Colorado Buffaloes DC Robert Livingston shares coaching staff’s stance on Deion Sanders’ absence

Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders’ medical team declared Coach Prime free of bladder cancer on Monday after a months-long struggle that nearly cost him his life this past May.

As it turns out, Sanders’ coaching staff never wavered in their belief that Coach Prime would be back in Boulder throughout his absence.

Buffs defensive coordinator Robert Livingston said the word “if” was never involved.

“Prime's talking about his stance and all these things, and he wants to know how that's going. His leadership is one of one. He's the Pied Piper -- the world will follow him if they just listen to him,” Livingston said, per ESPN.

“He was away and we were working and just knowing that when he comes back, he's going to hit the ground running. That first staff meeting went about like you thought it would, ‘Hey, we're going to do this. We're going to do that.’

“The conversation was never had, like ‘if, then.’ We knew he'd be here day one.

“When you're a phenomenal leader as Coach Prime is, you establish a culture, a situation where people just go to work. And that's what it was. It was a joy to see.”

Livingston’s instant success at CU earned him a contract extension this offseason. If Coach Prime ever stepped down due to his health, Livingston may be the top candidate to take over on an interim basis.

As long as Sanders is around, Livingston is falling in line. As is everyone at the University of Colorado Boulder.