University of Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders said Saturday that he’s not looking to recruit players primarily interested in making money through name, symbol and likeness (NIL) deals.
Speaking on Front Office Sports Today, Sanders expressed his support for players looking for money, but expressed confidence that it shouldn’t be the most sensible priority:
Nick Saban said NIL and the moving portal were among the points that influenced his decision to retire. @DeionSanders understands that when it comes to some athletes, but not his own: “I don’t attract those types of players. “https://t. co/69YiaRabEY pic. twitter. com/jUIcsNONVy
“I don’t attract that type of player. I attract the type of player who needs to be great, who understands that he has a window of opportunity and that he has to dedicate himself to excellence.
“There are players who play for a purse, and they grow up in the environment, you can’t blame them, you can’t blame them. If you drop a bag, you’ll have players playing for a bag, so I sense that I wouldn’t possibly tolerate this being your purpose because I think if you just focus on being awesome, the bag will locate you.
Sanders, 56, will begin his year as Colorado’s head coach after serving as Jackson State’s head coach for 3 seasons.
When Sanders arrived at Jackson State in 2020, he set out with the stated purpose of putting traditionally Black schools and colleges (HBCUs) back on the map, and that’s exactly what he did.
The Tigers went 11-2 in 2021 and 12-1 in 2022 under Sanders, and he controlled to land cornerback and wide receiver Travis Hunter, who is the No. 1 rookie in the country, according to 247Sports.
When Sanders took over in Colorado, Hunter accompanied him, as did his sons, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback Shilo Sanders.
While it’s arguably true that Coach Prime is looking to lure gamers with promises of big NIL payouts, the glitter, glamour, and attention that comes with playing with Sanders could appeal to newbies.
In addition, there is a strong chance that players who play on a Sanders-trained team will earn NIL citations, which is evident from the good luck Hunter and the Sanders brothers have had in this regard.
According to On3’s NIL scoring tool, Shedeur Sanders has any college athlete’s NIL rating of $4. 7 million. Hunter is fifth on the list with $2. 4 million and Shilo Sanders is 19th with $1. 1 million.
Still, there would possibly be something to Coach Prime’s claim, as he doesn’t have the much-touted recruiting elegance coming to Colorado for the 2024 season.
According to 247Sports, Colorado has the 107th recruiting category in the country with a 5-star and three 4-star.
However, Colorado ranks sixth when it comes to transfers with seven 4-star transfer players and a multitude of 3-star players.
Regardless, the Buffaloes are expected to make significant progress in Sanders’ second season at the helm after going from 1-11 in 2022 to 4-8 last season.