Deion Sanders says some players ‘didn’t love football’ when he took over Colorado program

Deion Sanders was hired as the next head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes football program in December, given the job of turning around a program that has won 10 games in a season just once in the past 21 years. 

Sanders has gone about rebuilding the roster he inherited, using the transfer portal to add new talent with others exiting via the portal. 

Colorado Buffaloes head football coach Deion Sanders answers questions at the 70th annual Colorado University Fall Sports Media Day in Boulder August 11, 2023.  (Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Colorado returns just 10 scholarship players from 2022 with 68 new scholarship players on the roster, according to The Athletic. 

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On Friday, Sanders said there were some players who didn’t love the game of football when he took over as head coach. 

“It was tremendously tough, because you had some young men that just didn’t want to play the game. They didn’t love football. It’s hard for me to be effective if you don’t love it, if you don’t like it, if you don’t want to live it. That’s tough,” Sanders said when asked whether it was difficult implementing his program when he first took over. 

“That’s tremendously tough when you’re looking at a body of just dead eyes. That’s tough on any coach, not just me. I’m pretty sure a multitude of coaches have experienced that until they could clean house and get the roster they want. It was tremendously challenging day by day. I’m happy with what I see every morning now. I really am.” 

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders reacts during a press conference at the Arrow Touchdown Club.  (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports)

Sanders’ roster overhaul at Colorado has caused controversy in the college football world, with some coaches not impressed with how Sanders has gone about flipping the roster.

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Following Colorado’s Spring Game, Sanders used an NCAA rule that stipulates that first-year head coaches may cut players from the roster, although the university must honor the players’ scholarships. 

Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi took issue with the way Sanders used the rule. 

Colorado Buffaloes head football coach Deion Sanders answers questions at the 70th annual Colorado University Fall Sports Media Day in Boulder August 11, 2023.  (Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

“I grew up in a profession that you can’t tell a guy that he has to leave based on athletic ability,” Narduzzi told 247 Sports in May. “I think he’ll be shocked that he probably had some pretty good football players in that room. When I got to Pitt back in 2015, I didn’t kick anybody off. Zero. Those are your guys. When you become a head coach you inherit that team, and you coach that team. If someone wants to leave, that’s great. You don’t kick them out. I disagree with that whole process. That’s not why I got in the game.”

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Sanders is preparing for his first season as head coach of an FBS program, and his presence alone has put Colorado back on the map. 

The Buffaloes open the 2023 college football season against TCU, a game that will be broadcasted on FOX as part of the network’s “Big Noon Saturday” telecast.