Lots of talk out there about Colorado and their "use" of the transfer portal post Spring Football... the Athletic has some GREAT articles on what's going on over there... one major takeaway... whatever happens over at Colorado, it is going to be 100% Prime... this is his BIG move and his opportunity. Imagine if Drink had come in and done what Prime is doing at Colorado... no bitching about 3/4 the team being Odom's people... but it's a risky move... and it is giving the finger to the idea that these guys are students. Make no mistake, these are players first. Colorado should be interesting next year.
excerpts:
theathletic.com
Travis Gray thought he had Sunday off. The day after Colorado football’s nationally televised, snowy spring game showcase, the offensive lineman was eating lunch at Olive Garden. He had a meeting with coach Deion Sanders scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday — until his phone buzzed with a text message from offensive line coach Bill O’Boyle.
That meeting had been moved up. It started in 30 minutes. An apologetic O’Boyle was waiting in the lobby of the team facility. As they made their way toward Sanders’ office, O’Boyle told him what was happening.
“He’s walking with me and said, ‘Hey buddy, you’re going to get cut today. I’m sorry to tell you this. I didn’t want you to hear it from Coach Prime. I wanted you to hear it from my mouth. I didn’t want to cut you, but we had to cut five offensive linemen, and you were the last one,’”
“I was like, ‘Oh, God.’ I saw the mean mug in his face,” Gray said. “He told me, ‘You’re 6-foot-8, 320 pounds. I know in my heart of hearts a school is going to pick you up in the portal when you enter. Make your weaknesses your strengths and keep progressing. I hope you have a great future, it just won’t be here at the University of Colorado.’”
Gray was disappointed. The Aurora, Colo. native’s father, Lamarr Gray, was an outside linebacker on Colorado’s 1990 national championship team. His dream of following in his father’s footsteps was over after just a year on campus.
Most of the 23 Colorado players who entered the transfer portal or announced plans to on Monday and Tuesday were told to do so, players say
_______________________
Mack may have been caught off guard, but for other players, it was clear where Sanders and his staff were investing their efforts. A line emerged, players said, between the returning players and newcomers.
“None of the new coaches would talk to the old players and treat us the same as the people they brought in,” said tight end Zach Courtney, who entered the transfer portal April 19. “The new guys wouldn’t be picked on as much in film. Coaches would tell them to just do better, but if it was an old player, they’d keep going off on what you did wrong and keep yelling about it.”
_____________________________________________________-
The five players The Athletic spoke with relayed one consistent reality for players Sanders inherited: He spent little to no time coaching or speaking with them.
“I felt like he was more of a motivational speaker. He gives good advice, but he didn’t really talk to me once,” Courtney said. “I never really got to experience his coaching.”
“No relationship with him at all. I said what’s up to him a few times,” said Gray, who practiced with the second team before an injury during a scrimmage forced him to miss two days of spring practice. “I’m not sure he knew the names of half the kids he got rid of. He was worried about who he brought in. If you were on the 1-11 team, it seemed like he didn’t really care about us at all. He already said he was going to get rid of 25-30 of us, and that’s exactly what he did.”
theathletic.com
What they’re left with are 10 of the 41 players who started games last season. Among the players exiting via the portal, 21 had starting experience.
all 10 scholarship wide receivers from last year’s team have either graduated or are transferring.
Sanders now has room to bring in more than 60 newcomers before his first season in Boulder. The two-deep will be filled with players he and his staff landed who bring starting experience from their previous stops and fit his vision.
theathletic.com
excerpts:
The personal fallout from Deion Sanders' unprecedented roster flip at Colorado
Most of the 23 Colorado players who entered the transfer portal or announced plans to on Monday and Tuesday were told to do so, players say.
theathletic.com
Travis Gray thought he had Sunday off. The day after Colorado football’s nationally televised, snowy spring game showcase, the offensive lineman was eating lunch at Olive Garden. He had a meeting with coach Deion Sanders scheduled for 3 p.m. Monday — until his phone buzzed with a text message from offensive line coach Bill O’Boyle.
That meeting had been moved up. It started in 30 minutes. An apologetic O’Boyle was waiting in the lobby of the team facility. As they made their way toward Sanders’ office, O’Boyle told him what was happening.
“He’s walking with me and said, ‘Hey buddy, you’re going to get cut today. I’m sorry to tell you this. I didn’t want you to hear it from Coach Prime. I wanted you to hear it from my mouth. I didn’t want to cut you, but we had to cut five offensive linemen, and you were the last one,’”
“I was like, ‘Oh, God.’ I saw the mean mug in his face,” Gray said. “He told me, ‘You’re 6-foot-8, 320 pounds. I know in my heart of hearts a school is going to pick you up in the portal when you enter. Make your weaknesses your strengths and keep progressing. I hope you have a great future, it just won’t be here at the University of Colorado.’”
Gray was disappointed. The Aurora, Colo. native’s father, Lamarr Gray, was an outside linebacker on Colorado’s 1990 national championship team. His dream of following in his father’s footsteps was over after just a year on campus.
Most of the 23 Colorado players who entered the transfer portal or announced plans to on Monday and Tuesday were told to do so, players say
_______________________
Mack may have been caught off guard, but for other players, it was clear where Sanders and his staff were investing their efforts. A line emerged, players said, between the returning players and newcomers.
“None of the new coaches would talk to the old players and treat us the same as the people they brought in,” said tight end Zach Courtney, who entered the transfer portal April 19. “The new guys wouldn’t be picked on as much in film. Coaches would tell them to just do better, but if it was an old player, they’d keep going off on what you did wrong and keep yelling about it.”
_____________________________________________________-
The five players The Athletic spoke with relayed one consistent reality for players Sanders inherited: He spent little to no time coaching or speaking with them.
“I felt like he was more of a motivational speaker. He gives good advice, but he didn’t really talk to me once,” Courtney said. “I never really got to experience his coaching.”
“No relationship with him at all. I said what’s up to him a few times,” said Gray, who practiced with the second team before an injury during a scrimmage forced him to miss two days of spring practice. “I’m not sure he knew the names of half the kids he got rid of. He was worried about who he brought in. If you were on the 1-11 team, it seemed like he didn’t really care about us at all. He already said he was going to get rid of 25-30 of us, and that’s exactly what he did.”
The staggering numbers behind Deion's roster purge at Colorado
Colorado had 83 scholarship players at the start of the 2022 season. Only 20 are still on the roster as of Monday night.
theathletic.com
What they’re left with are 10 of the 41 players who started games last season. Among the players exiting via the portal, 21 had starting experience.
all 10 scholarship wide receivers from last year’s team have either graduated or are transferring.
Sanders now has room to bring in more than 60 newcomers before his first season in Boulder. The two-deep will be filled with players he and his staff landed who bring starting experience from their previous stops and fit his vision.
A guide to 'run-offs,' the transfer portal and CFB roster flips
By convincing a player that it’s time to move on and enter the portal, a coach can now easily reset with minimal public backlash.
theathletic.com
