility include wideout Javon Antonio, running back Kavosiey Smoke, offensive linemen Landon Bebee, Reggie Young and Evan Kistler, defensive linemen Taijh Alston and Leonard Payne Jr., linebackers Jordan Domineck, Brendan Gant, Juwan Mitchell and Noah Young and safety Rodrick Ward alk-ons.
NFL-Bound Players
The major question here is what the future will hold for both Shedeur and Shilo Sanders. More on them later.
More than likely, however, Weaver (68 catches for 908 yards and four touchdowns) will be the lone Buffaloes player on the offensive side with a chance to get selected in the 2024 NFL draft. Domineck is a player to watch on the defensive end, though his season at Colorado and five sacks on the year probably didn't significantly bolster his draft stock.
Wideout Jimmy Horn Jr. is another candidate to get selected if he enters the draft, though another season in college would benefit him.
Transfers
Colorado seems more likely to have healthy incoming group of transfers than an outgoing one, unless Coach Prime departs. Then it could be a major exodus.
Who's Probably Staying?
Coach Prime has made it abundantly clear that his two sons would be returning to school for another year. At this point, we'll have to take his word for it, even if it would make sense for Shedeur Sanders to enter the draft if there's a chance he ends up as a first-round pick.
He'd be giving up a fair amount of guaranteed money by staying in college for another year, and the risk of a major injury next season in college that hurts his draft stock is ever present.
The alternative argument is that another year at Colorado could see him jump all the way to the top of his draft class. This year, he wouldn't be ranked ahead of either Caleb Williams or Drake Maye at quarterback.
Shilo Sanders doesn't have nearly the same draft hype, so a year at school would benefit him. Ditto for the aforementioned Horn, who should be the No. 2 option in the passing game next season behind two-way phenom Travis Hunter.
Beyond that, the Colorado juniors would be wise to stay another year. This isn't a group with a ton of eligible players likely to get drafted this season.
Who's on the Way?
The Buffaloes don't currently have a strong recruiting class, placing 60th in 247Sports' Composite Rankings with just three 4-star recruits (athletes Aaron Butler and Kamron Mikell, defensive lineman Brendon Davis-Swain).
Colorado lost offensive lineman commit Talan Chandler earlier in November, who flipped his allegiances to Missouri.
Deion Sanders had some strong words in late November for the recruiting process.
"A kid ain't even faithful to his girlfriend. You think (he's) gonna be faithful to a school? Come on, man. That's an emotional thing," he told The Athletic's David Ubben. "What I wish the NCAA would do, if you're committed somewhere, you can't go on any other visits. If you're committed, that means you're committed. You can't go on no other visits. Why would you be committed but you're still letting kids go on other visits? That means you just playing."
"We haven't lost nothing we want," he added. "Trust me on that one."
It's just questionable whether Sanders has the type of recruits coming in to aid in his rebuild. Expect the Buffaloes to hit the transfer portal hard.