Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes are already reaping the benefits on the recruiting trail from such a stellar Week 1 road performance at the TCU Horned Frogs.
One game into his Colorado tenure, and Deion Sanders already has his first signature victory there.
Going into Forth Worth and beating last year's national runner-up in their place was about as impressive of a first win you could have asked for out of Sanders' Colorado program. TCU is no joke, but despite very obvious signs that the 2023 Horned Frogs would be pulling back, beating a ranked team on the road as the underdog is nothing to sneeze at. It has helped prime Coach Prime's team.
While on The Inside Scoop, On3's national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman spoke on how impactful of a Week 1 performance it was for Sanders' program on the recruiting trails.
"As one college source told me yesterday as the games got underway, this is the second part of the recruiting calendar and it's time to see how these teams fare on game day. What Deion Sanders and Colorado did was not only beat a College Football Playoff contender from last year, they did it with high-flying offense and their best players shined in the biggest moments."
Although we have largely known that Colorado would make great use of the transfer portal, as well as develop their players in-house with a tremendous coaching staff, Spiegelman says CU is now a place quarterbacks will want to gravitate to as well.
"We already know he and his staff can recruit at a very high level, we are now talking about Colorado recruiting at a major national level, because the proof is now in the pudding on the field. If you're a quarterback or a skill position player, you've got to be looking at Colorado in a completely different light as the season continues."
And if you are the blue-chipper of blue-chippers, Sanders literally put Travis Hunter in The Slot, baby!
"You're seeing how creative he is with Travis Hunter. That's what elite recruits want to hear, they want to hear that they're going to be on the field for as many snaps as they can to help their team win. That's basic."
Here is the latest episode of The Inside Scoop that features Spiegelman talking about Sanders' team.
Colorado will play its first home game of the Sanders era vs. traditional rival Nebraska on Saturday.
Deion Sanders, Colorado already turning heads on the recruiting trails
For as much enjoyment most of us have derived out of Colorado's first win of the Coach Prime era, the Buffs will be up against it to be anything more than a 6-6 team this year. Yes, this is a huge win that they can most definitely build on. However, it is going to be hard to get three wins in conference play, assuming the handle Nebraska and take care of business vs. Colorado State. The schedule is tough!
Truth be told, Colorado has already won this year in recruiting because of that signature road victory over TCU. I highly doubt they can beat Oregon in Eugene or USC at home in the week immediately after. Yes, you have winnable games vs. the Arizona schools and Stanford, but the Arizona games come right after the USC date and home vs. Oregon State. It is all about if the depth can be sustained.
And I think this is where Sanders needs to keep being himself. He can continue to win in the transfer portal, but if he really wants to take Colorado to the next level and over the top, then he needs to get these kids fresh out of high school. Though there may be a nice niche for Colorado being an elite transfer destination program, it is hard to contend for championships without landing high schoolers.
For now, the narrative is shifting even more so in Colorado's favor after such a thrilling Week 1 win.
