Deion Sanders contends with key Colorado players entering transfer portal ahead of second season

Deion Sanders was named head coach of the Colorado football program in December 2022. Shortly after taking the job, Sanders began using the transfer portal at an unprecedented level.

Sanders was taking over a program that finished the previous season with just one win. The Pro Football Hall of Famer has once again been active in the transfer portal during his second offseason in Boulder.

By Dec. 21, 247 Sports ranked Colorado’s transfer class in the top spot after it had signed 16 transfers.

The spring transfer portal opened Tuesday, and several notable Colorado players leaped at the opportunity to play elsewhere in 2024.

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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders walks the sideline against Arizona at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., Nov. 11, 2023. Getty Images

Projected starting offensive lineman Savion Washington headlined the list of Buffaloes players who entered the transfer portal. Washington started the majority of Colorado’s games last season. The offensive line struggled to protect quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who was sacked 52 times.

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Colorado did land five new offensive linemen during the winter transfer portal window, but Sanders will likely continue to evaluate the portal in hopes of adding depth.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, center, exits the field after a game against Oregon Sept. 23, 2023, in Eugene, Ore. AP Newsroom

Defensive linemen Chazz Wallace and Devee Harris also intend to leave, while defensive backs Myles Slusher and Jaden Milliner-Jones are also looking to play elsewhere next season. Wide receiver Tar’varish Dawson is also on the move.

Sanders oversaw a major roster overhaul last year. Colorado had 53 incoming transfers and a total of 86 new players for the 2023 campaign. Coach Prime’s son, Shedeur, appeared to be aware of the spring portal activity.

“Portal opens soon let’s get busy,” Sanders wrote Monday on X, formerly Twitter.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, left, talks with his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, before a game against Southern California Sept. 30, 2023, in Boulder, Colo. AP Newsroom

Colorado will play its first season this fall as a member of the Big 12 after the school’s departure from the Pac-12 Conference. The Buffaloes closed out last season on a six-game losing streak and finished with a 4-8 record.

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Original article source: Deion Sanders contends with key Colorado players entering transfer portal ahead of second season