Deion Sanders

Hours before Travis Hunter finds out if he has won the 2024 Heisman Trophy, the Colorado superstar praised head coach Deion Sanders for the work he has done with him over the course of his college career.

Appearing on the Saturday morning episode of SportsCenter, Hunter explained being coached by Sanders has made him "want to be better" than Coach Prime:

"I just want to be better than him. So, me getting hurt last year was a little setback for my stat sheet and how my career went last year. So, I definitely wanted to be better than him and do things that he hasn't done but do it better. So, just looking ahead and saying, 'I can do that and can go out there and dominate.' That just makes me want to do it even more when I'm healthy. So, when I was healthy this season, I did all I can show and hopefully there's more in store, which is more in store, but I'm going to keep dominating as much as I can to be better than my coach."

Hunter added that Sanders has given him the keys to be as successful as he has been, but it's up to him to reach his full potential.

"He handed me the crown, but I still don't have a gold jacket, so I still have more to do, still have more to prove," said Hunter.

Hunter has spent his entire college career being coached by Sanders. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class when he committed to Jackson State.

The move was a huge surprise at the time, not just because Hunter had been committed to Florida State for more than a year before flipping.

Appearing on The Pivot Podcast this week (h/t Dan Treacy of the Sporting News), Hunter said Sanders' willingness to let him play both sides of the ball is what inspired him to flip from Florida State to Jackson State.

"I'm too bored on the sideline," Hunter joked. "I don't like sitting on the sideline."

When Sanders was hired by Colorado in December 2022, Hunter followed via the transfer portal. He became a sensation at the FBS level right away when he played 144 total snaps in the Buffaloes' 45-42 win over TCU in the 2023 season opener.

Hunter missed three games last season, but still finished with 721 receiving yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions to be named a consensus All-American.

This season has seen Hunter continue to level up. He finished the regular season ranked second in FBS in receiving touchdowns (14), fifth in receptions (92) and sixth in receiving yards (1,152), along with 11 pass breakups and four interceptions in 12 games.

Sanders played on both sides of the ball during his college and pro career, but nowhere near the same amount that Hunter has. He played a total of 1,422 snaps this season, averaging 118 per game.

Hunter, the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 NFL draft, can become the second Heisman winner from Colorado if he receives the award on Saturday night. Rashaan Salaam won the award in 1994.

Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter does not believe head coach Deion Sanders will leave the Buffaloes after losing top players, including his sons Shilo and Shedeur Sanders, to the 2025 NFL Draft.

"I got a lot of insight. He ain't going anywhere," Hunter told reporters ahead of the 2024 Heisman Trophy Ceremony in New York (7:00 mark of the video below.) "He's gonna be right where he's at, right now."

Sanders was hired in December 2022 to help the Buffaloes recover from a 1-11 campaign. Colorado went 9-3 and earned a bowl game appearance in his second year as head coach.

The Buffaloes finished the 2024 season short of the Big 12 title game and a potential playoff berth, but were successful in establishing both Shedeur Sanders and Hunter as potential first-round picks heading into the draft.

Shilo Sanders, who finished out his final season of college eligibility this season, is also expected to enter the draft.

The teams on track to have the best odds at the top pick heading into Week 15 are the New York Giants and Las Vegas Raiders, both of whom could have potential head coaching openings next season with Brian Daboll and Antonio Pierce in tenuous positions.

Pierce's position may be especially uncertain, with ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reporting that the addition of Tom Brady to the Raiders ownership group could increase the chances the franchise goes with a new head coach in 2025.

The Raiders are also in need of a franchise quarterback after struggling behind both Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell this season. Should the team end up with a top pick, they could decide to use it to select Sanders, who is ranked as the No. 2 quarterback available in the upcoming draft on Bleacher Report's NFL Draft Big Board.

That potential coaching turnover and the possibility that the Raiders could draft Sanders make the team a "potential fit" for Deion, Fowler has previously reported.

Deion, who inked a five-year, $29.5 million contract when he joined the Buffaloes in 2022, has so far been emphatic about his desire to remain in college football. He said as recently as mid-November that he was "happy where I am" in Colorado.

It makes sense that both he and Hunter are currently focused on the Buffaloes, who are preparing to end the 2024 season with the Alamo Bowl against BYU on Dec. 28. After that, rumors surrounding Deion's candidacy for an NFL head coaching position are likely to increase during the build-up to the draft in April despite both his and Hunter's assurances that he plans to return to Boulder.

Bill Belichick has the support of one of the biggest names in college football as he prepares to take over as the head coach of North Carolina.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders took to social media Thursday and said the Tar Heels hiring the legendary coach "is a great thing for College Football" and compared his overall impact on the coaching profession to that of Nick Saban:

There are some parallels between Belichick taking over at North Carolina and when Sanders took over at Colorado.

