Deion Sanders Receives Massive Praise From Urban Meyer for Colorado Turnaround
In the midst of Colorado’s resurgence under first-year coach Deion Sanders, Urban Meyer offered his rousing support this week while commending Sanders’s success in Boulder thus far.
The No. 18 Buffaloes (2–0), led by star quarterback and Sanders’ son Shedeur, enter Week 3 as one of college sports’s biggest stories following big wins over TCU and Nebraska to start the year. And, with the team already taking the country by storm, Meyer admitted CU’s turnaround after over a decade of ineptitude has been unlike anything he’s ever seen.
“It’s a story that, in my lifetime, I’ve never seen anything like what I’m witnessing with this transition of a team,” Meyer said Wednesday on his Urban’s Take podcast. “Colorado might’ve been the worst program in the last decade … If they stay healthy, they’re gonna win a bunch of games this year.”
As an analyst on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff, Meyer went on to say that he realized CU was “real” after following Sanders & Co. around since early August. The three-time national champion coach will again have a front row seat Saturday for the team’s home contest against coach Jay Norvell and Colorado State (0–1).
While Meyer largely spoke highly of Sanders and CU, he did express some concern about other programs looking to emulate their formula for team building. However, after noting the interest he’s heard from other athletic directors in following Sanders’s plan, Meyer re-iterated the Buffs have seemingly made it work early on because they have something, or better yet someone, other schools don’t.
“The thing that’s not real good about it I’m worried about is the ability to just change rosters like that, I’m not sure that’s good for any—it’s good for Colorado,” Meyer said. “… If that’s going to be the new normal, there’s going to be a lot of hurt feelings here so, I’m interested to see how this thing moves forward. … but there’s only one Deion Sanders, though.”
As Meyer noted, despite the criticism and questions, CU has found success in the early going after beginning the year with 87 new players, or a 76% roster turnover for the math buffs.
Needless to say, Meyer will be among those eagerly keeping an eye on Sanders and the Buffaloes as the year progress, with the team looking to go 3–0 after winning a total of nine games the last thee years.