Kansas’ Lance Leipold Shares High Praise for Deion Sanders and No. 16 Colorado

Leipold has built a strong friendship with Sanders over the course of the season.

Nov 16, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders calls in a play in the first quarter against the Utah Utes at Folsom Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

As the Kansas Jayhawks prepare for a massive matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, Kansas head coach Lance Leipold had plenty of admiration for his counterpart, Deion Sanders.

Leipold, who has built Kansas into a competitive program, expressed respect for Sanders’ unconventional journey to coaching at the highest level.

“I have a lot of respect for Coach Sanders, Coach Prime, and how he's gone about it," Leipold said. "I told him that one of the first times I met him. Because the thing that we do have in common is we've come up through ranks that aren't necessarily conventional to get a Power Four football job. He coached high school football. He coached at an HBCU university that doesn't have many resources, and he found a way to be successful, and he found a way to build this program and his own philosophy. And I told him when I met him in Arizona, how much respect I had for him because of that.”

Sanders’ Colorado team has drawn national attention this season for their explosive play and remarkable turnaround, something Leipold didn’t hesitate to acknowledge.

“They're a very talented team. They're playing with a lot of confidence, again, in all three phases,” Leipold said. “They've been highly productive. And he's got himself a really good football team with a chance to play a lot of football yet.”

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