Deion Sanders set the tone for a very different year four

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders met with the media for the first time since his “Last Supper” post-game press conference on November 29. During his last supper address, the head coach all but vowed sweeping changes.

Those changes, as outlined, would include players, coaches and a shift in mentality. Change has been the theme and change has been delivered. Before discussing Spring Ball, Sanders took a moment to address the recent tragedy affecting the program.

Sanders spoke of the on-field vigil performed by the players in honor of the late Dominic Ponder who died this week. Ponder was a quarterback on the roster and according to Sanders, a leader on the team and in that QB room. Sanders held his composure but was visibly affected.

“It is my understanding as a father, that when we send our kids to college, to mature, progress, learn, and come back with something,” Sanders said. “We don’t send a kid to college to not come back. And that’s the most painful thing I’m dealing with. He was one of my favorites. Love him.”

Coaching changes reflect a change in mentality

Sanders evaluated the program before that Last Supper address. While he identified the issues, he was also hesitant to put names to those issues. He did identify that ‘mentality’ was the biggest change needed. 

For the second time in five months Sanders spoke of the number 30. According to Sanders, the Buffaloes win when they score 30 points or more. Every offensive coordinator they interviewed averaged more than 30 points per game. In the end it was Brennan Marion and his creative “go-go” offense that won the job.

The promoting of Chris Marve to defensive coordinator was not a rash decision according to Sanders. Marve, who joined the team in December to be the Linebackers coach was promoted to DC shortly after Rob Livingston accepted a job with the Denver Broncos.

“You think Marve just magically appeared on this staff?” Sanders asked. “We’ve got a guy who is fully overqualified for this position right on staff.”

Several of the new coaches have gone somewhat viral. For their messaging, intensity, blunt honesty and a tone and tempo in the practice footage provided by Well Off Media, that simply has not been present in recent years.

The players have embraced the task at hand

The second largest change from a personnel standpoint was yet another roster flip. Many players left and had since been replaced by incoming transfers. The understanding is that the new players represent the desired change in mentality Sanders was looking for.

Lewis is the largest name carried over from the 2025 season. The go-go scheme should play into Lewis’ strengths. There is a sense that there are two Jujus. The player Lewis is and the player Lewis will become. Sanders believes that switch is ‘coming round the mountain’.

“There’s an old riddle when I was a kid we used to sing. He’ll be coming on round the mountain when he comes… he be coming on round the mountain, he be comin… that’s who he is,” Sanders said of Lewis.

When asked about new players that have stood out, Sanders began with only a three-word response. “All of them” Sander emphatically claimed. “They look different, they’re built different, they’re attitude is different.”  

The approach defies convention, but needs to work

What Sanders is attempting to do this season is counterintuitive to what has worked in college football for decades. Sanders is turning his back on the conventional wisdom that suggests you need the highest rated players to be competitive. He claimed in 2025 that he is not currently interested in players who are "chasing a bag".

36 outgoing transfers that include five-star OT Jordan Seaton, four-star CB DJ McKinney, as well as significant amount of three-star, perceived cornerstone pieces have departed for top level Power 4 teams. Sanders has replaced those 36, with 43 incoming transfers. Creating an interesting balance of mostly Group of Five schools and a few big Power 4 programs. 

The question is, will this work? Can a team of hungry and potentially under recruited talent play as a unit at a high enough level that they can beat other Power 4 programs that prioritize the highest rated talent they can get?

If this plan works, Sanders will be celebrated. By Colorado fans, those opposed to the NIL dynamic and fans of teams that don’t have the budget of Georgia or Texas. That said, Sanders and the Buffaloes cannot afford another losing season.

If this doesn’t work, bigger and louder questions are going to come. Sanders maintains that he has seen and touched everything that walked in the door. Something he couldn't say before the 2025 season. 

Coach Prime has a vision. That vision included change. He has delivered on the change aspect of the plan. Now the work begins to make the vision work. Can this hungry, scrappy team with the right mentality win games against teams that follow a more conventional approach? 

Finding out if it will work is only one of many reasons, "why they play the games". 

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