Can Deion Sanders find success in his second year with Colorado

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BOULDER, Colo. -- Rain pelted Deion Sanders as he walked out of the tunnel onto Folsom Field for his second spring game as head coach. Fans in the lower bowl cheered and clamored for him to get a little closer. Sanders waved hello before walking out to the water-logged field to check out the drills his players were running.

Last year, a sold-out record crowd of 47,277 braved snow and frigid temperatures for their first glimpse of Coach Prime, a man whose presence alone made Colorado football relevant again and the talk of the college football world. This year, the stadium is not filled, with vast open spaces in the end zones and upper decks. But replicating Sanders' debut last spring would have been hard to do, even if it had been a clear day in Boulder.

This spring, off a 4-8 season, some of that hype has died down. Sanders remains an outsized celebrity presence, with his own dedicated team of videographers and media and marketing representatives, deliberate in their every move. He has a new shoe line coming out later this year and joked Saturday he wants his own jet ski line. They would be called Prime Mobiles, he said.

But when it comes to football, the play on the field last year drew more questions than answers -- particularly after a 3-0 start ended with losses in eight of nine games, including a 46-43 loss to Stanford in which the Buffs blew a 29-0 halftime lead. With a roster overhaul underway, perhaps the hype invites more skepticism than enthusiasm.

Yet it is hard to say enthusiasm has completely disappeared considering 28,424 people -- the second-largest crowd in Colorado spring game history -- bought tickets and stood in cold, soaking rain to see Coach Prime and his new team.

Mareon Chapman and his high school friends Janyissa Bannister and Layla Goshorn loaded up their car with a snack-filled cooler and drove 30 minutes from their hometown of Aurora, pulling into a garage across the football stadium at 3 a.m., thinking the entire area would be packed. Instead, they were the first fans to the stadium. They decided to eat pancakes and then come back, standing in line to go through metal detectors two hours before kickoff.

Chapman, wearing a gold cowboy hat and CU poncho, said the three decided to come check out Colorado football for the first time, thanks in part to the Lil Wayne concert being held later that night that was part of a Black & Gold weekend Sanders arranged to drum up excitement across the entire campus.

Still, Chapman was in line wet and cold, his teeth chattering, wanting mostly to see Sanders.

"His history, his legacy and his coaching -- I like how he runs things," he said. "I was already excited last year. That was the first year of the program being rebuilt. But in the future, the program's going to be really successful because we're getting a lot of transfers and top recruits."

Behind them in line, Michael Shelton flew in from St. Louis with Kennetha Paris and her daughter, Mariah, for the second spring game in a row. Shelton, who said he has followed Sanders since his NFL career, believed the excitement is still there.

"I know this year is going to be much better," he said. "We're in a fast-paced world. Everybody wants it to happen right now. People want to see him fail. I see what people say about him. He knows, too. He keeps receipts."

Spoken just like Sanders.

Last year, everyone -- both in the crowd and on the team -- seemed happy to just be a part of what felt like a historical moment. This year? Those in attendance, on the field and in the stands, made an effort to show they were putting in the work.

That goes for quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who practiced and played this spring after fracturing his back at the end of last season. He also is spearheading a new offense under coordinator Pat Shurmur, one Shedeur describes as "quarterback friendly."

It goes for two-way player Travis Hunter, who has practiced at the inside nickel slot this spring in addition to receiver and his usual cornerback positions. It goes for the new transfers who have arrived since January, starting with receiver LaJohntay Wester, a player Shedeur said he approached himself on social media.

"We're in a way better place both mentally and physically than last year," Shedeur said. "I feel like we're getting quality guys now, and they're doing full background checks on everybody and we're getting exactly who we want. I watched LaJohntay Wester and I went after him, so we just collectively know what type of players we're getting overall and then we just play them to their strengths."

Deion made headlines a year ago for the way he overhauled his team in his first year. Only 10 scholarship players returned from the 2022 team; 53 players signed from the transfer portal for 2023, the most any team had ever added in one offseason.

Again this offseason, there has been significant turnover. Since the spring portal window opened April 16, 22 players have left, including former five-star recruit Cormani McClain and leading rusher Dylan Edwards. Running backs Alton McCaskill and Sy'veon Wilkerson also left, leaving cornerback Isaiah Hardge to start at running back in the spring game Saturday.

But there is one key difference between this year and last year when it comes to the portal. Last year, Colorado was trying to improve the talent level after fielding a 1-11 team in 2022; this year, the Buffs are being much more selective about who they add. That includes fixing their offensive line, which had five new starters Saturday but still lacks depth. Expect more additions to that group through the portal in the coming weeks.

"Even with the portal going on, I feel like we got all the negative energy out of the building," Shedeur said. "So now it's just a positive vibe. No one's really complaining. I just want to win this year."

So does Deion. In his postgame press conference, he expressed confidence that this would be a much better year. He seemed happy and jovial, fielding questions about the way Shedeur has handled the new offensive system, what becoming even more versatile has done for Hunter and what his message is to recruits and portal players. He, obviously, sprinkled in a few one-liners along the way. The best one may have been, "I don't really fly fish, but I've been known to be fly when I fish."

There is, of course, a sense of urgency -- beyond living up to the hype that has surrounded him and his program. With Shedeur and Hunter likely playing their final collegiate seasons, there is pressure to surround them with players that can help them win.

Deion does have a methodical plan to get there, based in large part on the lessons he learned under Bobby Bowden and his defensive coordinator, Mickey Andrews, at Florida State. Deion may be flashy, but his practices are far from it. Players are starting to understand that.

"These young men want to practice, they want to have each other's back, they want the physicality, they want all the smoke, so to speak," Deion said. "I love what we're building in this locker room, and if you're not a part of that thought process or that desire, you don't fit."

Those comments echo what Deion said several weeks ago, after the departures of the spring portal window. He noted most of the players in the portal were not significant contributors, and asked reporters then, "Please have some faith in me."

At least outside the program, there are enough questions -- whether it's about the 4-8 record in Year 1, revolving roster door, Deion's recruiting style and how he's gone about using the portal. There also has been rampant speculation about whether Deion will still be interested in coaching Colorado after Shedeur and Shilo, who plays safety, leave. It has become enough of a question that he was asked about it during his post-spring news conference. Deion tamped that down, saying, "I do not plan on following my kids to the NFL."

Plans always change, of course. The plan for this season, as Shedeur said, is to win. Armed with lessons learned during Year 1, Deion promised as much when he took the microphone to greet the crowd before the game kicked off. He thanked them for showing up despite the inclement weather and called them awesome. The crowd roared its approval.

Then he asked, "Where's Miss Peggy?" referring to 99-year-old superfan Peggy Coppom, who has been going to Colorado games since the 1940s. The two struck up a friendship shortly after Deion arrived in Boulder, when he learned about her fandom and went to her house to introduce himself. She handled the ceremonial kickoff at the spring game last year. But in the pouring rain Saturday, Miss Peggy was safely sheltered far from the elements. That did not stop Deion from delivering a message directly to her.

"We're going to get you to a bowl game, lady."