Following a successful 9-4 season in 2024, Deion Sanders is working to build on that momentum as the Colorado Buffaloes prepare for their season opener against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29, 2025. Entering his third year as head coach, Sanders has introduced strict rules aimed at guiding players’ conduct during the upcoming academic year.
On Wednesday night, before classes began, Sanders outlined expectations for how players should behave in both classroom and online learning environments. He addressed his team with a direct message: “If I see you with slides on campus, it’s gonna be a problem,” Sanders said. “If I see you with a hoodie or headphones on in class, it’s gonna be a problem. If I see you sitting in the back of the classroom, it’s gonna be a problem. Do we understand that? (…) And, if you’re online, and you have online classes, and you don’t have a shirt on, or you got a wife beater on, or you’ve got something stupid on that’s causing a distraction, or you’re walking about during an online session, it’s gonna be a problem.” The statement highlights Sanders’ emphasis on discipline and focus both inside and outside athletics.
Sanders has also maintained high standards for player performance during football activities. After observing a closed practice scrimmage last Saturday, he did not hesitate to voice his concerns regarding effort levels: “If you perform like you performed in that scrimmage, they going to eat you alive,” Sanders said (via Athlon Sports). “You might as well disconnect your social media. Do what you did out there in that scrimmage and see what they do. They gonna eat you alive.”
His approach to enforcing discipline extends beyond game preparation. During fall camp this year at Colorado, quarterbacks were made off-limits for contact except when drills specifically called for it; any violation of this policy would result in penalties ranging from jogging in place to running up and down Folsom Field’s stands.
Former Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee Shannon Sharpe recently expressed doubts about whether such tactics are effective within today’s college football landscape during an episode of “The Nightcap.” Sharpe remarked: “I don’t know if this style of punishment worked because I think some guys are already looking (…) Now you coach a kid hard, he’ll jump in the transfer portal (…)” He continued: “Somebody offering him $50 more than what you’re paying him, and you ticked him off, or he didn’t get as many reps as he thought, he didn’t get as many targets as he thought, he didn’t play as many plays as he thought, they jump in the portal.”
The Buffaloes currently have senior transfer Kaidon Salter and freshman Julian Lewis competing for the starting quarterback position following Shedeur Sanders’ departure.
