1. Coach Sanders’ Left Foot
The startling headlines came out recently that Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders might need to have his left foot amputated. He’s already had some toes from the foot amputated, but the condition of the foot seems to be getting worse. Perhaps I’ll write about this more later, but there’s something surreal about someone as incredible an athlete as Prime Time going through this. And, of course, I can’t imagine what is going through his head with the situation.
That said, he has mentioned wanting to have some type of resolution before the season. I imagine that’s because he recognizes that this is an issue that could very well have an impact on the season. I couldn’t imagine not wanting to do everything I could to keep the foot, but that does leave the possibility that it could take a turn for the worse, and the team may be left without its head coach for a while. This situation is a wild element added to all the excitement of Coach Prime’s arrival in Boulder.
For now, Deion seems to have surgery scheduled that he hopes will resolve the issue. Let’s hope it does. It’s too early to say what impact it will have on the season, but it certainly seems as though it will be a factor in one way or another.
2. Colorado’s New Offensive Coordinator Sean Lewis
Former Kent State HC Sean Lewis – AP Photo
The excitement of Coach Prime is the primary factor in Colorado becoming a more exciting team this year. But I do think in all that hype, people are underrating just how interesting this particular hire is as well. Sean Lewis’ run at Kent State was impressive. In some ways, it’s a surprise he didn’t move to a bigger program sooner. At the same time, it’s a surprise to see him opt to move up in program status but down in position. If you had told me a year ago that Lewis, not Sanders, had been hired as the head coach of the Buffalos, I wouldn’t be surprised.
While he’s in Boulder, for however long or short that time may be, this will be an offense worth watching. Lewis’ creativity was regularly able to make an undermanned Kent State team look at least competitive for portions of games against programs like Alabama, Oklahoma, and Georgia. Eventually, the talent disparity would make the difference, but Lewis’ play-calling and schemes were a significant factor in why those games weren’t first-quarter blowouts. Watching his offense should be a treat for Buffs fans.
3. Shedeur Sanders
Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders (2) – Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports
There’s little doubt that Sanders was playing competition a little below his talent level at Jackson State. The question now is just how good he is and can perform as a Power Five QB. It’s hard to separate this element from our previous point of discussion, OC Sean Lewis. If these two can pair together as well as it seems they might, and if the offensive talent around them doesn’t let them down, we might be looking at Sanders as one of the top QBs in the Conference after the season.
It remains to be seen if Sanders can see the field and be as accurate against better competition than he’s faced previously. The quarterback’s play will be one of the most fascinating things to watch this season.
4. The Reshaping of the Buffaloes Under Prime
The Colorado Buffaloes program finally has an identity. It’s been a tumultuous process in these first few months, and Deion Sanders has received plenty of criticism for it. To me, that’s largely unfair. Yes, he shook things up and didn’t go about it with kid gloves. But that’s probably exactly what a 1-11 team needed if they want to compete in the PAC 12. Save the criticism for after we see the results. Because even if the team turns it around to just five or six wins, that’s a tremendous improvement.
More importantly, this is the first year of building a program. And based on the recruiting, transfers, and attention the Buffalos are receiving, that process is off to as strong a start as anyone could have hoped. For most programs outside of Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas, Michigan, and a few others, the head coach is the identity.
Deion, as much as anyone, understands this. Bobby Bowden was at Florida State, and they’ve struggled to find an identity since his departure. Coach Prime hasn’t hesitated to bring his identity and cache and make it synonymous with his new job. There’s an energy around the program unlike we’ve ever seen before. It’s going to be exciting to watch that play out.
5. National Attention
For decades, Colorado has been an afterthought on the national scene. It was another school out west that might occasionally put together an entertaining team, but nothing worth paying attention to. The new head coach has changed all that. This year, we can expect the Buffalos’ results to be near the top of the highlights packages. Preview shows like College Gameday will run Colorado segments on the program like they never have before. College Gameday might even make its first trip to Boulder since 1996. It will be interesting to see how a Colorado program that has never seen national attention like this handles it.
