Deion Sanders is feeling like himself again and ready to lead Colorado's resurgence

FRISCO, Texas — Deion Sanders wants everyone to know he’s feeling good now. Way better than he did this time last year, when he was recovering from bladder cancer surgery and still feeling quite frail.
 
Sanders said he was away from his Colorado football program from May all the way until training camp last summer, which was difficult for the head coach and deeply impacted a team that eventually went 3-9. Looking back on the disappointing season, Sanders said that he didn’t feel like he was quite himself even after he rejoined the program.
 
“You know when you've been sick, but you still had to get your butt up and do what you had to do?” Sanders said. “You were there in the flesh, but you weren't you in thought process and thinking and the quickness and being free of thought. That's where I was.
 
“I'm putting that on me — that there were some holes that that I saw that I didn't make adjustments on. I should have. I should have shot some things early on.”
 
Now, Sanders feels different. He’s got his fingerprints on every player on the roster. He knows “every kid that we recruited, every kid that we even contemplated.”
 
“I’ve seen him. I’ve watched him,” Sanders said. “I picked him.”
 
He is high on his staff, saying that he believes he’s got the best group of communicators he’s ever worked with. That will help prepare the players for the moments in the margins that decide games; it will also help with in-game adjustments that need to be made. Sanders said he feels like Colorado finally has the personnel it needs to find success in the Big 12 and beyond as well.

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Because of the player personnel brought in and the coaching changes made — notably, new offensive and defensive coordinators — Sanders said he believes the Buffs have already turned the program around. “You just ain’t seen the fruit,” he said.
 
Sanders, 58, has dealt with a number of health issues in recent years, prompting questions about whether he’d continue coaching. To Coach Prime, there’s no question about it.
 
“This is who I am,” Sanders said. “I love to coach. I love to do what I do. I love to inspire, encourage and motivate them. I love to be there for the youngsters. … This ain't nothing I could just walk away from and turn my back on that game. God ain't called me to do that.
 
“This is my calling. We already know I'm answering.”
 
He said he’s healthy enough to keep coaching but that he was hesitant to look too far into the future.
 
“Let's not talk about tomorrow,” he said. “We got today at hand. Yeah. I'm going to focus on it now. When I'm my best, I focus on the now and I dominate the now. Then, I deal with the next day.”
 
Colorado lost seven of its final eight games last season, and both its offense and defense finished ranked among the Power 4’s worst. That led to Sanders overhauling both his roster and coaching staff. He brought in Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion to run the offense and elevated Chris Marve after previous defensive coordinator Robert Livingston left for the Denver Broncos. Quarterback Julian Lewis will be key to 2026 success, with Sanders confident that Lewis’s ceiling is impressively high as long as he plays more consistent.
 
Much of what Colorado will be this fall is unknown, considering the massive roster turnover. But that’s what excites Sanders — the opportunity to teach, to talk, to mold. He said he feels no pressure, even on the heels of a 3-9 campaign.
 
"I apply pressure, man, I don't subscribe to it," Sanders said.