Both were name-brand programs looking for a much-needed spark. The Buffaloes have one double-digit win season since 2001, while the Tar Heels have just one since 1997. Sanders generated far more attention than Colorado had seen in years and put the program firmly under the spotlight.

Belichick will surely do the same for North Carolina.

It was a bumpy start for Sanders, as the Buffaloes went 4-8 in his first season as head coach in 2023. However, they made significant strides into his second season and went 9-3 while remaining a factor in the Big 12 race until the final weekend.

While a move from the loaded Pac-12 to the more manageable Big 12 certainly helped, Sanders deserves plenty of credit for quickly turning the Buffaloes' fortunes around in just two years.

Belichick will look to do the same for the Tar Heels after they went 6-6 this season and fired head coach Mack Brown.

It may take some time until they catch up to the likes of Clemson, SMU and Miami in the ACC, but the new coach provides instant name recognition that will surely help on the recruiting trail and with the transfer portal. After all, he is a six-time Super Bowl champion and arguably the greatest coach in NFL history.

There are surely far more prospects who now have North Carolina on their radar than there was even 48 hours ago, and Belichick will look to parlay that into a quick turnaround much like Sanders did at Colorado.

Travis Hunter doesn't regret his decision to flip his commitment from Florida State to Jackson State heading into college and eventually following head coach Deion Sanders to Colorado.

As he said on The Pivot Podcast (h/t Dan Morrison of On3), the decision proved prescient:

I think I asked [Coach Sanders] this question two months ago. I said, 'What would we be if I didn't decide to go there?' And I still don't know the answer because when I first talked to him it was like I don't care who he is, I don't want to go there. But, as I talked to him more, it was like this might be the place. He's more than just a coach, he's a father. I'd be at his house up at 1:00 and I'd leave in like the next three hours and I'd still be up, running around. I don't know where I would be. I've tried to figure that out. I try not to think too much on it because we've got one more game. It's going to be our last together. It gets you kind of emotional because it changed my life forever. I texted him that one game a couple of games ago, like, 'Coach, you changed my life forever.' Just being able to see where I'm at now, I don't know where I would have been at if I went to Florida State.

Hunter, 21, probably could have remained an excellent two-way player had he gone to Florida State, though he noted that he didn't believe the Seminoles would have allowed him to play on both sides of the ball. He also would have won an ACC title last season and controversially come up just short of reaching the College Football Playoffs.

But would he be a Heisman Trophy finalist this season had he remained committed to the Seminoles? Would he have been a three-year starter had he not joined Sanders at Jackson State and later Colorado? Would he have earned the same level of NIL earnings or had the same level of cultural impact?

Those questions are impossible to answer with certainty, of course. What isn't debatable is that the path he took worked out just fine for him.

Under Sanders' tutelage, Hunter caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns on offense, adding 31 tackles, four interceptions and 11 passes defensed on defense. He's the frontrunner to win the Heisman and very well could end up as the top overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

The only question truly surrounding Hunter is whether he'll be more of a receiver or cornerback in the NFL. It's hard to imagine him surviving the rigors and commitments of the pro game on both sides of the ball, though he's hoping to be given the chance to prove he can handle the responsibility.

"Whatever helps my team, that's what I'm going [to do], but hopefully they give me the chance to show them what I can do on both sides of the ball," he told ESPN's Scott Van Pelt on Tuesday.

Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter has reportedly identified some potential landing spots as he prepares to enter the transfer portal.

According to Pete Nakos of On3.com, Salter is planning to take visits to Colorado, Florida State and Syracuse. UCLA and Auburn are also reportedly among the schools that have shown interest in landing him.

Salter announced his intentions to transfer from Liberty earlier this month with a lengthy statement posted to social media.

The signal-caller starred for the Flames for the last four seasons and appeared in 35 games. After redshirting in his first year with the team, he appeared in 33 games and made 29 starts over the last three seasons before finishing with career numbers of 5,887 passing yards, 56 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions while also adding 2,013 rushing yards and 21 more scores.

Salter had a breakout year in 2023 when he led Liberty to a 13-1 record, a Conference USA championship and an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl while setting single-season program records with 32 passing touchdowns and 1,089 rushing yards. However, he was less effective this year with 1,886 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions while adding 587 rushing yards and seven scores as the Flames went 8-3.

Prior to joining Liberty, Salter was committed to Tennessee out of high school. Thomas Goldkamp of On3.com noted that the Vols dismissed him the summer before his freshman year due to a pair of arrests and suspensions by the program.

Salter is widely regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the transfer portal this year, so he would be an instant difference-maker. Perhaps joining head coach Deion Sanders at Colorado to replace impending NFL draft prospect Shedeur Sanders would give Salter the opportunity to show his skills on a big stage.

The Colorado Buffaloes are going bowling for the first time in the Deion Sanders era.

Colorado announced Sunday it will play in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28 in San Antonio. The Buffaloes will face BYU in a showdown between Big 12 teams during the holiday season:

It is unusual to say the least to see two conference opponents facing each other in a bowl game, but there is a reason for it.

