Why did Deion Sanders go to Colorado? Analyzing Coach Prime's move to Buffaloes

Deion Sanders is stealing his favorite thing, the spotlight, after Colorado's 45-42 upset victory over No. 17 TCU. They don't call him Prime for nothing. Sanders' son, Shedeur, put up incredible numbers, throwing for a school single-game record 510 yards with four touchdowns.

Not so long ago, few thought Colorado could beat last year's finalists the TCU Horned Frogs. Colorado went 1-11 last year, but a turnaround is in process in Boulder, inspired by the personality of Coach Prime. Let's take a look at why Sanders moved to Colorado.

Sanders spent three seasons at Jackson State.

When did Deion Sanders join the Buffaloes?

Deion Sanders spent three seasons at Jackson State, leading the Tigers to two consecutive conference titles and bowl games in 2021 and 2022. He achieved some recruiting feats while at Jackson State, like flipping the commitment of five-star recruit Travis Hunter, who was initially expected to play for Florida State.

On Dec. 3rd, it was announced that Sanders would be joining Colorado. At the time, many thought that it was a big gamble for the Pac-12 school, but a worthy one considering Prime's electric personality and recruiting allure.

"There were a number of highly qualified and impressive candidates interested in becoming the next head football coach at Colorado, but none of them had the pedigree, the knowledge and the ability to connect with student-athletes like Deion Sanders," CU athletic director Rick George said.

"Not only will Coach Prime energize our fanbase, I'm confident that he will lead our program back to national prominence while leading a team of high quality and high character."

Why did Deion Sanders join Colorado?

One of the main arguments Deion Sanders has put forward for leaving Jackson State is the lack of resources of an FCS school compared to an FBS one. Nonetheless, when asked about it on "The Pivot Podcast" in March, Coach Prime added other reasons:

“It was the ideology, the thought process, the forward-thinking. It was meeting me at the crossroad. That’s what was involved in that."

He also expressed concern at the level of income his staff was able to make at Jackson State:

"And sooner or later you have to look in the mirror and say, are they going to get there? Do they even want to get there? And I had to ask those questions and really be honest with them, with me and myself as well as my staff. The Bible says, 'Thy rod and thy staff comfort me.'

"They can’t be comforted making $60,000 the rest of their lives, or $70,000. Not that that is bad. For everybody making $50,000-$60,000, I apologize. I don’t mean to demean you. But as a college football coach, that’s not good, and we have to do better than that."

Whatever Coach Prime's reasons for leaving Jackson State and joining Colorado, the football world is in for a treat if the Buffaloes can maintain momentum. There appears to be no ceiling to what Colorado can do.