Deion Sanders attempted to play it cool when asked about not coaching his sons — Shedeur and Shilo — this season.
“It’s easy,” the Colorado coach said in front of a room full of Buffaloes fans at a kickoff luncheon. “Especially not having Shilo get on my last nerve.”
There were laughs from the audience before he quickly backtracked. “It’s not easy,” Sanders said.
Not having a Sanders on the field is a rather new experience for the proud father/coach. He’s trying to take the next step at Colorado with a new quarterback trying to fill Shedeur’s shoes, a new safety replacing Shilo and a new — well, he’s going to need basically a pair of players to take over for Travis Hunter, the talented two-way Heisman Trophy winner.
At quarterback, it’s either going to be Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter or highly touted freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis.
“I feel like, wholeheartedly, this is a better football team,” said Sanders, whose team went 9-4 last season and earned an invitation to the Alamo Bowl.
Sanders is just getting to know some of his players after spending time away from the team this summer as he went through treatment for bladder cancer. While away, he relied on the experience of his veteran coaches, which included defensive coordinator Robert Livingston, offensive boss Pat Shurmur and Pro Football Hall of Famers Warren Sapp and Marshall Faulk. Former NFL quarterback/offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich has also been mentoring the signal callers.
“I feel like our staff gets better and better and better every year,” Sanders said. “I feel like the roster gets better and better and better every year.”
Sanders’ goal this season is similar to a year ago: earn 100-year-old super-fan Peggy Coppom a bowl appearance.
This time, with a caveat. “We want to get Miss Peggy to a bowl game — and win,” Sanders said.
QB conundrum
Salter and Lewis have their own styles. Salter is a run-pass threat who’s been responsible for 66 touchdowns over the past two seasons.
Lewis, who doesn’t turn 18 until September, threw for 11,010 yards over his career at Carrollton High School in Georgia. He also had 144 touchdown passes.
[MORE: Who’s Colorado’s Starting QB? Deion Sanders Says ‘Cream of the Crop’ Will Rise]
“It’s definitely been good just to have two guys in that room with that amount of talent level,” wideout Omarion Miller said.
They will be protected by a line that includes left tackle Jordan Seaton, who’s a first-team All-Big 12 preseason pick. Miller leads a deep pool of receivers and Dallan Hayden hopes to ignite a rushing attack that averaged 65.2 yards per game, which was the worst among FBS teams.
The next level
Colorado had more than two dozen players earn NFL roster spots in training camp, including 12 rookies.
“That’s another recruiting tool,” Sanders said.
The Prime Effect, attendance
The Buffaloes sold out of season tickets for a third straight year — and for only their 11th time in history.
There’s been quite an economic impact, too, with the Visit Boulder Convention and Visitors Bureau reporting that Colorado’s six home football games last season brought $93.9 million in direct economic impact and $146.5 million in total regional economic impact.
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The Prime Effect, enrollment
All the national exposure is paying dividends with enrollment at Colorado reaching record highs this fall along with student retention. In addition, the enrollment of Black students is up 7.9% from a year ago.
The schedule
The Buffaloes start the season by playing four of their first five games at Folsom Field, including the opener on Aug. 29 against Georgia Tech. The Buffaloes and the Yellow Jackets split the 1990 national title. They’ve never met on the football field.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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