Deion Sanders has been accused of ill-treating several former Colorado players after taking over the program in late 2022.
The head coach, who went 4-8 in his first season in Boulder last year, pulled multiple scholarship offers from players who had already committed as he weeded out the athletes he didn’t believe would be right for his roster.
Many of the players who were already at Colorado before Coach Prime arrived were excited to welcome a head coach of renown, with Sanders widely regarded as the best cornerback in NFL history. His work at Jackson State also made him one of the most sought-after people in college football. However, many of them were sent packing.
Max Olson of The Athletic had discussions with several former players for an article outlining where they’ve all ended up since they were pushed into the transfer portal.
Also Read: Deion Sanders Announces Decision On Possible Move To The NFL Once His Sons Get Drafted
Wide receiver Chase Sowell told the publication that being in Colorado made him feel like he was part of a reality TV show because of Amazon’s ‘Coach Prime’ series. He also claimed that the new players didn’t want to mix in with them.
“We felt like it was us vs. them instead of all of us together,” he explained. “That’s the best way I can put it. The new guys were going against the players that had already been there. It wasn’t a good environment to be in. It wasn’t a team environment.”
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Deion Sanders “Was Destroying Guys’ Confidence And Belief In Themselves”
Xavier Smith and Oakie Salave’a weren’t allowed a one-on-one with Deion Sanders, with the safeties being brought to his office together, where they were told they should hit the portal.
“We sat on the sofa, and he’s talking to us, but he’s not even looking at us,” Smith said. “I’m looking Coach Kelly dead in his eyes. (Sanders) said he felt like I should hit the portal. He didn’t want me to waste a year thinking I could earn a spot.
“I was actually getting mad, like tears coming to my eyes. Because, bro, you never even tried to get to know me.”
Smith also accused Sanders of destroying players’ belief and confidence when he arrived.
Offensive tackle Jake Wiley claimed he found out some players were leaving after one of the coaches removed them from a group chat.
“In our O-line group chat, one of the offensive line coaches texted the group and said, ‘Good luck fellas,’” Wiley recalled, “and then he just removed all of them. It said these five people were removed from the chat. We were like, ‘Huh? What happened?’”
Over 50 players left Colorado in Deion Sanders’ first year as head coach, and over 30 have left this year.
Sanders spared no punches when he came in, with a video showing him telling the players it was his job to get rid of all of them in a bid to rejuvenate the program.
He clearly wasn’t playing.
