By Mark Pszonak
Hired by Jackson State on September 21, 2020, during the peak of COVID, Deion Sanders coached his first game with the Tigers on February 21, 2021. Now, four years later, and with Colorado, the 2025 season will be the first true test of his coaching abilities.
The COVID influenced spring 2021 season was Coach Sanders only experience as a head coach without his son, Shedeur Sanders, leading his offense. Jalon Jones was the quarterback that spring and the Tigers finished 4-3, which really was 3-3 since Alcorn State opted out of their scheduled game.
Since then, Coach Sanders led the Tigers and Buffaloes to a combined 24-14 record, while his son passed for 11,116 yards and 104 touchdowns. Without the comfort of knowing that his son would be in control of the offense during each gameday, Coach Sanders will be pressed to make decisions that he hasn’t had to make in years. And this time, unlike in the spring of 2021 when he had to make these decisions while playing against Grambling, Alabama A&M and Alabama State, he will have to make them against Arizona State, Utah and Kansas State.
To help him prove that he doesn’t need Shedeur to succeed, Coach Sanders will turn to either transfer Kaidon Salter (Liberty) or true freshman Julian Lewis. Realistically, it will likely be a combination of the two in 2025.
While the quarterback position will always get the most attention, if Coach Sanders and the Buffaloes are to succeed this season, an improved running game is necessary. And it not only needs to improve, it needs to improve drastically. During Coach Sanders first two seasons in Boulder, Colorado’s rushing attack was last in the country. In 2023 they rushed for 827 yards and followed that up by rushing for 847 yards in 2024. The 1,674 yards the Buffaloes totaled the last two seasons was almost 1,000 yards less than Ashton Jeanty rushed for by himself in 2024.
More Sports News
The lack of a running game was always noticeable but also overshadowed by the play of Shedeur and the dynamic passing game. Coach Sanders will not have that safety blanket going forward, so an improved running game is a must. The problem is that the Buffaloes did not address the situation during the winter portal window. To this point, Colorado will be relying on the same backs they had last season; Isaiah Augustave, Dallan Hayden and Micah Welch.
Could the Buffaloes still add someone through the portal in the spring? Yes, but usually the pool of available players is diminished in both quantity and quality compared to the winter. So, odds are that Colorado will need make due with what they currently have on the roster.
Without a viable running game, all eyes will be on Coach Sanders to see what he does next. Will he be able to figure it out and produce a successful season? The 2025 season will be his biggest test to date and how he comes out of it will prove how good of a coach he really is.
