Following the worst season under Deion Sanders, changes were expected in Colorado. During the Kansas State postgame press conference, Coach Prime said big changes were guaranteed. When they started, many of the moves came with questions. Mere days away from the only portal window closing, Colorado’s decisions are beginning to become concerning.
The first significant domino to fall was the hire of offensive coordinator Brennan Marion. A lower-level coach known for a creative and quick attack he has dubbed the “go-go offense”. Considering Marion was not a long-term friend of Sanders, as most of his current coaching staff are, the hiring was welcomed.
Then came the "mass exodus" of players hitting the transfer portal. A total of 37 players to date that were on last year's team are now gone. Not all of these were surprising. However, the ones that were carried a varying degree of devastation.
Omarion Miller and Drelon Miller were expected to be key pieces for the Buffs offense. Tawfiq Byard was the most productive player on defense in 2025. Brandon Davis-Swain was someone Sanders spoke positively until he entered the portal. Alexander McPherson, London Merritt, and Samuel Okunlola were arguably three of the best pass rushers on the roster.
The loss of Jordan Seaton creates real concern
There are two players not yet listed that sound the alarm of panic. Tyler Brown, who followed Prime from Jackson State, was a player almost no one expected to leave. Known as “Rock”, Brown not only came back after an NCAA waiver denial, but he also fought through not starting and eventually worked his way into being a two-way player for Sanders. Brown leaving was an eye-opening revelation.
There were five names Sanders could not lose if he wanted to maintain calm and optimism for the 2026 season. Julian Lewis, DJ McKinney (arguably the only NFL Draft worthy player who would’ve been eligible in 2026), Miller and Miller, along with Jordan Seaton. Minutes after his announcement, Lewis posted a single image staring blankly off into the distance (that tweet has since been removed) that is likely to keep Buffs fans nervous until the portal closes.
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As of Tuesday, Lewis is the only name on that list that remains. Losing Seaton is comparable to watching a sinking ship and seeing the captain of the vessel jump off. Despite what Prime says about belief in what they’re doing, belief becomes difficult when the foundations of the building begin to crumble. With Seaton entering the portal, Colorado’s complete shift in philosophy creates more questions than answers.
McKinney, Miller and Miller, Byard, Merritt, McPherson, Davis-Swain, Okunlola, Thomas, and Oatis have all committed to Power 4 programs. Notre Dame, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Clemson, Penn State, Missouri, Georgia Tech, and Ole Miss. The players brought in almost all come from the Group of Five or below.
There is a logic, but no guarantee it will work
The logic is obvious and not something Sanders has shied away from. Colorado is pursuing players who are not “chasing a bag”, but that’s the problem. Welcome to the new world of college football. Anyone resistant to NIL are doomed to get left behind. Whether that is refusal to agree to your players making money via NIL or in this case, choosing to pursue the level of player not interested in making money.
It’s feasibly possible that the Colorado staff felt the need to purge the program of players motivated by money and the resulting additions could play better as a collective unit. However, that is feast or famine situation. It’s either going to work and Colorado will win more than 3 games or it won’t work at all and this is about to get worse before it gets better.
The Curt Cignetti parallel is obvious but also not an apples-to-apples comparison. Cignetti went to Indiana from James Madison and even brought some JMU players with him. In 2024, Indiana was good. In 2025, they were more than good and find themselves in the National Championship game. All the while having very few 5-star and 4-star players. The problem is Sanders is many things, but he is not Cignetti.
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Either the shift in philosophy will work and they will be a somewhat competitive team, or it won’t work at all, and the detractors will be at the gates. Whether it’s fair or not, Coach Prime may have just put himself on the hot seat by not fighting to keep some of the talent pool. Only to replace them with players from a lower-level talent pool.
The once upon a time “portal king” seems to have taken his ball and gone home. Conceptually speaking. Colorado has a money problem and a new athletic director. Making any sort of bidding war for players unlikely. However, refusing to swing the for the fences at all and opting for infield singles on every swing seems like a recipe for disaster in the current college football landscape.
This new philosophy must work, because if it doesn’t, there could be more at stake than just the 2026 regular season.
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