Mention Deion Sanders, and Blake Purchase’s face lights up like the Mile High Tree on a cold November night.
Mention Deion Sanders at CU, and the top prep football player in Colorado, one of the Oregon Ducks’ prize commitments from the Class of 2023, admits he might even be open to a change of mind when it comes to his college of choice.
“Yeah, I would definitely look at it, if (Sanders) was to come (here),” Purchase told me with a smile earlier this week. “Yeah.”
What are we waiting for, Buffs? Never mind that Deion Sanders would put CU football back on the national map after more than a decade in the wilderness. Never mind that every door for every recruit in every state is going to open for Coach Prime, an NFL icon.
You want another reason to seal this deal? Deion stops the in-state poaching. Immediately. Colorado prep talent that’s spent a generation ignoring the Buffs — and CU football’s given them plenty of reasons to look elsewhere — is going to want an audience with Sanders in Boulder before they say “I do” to Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, Brent Venables at Oklahoma or Dan Lanning with Oregon.
“If (the Buffs) get Deion,” Broomfield quarterback Cole LaCrue, a Wisconsin commit, told me a few days ago, “I think that that program is going to be back.”
He paused.
“You know, ultimately, with the offer (from) them, too — you know, if Deion wants me, I’d love to do that. That’d be a fun place.”
Another pause. Backpedal, backpedal, backpedal.
“But as of right now, after talking to (new Wisconsin) coach (Luke) Fickell — obviously, he just got hired — I’m just pumped to be with the Badgers. I mean, I wish (Sanders and CU would have) happened a couple months ago.”
Or two years ago?
“If it did happen (two) years ago, that’d be a no-brainer. I’d be a Buff right now.”
And he’s not the only one. Imagine a CU offense where LaCrue is handing off to speedy Gavin Sawchuk, while big Andrew Gentry clears them a path to daylight.
From 2012-2022, Colorado produced 25 different 4-star prospects, per 247Sports.com’s composite rankings. CU signed two. And none since 2017.
“I think anywhere (Sanders) goes, he’s going to bring some energy,” longtime Loveland football coach Andy Cruse said of CU’s coaching target. “And kind of — not necessarily rejuvenate, but he’s definitely going to bring some pop to the next place he’s at.”
Cruse is old enough to remember Coach Prime in his playing prime, when Sanders became the first person to ever hit a home run in a Major League game and score a touchdown in an NFL game during the same week. Cruse cracked that the first thing he’d do if Deion came to his campus to represent CU would be to shake his hand. Then he’d probably ask for a selfie. Shamelessly
“Watching him play when I was a kid, you know, it was just amazing,” Cruse laughed. “He’s one of those rare gems that we truly could be thankful for.”
If he comes. Some have whispered that a deal between Coach Prime and CU was done a while ago, that we’re just dragging things out this week for laughs. Others fear that the Buffs are about to get Butch Jones-ed again (playing Colorado offer off until he got the Tennessee job). Both could be true, but that’s not a great look for athletic director Rick George, either.
Especially as every other Power 5 program that fired a coach in-season — Nebraska, Wisconsin, Auburn, Arizona State, Georgia Tech — had landed or confirmed a replacement by now.
The Buffs, meanwhile, have … an offer out. Everyone’s talking about the offer. And talking about how Coach Prime might be using said offer as leverage, might be playing the Signing Day hat dance himself. Especially with vacancies at Cincinnati and South Florida, two jobs that would — on paper — to make more sense for him than Boulder.
Lock him down, Buffs, and you lock the gates.
“(Sanders) being the coach is going to change a lot of kids’ minds (locally),” Purchase continued.
“Because Colorado, (we) don’t really keep our kids in the state. I don’t know. So if he were (CU’s) coach, a lot more in-state kids would really give it a harder look to just stay home, stay and go to CU.”
Honestly? It would make Purchase pause and give a harder look, too.
“If (Sanders) comes to Colorado, it would be a crazy thing to see happen,” the Cherry Creek star said. Then he smiled again. “And I would definitely look at it and just kind of see what goes with that.”
