Fear not Boulder, Colorado, Deion Sanders is right here to save lots of Colorado soccer. All he wanted when he stepped off a non-public jet was his personal silk cape to accompany his messiah advanced. If the extremes and excesses of the NIL period had been molded into human type, it might be the person referred to as Coach Prime.
On Sunday, Sanders peacocked his method into the Colorado follow facility and made a weird first impression. He immediately proclaimed his son the beginning quarterback earlier than he’d formally entered the switch portal and made positive to advertise himself because the savior of Colorado soccer. There wasn’t a lot discuss of constructing Colorado’s gamers up. He made positive to notice that any student-athletes he doesn’t deem worthy are welcome to go away. He dehumanized and insulted his crew stuffed with FBS-student-athletes he’s been tasked with main by informing them that he’s received his personal guys from a decrease subdivision of soccer able to take their spots so they may as nicely hop into the portal ASAP.
“We got a few positions already taken care of because I’m bringing my luggage with me… And it’s Louis [Vuitton],” Sanders stated to an auditorium of returning Colorado gamers.
It’s probably the most egotistical we’ve seen him but. There’s no I in crew, however there may be one in Deion and two in Primetime. The function of the switch portal was to offer student-athletes a second probability at one other program, not a doorway for brand new coaches to shove gamers out the emergency exits en masse. College soccer is a giant enterprise, nevertheless it’s by no means been extra cutthroat than this. We’ve seen coaches make the most of Twitter to attraction to recruits, however they’ve by no means gone full Elon Musk on their gamers in full view.
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After assuming management of Twitter, Musk considered himself as a hammer who noticed nails throughout rattling place. He rapidly started firing builders and mocked them in tweets, then backtracked on huge plans after he received out entrance his personal skis. The cult of Musk is precisely what Sanders has going for him, however with out the social (media) awkwardness.
Sanders will undoubtedly present a sugar excessive to Colorado that they haven’t skilled in many years. The expectations are low at Colorado after a 20-year by which they’ve gained simply 89 video games. At this level, bowl eligibility could be deemed a productive season. Colorado is Prime Academy 3.0. The authentic Prime Academy is defunct thanks partly to Sanders’ incompetence, however whereas it was open, the college served as a car for his soccer aspirations.
According to On3’s Josh Newberg, a torrent of NIL alternatives will probably be flooding into the University of Colorado. He rapidly secured a dedication from 5-star IMG Academy large receiver Winston Watkins Jr. First he has to make it to 2025 simply to get Watkins on campus.
Those are small victories, however one or two 5-star recruits gained’t change Colorado’s fortunes within the Pac-12. It will take a number of recruiting lessons and a training philosophy that may give them a marginal benefit over the Pac-12’s center class.
After a 13-0 season at Jackson State, Sanders is flying excessive, however so was Icarus. Sanders’ recruiting benefit at Jackson State will probably be nullified within the Pac-12. CB Travis Hunter gained’t be sufficient to single handedly elevate Colorado’s secondary and Shiloh Sanders wasn’t a full-time starter at South Carolina earlier in his profession.
Former 4-star prep quarterback Shedeur Sanders would be the beginning quarterback in 2023, however the hole between him and his SWAC friends has been erased. Against SWAC competitors, Deion tried to throw him into the Heisman dialogue. In 2023, Shedeur will probably be measured towards extra completed starters like Washington State’s Cameron Ward, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., USC’s Caleb Williams. The No. 2 quarterback in Shedeur’s prep class in 2021 will probably be a backup for the Huskies. The No. 7 quarterback in 247 Sports’ Composite Rankings, Ty Thompson, misplaced his beginning job at Oregon to Auburn switch Bo Nix.
Colorado wants an grownup in cost as a lot because it wants wins. The Elon Musk bravado labored in a convention that cares extra about halftime reveals than soccer, however we’ve seen how his overconfidence and alienation technique has decimated his private wealth in addition to that of Twitter and Tesla. Sanders will make the most of the switch portal and his distinctive connections to draw NIL cash, celebrities and make highschool athletes conscious that the University of Colorado exists. He’s already created a brand new power across the program, however his precise teaching acumen and talent to construct a D-I staff workers will probably be examined.
Deion Sanders’ Colorado soccer stint will both be his crowning achievement or a real-life parable for Icarus flying too near the solar.