$45 million worth Deion Sanders signs helmets in room full of football merch before Colorado's Big 12 showdown

Year two in charge of the Colorado Buffaloes for Deion Sanders seems like a grand reckoning for the charismatic coach. After a promising start to last season, his team fell off the rails badly, but in many quarters, was given a grace period as he attempted to revamp the program that had gone 1-11 the previous year.

Ahead of the upcoming season, the $45 million worth Sanders, as per Celebrity Net Worth, has already picked fights with several media personalities to introduce himself to the Big 12.

He appeared in a picture on SMAC Entertainment's Instagram stories signing football helmets in a room full of football merch ahead of his team's debut in the Big 12.

SMAC Entertainment's IG stories (image credit: instagram/smacentertainment)

Deion Sanders shows renewed confidence in Buffs team

After the hype from starting the 2023 season 3-0, including a notable win against the previous season's national championship game opponent, the TCU Horned Frogs, it went downhill quickly for Colorado and Deion Sanders.

The team only won one more game to finish the season 4-8 and missed out on bowl eligibility. The Buffs' defense was particularly concerning allowing 276.9 passing yards per game — ranked No. 7 for most allowed in the FBS. The Buffaloes' scoring defense was ranked No. 124 as it gave up 34.8 points per game.

During a news conference on Saturday, Sanders showed his confidence in his revamped secondary and warned opponents of the difficulty that they would face when they go up against his team.

"It's going to be a problem, throwing the football against us is going to be a problem," Sanders said. "You can see the secondary is upgraded, as well. The back end, the safeties -- they’re as physical as ever. Shilo [Sanders] is doing his thing. Cam’Ron [Silmon-Craig] is doing his thing. Trevor [Woods] is doing a wonderful job inside. [LaVonta] Bentley is doing a wonderful job. As well as JB [Jeremiah Brown]. Depth is a key ingredient that we have”

Colorado's O-line was largely responsible for maverick quarterback Shedeur Sanders getting sacked the most (53) in college football, which played havoc with his health and forced him to miss the season's last game.

Deion Sanders promised to recruit a whole new O-line that would protect his son and allow him to thrive, which he duly did, via an attritional spring transfer portal that saw the customary exit doors from Boulder swinging several times.

With the new confidence about his team's abilities, Sanders will have to deal with the repercussions of the Buffs potentially underperforming in the Big 12 after being allowed to bring in his own players during year two of his fascinating project.