As Mitch Harper of KSL Sports explained, former Pac-12 teams will be considered members of their former conference until 2026 for bowl game purposes. Since the Alamo Bowl traditionally matches the Big 12 against the Pac-12, Colorado will be considered part of the latter league for the purposes of this contest.

This also works because the Cougars and Buffaloes did not play each other during the 2024 campaign. In fact, they haven't played since the 1988 Freedom Bowl, although they are scheduled to play each other next season.

It's not a stretch to suggest this is one of the best non-playoff games of the bowl season.

BYU was No. 17 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, while Colorado was No. 23. It is a meeting of ranked opponents, and a win would give either side momentum heading into the offseason and the 2025 campaign.

That Colorado is in a high-profile bowl in Sanders' second season is a testament to the turnaround the head coach has led to this point.

The Buffalos were an ugly 4-8 in his first season but went 9-3 in 2024 and were in the CFP discussion until the final week of the regular season. They have two of the best players in the entire nation in quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, and the latter may go into this game as the Heisman Trophy winner.

As for the possibility of either opting out, Deion Sanders previously told reporters the team's final regular-season game wouldn't be the last time his son and Hunter played for the Buffaloes.

"No, we got a bowl game," he said. "It's not the last time you're gonna see them in a Buff uniform."

The Alamo Bowl is surely pleased to hear that, and Colorado will have a chance to finish its season on a high note against the Cougars.

Colorado's final placement in the CFP rankings was revealed on Sunday.

Head coach Deion Sanders' team finished with the No. 23 spot.

It wasn't a surprise that the Buffaloes weren't included as one of the final 12 teams to make the CFP, as they weren't able to secure a spot in the Big 12 Championship game and recorded three losses to go along with their nine wins.

Colorado suffered an ugly 28-10 loss to Nebraska in its second game of the season, which didn't provide a lot of optimism surrounding a possible CFP berth. The Buffaloes went on to win seven of their next eight games to put them in the race for a Big 12 Championship game appearance, though.

Sitting at 8-2 with two contests remaining, Colorado was riding high entering a Nov. 23 matchup against a Kansas team that owned a 4-6 record at the time.

The Buffaloes ended up losing to the Jayhawks by the final score of 37-21, and a lopsided 52-0 win over Oklahoma State in the ensuing week wasn't enough to give Sanders' team an opportunity to compete for a Big 12 title.

"We controlled our own destiny, and we fumbled it," Sanders told reporters after the defeat.

The Big 12's guaranteed playoff spot ended up going to Arizona State, as the Sun Devils earned a first-round bye after taking down Iowa State by the score of 45-19 in Saturday's conference championship clash.

Despite failing to achieve a playoff spot, Sanders' second season with the Buffaloes was undoubtedly a success. His team improved after a 4-8 record in 2023, which already represented a step up compared to a 1-11 mark in the year before he took over the program.

In fact, Colorado has nine wins in 2024 after earning nine total wins in the past three years combined.

Now, Sanders and the Buffaloes will attempt to record the school's first bowl game victory since 2004.

Deion Sanders has done a fantastic job at Colorado, turning a program that went 1-11 in the year prior to his arrival (2022) into a 9-3 program that currently sits 20th in the Associated Press poll.

Naturally, that two-year turnaround could (and may have already) grab the attention of bigger programs looking to make a coaching change.

As far as the potential of Sanders bolting Colorado for another school, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Adam Rittenberg wrote the following, noting that the Pro Football Hall of Famer would "only target programs that will allow him to be his full self."

"If LSU or Florida make changes next season, Sanders certainly could be a candidate. The same goes for Auburn if it moves on from Hugh Freeze. Sanders will only target programs that allow him to be his full self, sources said, which means extra elements and people around the program that aren't present at most places.

'There aren't a lot of Deion Sanders growing on trees,' an industry source said. 'The package of who he is, is rare. So it's very much the place.

'You've got to give credit to CU and their leadership and the administration for going out and saying, 'Let's go all-in.'"

Sanders once starred at Florida State, which dropped from 13-1 in 2023 to 2-10 in 2024. That program is in turmoil, and head coach Mike Norvell just fired both coordinators. The team's swoon begs the question regarding Norvell's future, but it doesn't appear the hypothetical door would be open for Sanders (or anyone) imminently.

"A Sanders-FSU reunion wouldn't happen until 2026, at the earliest, and even that seems unlikely," Fowler and Rittenberg wrote.

Ultimately, programs looking to make a turnaround could look toward Sanders.

"It's going to be hard for Colorado to hang onto him," a college coaching agent told Rittenberg. "Everyone has taken notice, and rightfully so, of what he's doing."

For now, Sanders remains at Colorado, which has a to-be-determined bowl game. It's unclear where the Buffaloes are headed, but the latest projection from David Kenyon of Bleacher Report has the team going to the Alamo Bowl against BYU.