"I took it as a challenge" - Colorado standout opens up on how he earned Deion Sanders' trust after difficult start

NCAA Football: Colorado at Texas Tech - Source: Imagn

Head coach Deion Sanders has helped the Colorado Buffaloes grow tremendously as a football program over the past few seasons. When he arrived before the 2023 season, he told many players to enter the transfer portal. He did this because he wanted to bring in standout players like Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders.

However, Ben Finneseth did not give up. He stuck with the team and was rewarded on Saturday. During practice, Sanders announced that the safety had earned a scholarship after three years as a walk-on.

Finneseth then spoke to "60 Minutes" about his mentality when Sanders arrived in Colorado.

"I mean, I took it as a challenge. I said, 'He wants us to leave and I'm determined to stay.' I was confident. I was, like, 'They can't get rid of me. I'm gonna make it so they can't get rid of me.' My dad told me, 'You want to swim with the sharks or swim with the fish?'"

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Sanders hailed Finneseth's work ethic and approach.

"There's one guy in this locker room. We never question him, he's always on time, does his schoolwork, practices hard, without the carrot of playing on Saturday. But he gives it his all. Ben is getting something. I'm just trying to figure out if you're getting the whole or the half (scholarship). But you're getting something. I ain't giving you nothing. You know why? You earned it and I love you and I appreciate you."

Deion Sanders' focus is on the QB battle at Colorado

While the news that Ben Finneseth had received a scholarship with the Colorado Buffaloes is big, Deion Sanders' chief focus is on the QB battle at the school. With Shedeur Sanders leaving the team for the 2025 NFL draft, the Colorado Buffaloes need a new starting quarterback.

Heading into the 2025 season, two players are competing for the job. Five-star recruit Julian Lewis is part of the team's 2025 recruiting class and will contend for the starting job. However, Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter was also brought in this season and is favored to start.

Both players participated in the spring game, but Deion Sanders has not publicly evaluated their performances.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.