When is Colorado's spring game in 2025? Looking at Deion Sanders' prep for offseason matchup

The Colorado Buffaloes are set to play their spring game on April 19, with Deion Sanders being a fervent believer in the need to play the traditional encounter. On Monday, the star coach told the Associated Press his reasoning for playing the game.

“We’ve got to sell this thing out and pack this thing because the way the trend is going, you never know if this is going to be the last spring game,” Sanders said. “I don’t believe in that. I don’t really want to condone that. I would like to play the spring game.

"Actually, I like to play against another team in the spring.”

NCAA Football: Alamo Bowl-Brigham Young at Colorado - Source: Imagn

The game is set to be broadcast on ESPN2. Several major programs have decided to forgo the traditional game this offseason, fearing the physical impact it has on players. Nebraska, Texas, Ohio State and USC have all decided to cancel traditional spring games.

This is part of a general trend to change the structure of spring training as a whole, with schools opting for a framework similar to NFL-organized team activities.

As the postseason play has expanded, with the extended format of the College Football Playoff, programs that participated are worried that their players might not have had enough time to recover and that playing the traditional spring game could put them at risk of injury. Other programs have followed suit.

Deion Sanders on the setbacks his sons are facing ahead of the NFL draft

Also speaking with the press on Monday, Deion Sanders touched upon his sons' draft prospects which have been diminishing in the last few months.

“They receive a lot more ignorance than I did,” Sanders said. “I received some, but we didn’t have the social media channels and all the different things that’s privy today. … I mean, you’ve got to understand, I was a two-sport guy at the time, so you could imagine what it would have been like with all the hate and the naysayers.

“You’ve got to take a shot at somebody, and you might as well take a shot at a Sanders, we’re built for this.”

Shedeur Sanders, who at one point was expected to be the first pick of the draft, has kept falling in recent mock drafts. He also had an issue with a quarterbacks coach of a franchise with a top 10 pick during the NFL combine, with the coach allegedly having the impression that he's too "brash" and "arrogant" for the league.

On the other hand, his brother Shilo Sanders didn't even get an invite for the combine. Some analysts don't even expect him to get drafted. Things don't seem to be looking up for Deion Sanders' kids.