One thing that makes college football so unique — not to mention competitive — is the aspect of recruiting. Rosters experience turnover every year or two, meaning elite NCAA football programs have to continually replenish and restock the cupboard with talent. The ability to do this regularly, especially in the era of NIL rights, separates the contenders from the pretenders.
College football fans are about to find out whether the Colorado Buffaloes will be Big 12 contenders in 2025…or whether losing Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders to the NFL will be just too much for head coach Deion Sanders to overcome. Coach Prime has never worked at a college program without his son Shedeur, who teamed up with Hunter to lead Colorado to its best season in nearly a decade in 2024, and continuing to win without the dynamic duo will boost Prime‘s stock amid continued rumors linking him with an NFL return.
Fans are split on how “real” Colorado is
Though the Buffs‘ goal in 2024 was to reach the Big 12 Conference championship game, Colorado still surprised many observers by winning nine out of 13 games and playing in the Alamo Bowl just two seasons after a dismal 1-11 campaign. There is little doubt that Deion Sanders has transformed the program — but Shedeur also had a big role to play in Colorado’s unexpected turnaround.
Commenters on Instagram are divided over how Sanders and Julian Lewis, his new five-star quarterback recruit, will get along in 2025. Some believe Lewis can mimic Arizona State redshirt freshman Sam Leavitt and lead Colorado to the Big 12 title game and a shot at the College Football Playoff; others believe a disappointing 5-7 season is incoming, given the Buffs’ losses in the transfer portal.
However, Coach Prime is nothing if not confident. He loves to be counted out, just to rise from the ashes like a phoenix, and the quarterback competition between Lewis and Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter could bring the best out of both signal-callers as Colorado plans anew for a post-Shedeur, post-Travis future amid contract extension negotiations for its head coach.
