The transfer portal has dramatically changed the way that college coaches recruit. It determines how many upperclassmen with college experience they want or whether they’d prefer to fill a position of need with a true freshman.
Colorado’s Deion Sanders is one of the most notable head coaches in the country. When the two-time Super Bowl champion took over in 2023, all eyes were on him as he tried to turn around a program that only won one game the season prior.
But make no mistake, the head coach loves that kind of attention.
“I welcome it, I love it, but sometimes my coaching staff and the kids ain’t built for it,” Sanders said in a recent interview with. Champ Bailey.
When it came to the transfer portal, Sanders was determined to use it and has had no problems securing major recruits in the past. The current Colorado roster features 38 seniors, but the difficult part is figuring out whether or not their skill sets will translate to the way Sanders wants his team to play.
While some of them have worked out, he’s been open about the fact that it hasn’t all been perfect.
Several transfers have become key contributors on both sides of the ball, but others have struggled to adjust to the pace and physicality Colorado requires in the Big 12.
“We missed on several players, but being on this side, I understand the nature and the process of major college football,” the head coach said.
According to collegefootballdata.com, thirty-three members of this year’s team are brand new. They made their way to Boulder, Colorado by way of the transfer portal within the past year.
Sanders isn’t afraid to admit that he may have whiffed on some of them, but he would rather run that risk than bringing in a load of 18-year-old kids, especially when it is more likely that they’ll enter the transfer portal down the line.
“I would be a fool to go out there and get 30 freshmen when statistics show me that within two years half those kids are probably gone,” Sanders said. “You want to identify maybe 15-20 [freshmen] at the most. Not only that, there’s money in this thing and kids are getting paid.”
The most notable position battle for Colorado this season has been at quarterback, and as luck would have it, it’s between a senior transfer and true freshman.
Senior Kaidon Salter transferred in from Liberty and got the nod to start the season, but the five-star freshman, Julian Lewis, was on the bench, and that couldn’t be ignored.
Lewis made appearances as a backup versus Delaware and Arizona, but after the Buffaloes made it through nine games and had only three wins, he was going to get the opportunity to make his first career start.
The freshman took on West Virginia, and while his team fell short against the Mountaineers, there was no denying that Lewis would be the quarterback of the future.
“He’s still got some hiccups because he’s young,” Sanders said. “I’m still on his butt about preparation and understanding down and distance, just little things. There’s a lot of leadership qualities he has to be the guy that you saw in high school, but this is a different game.”
Lewis went 22-for-35 with 299 passing yards and two touchdowns, and received praise from West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez.
“I thought he played phenomenal as a true freshman,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve got a true freshman, both of those young guys did a great job.”
While the portal brought in an experienced Salter, which led to a lot of hype around the position battle before the season, it hasn’t gone exactly the way Sanders hoped.
“I’ve got to do better in making sure these kids are prepared for each game, each play, each moment and it’s not too big for them,” Sanders said.
The transfer portal is full of unpredictability, and while bowl eligibility is no longer within reach for the Buffaloes, Colorado’s quarterback for the next few years already has his eyes fixed on what’s to come.
A bye week is nonexistent to Lewis.
“I’m not going home or anything like that,” Lewis said following Colorado’s loss to West Virginia. “I’m gonna sit in the facility, watch film, try to grow and get better. I’ll try to keep all the receivers back out there so we can keep building that connection and get ready for next year.”
