https://theathletic.com/5094370/2023/11/28/deion-sanders-colorado-recruiting-decommitment/

Deion Sanders has already proven multiple times he can pull a rabbit out of his hat late in a recruiting cycle. This is more about a big-picture look at Colorado’s recruiting.

It’s bad. And it’s time to push the panic button.

His high school recruiting, even with late fireworks in the 2023 cycle, hasn’t been average. It’s been far below average, which is shocking given the shot of adrenaline his arrival provided the Colorado program. Colorado’s 2024 class ranks No. 65 nationally, three spots ahead of Colorado State. The Buffaloes have only nine commitments, including three who rank in the top 400 nationally.

This isn’t June. It’s Nov. 28, and we’re roughly three weeks away from prospects being able to sign with schools. There aren’t a lot of elite-level prospects there for the taking, either — only 12 of the top 200 players in the class remain uncommitted.

Yes, Sanders can theoretically flip a five-star prospect in December like he did with Cormani McClain last year and Travis Hunter the year before at Jackson State. But it seems unreasonable to think that Colorado is going to go on some massive flipping spree and somehow wind up with a top-30 class. This class is almost finished.

Even when Sanders landed Hunter at Jackson State, neither he nor anyone from his staff ever stepped foot at Hunter’s high school in Georgia to recruit him in person. You may call that powerful recruiting, and it is. But that isn’t going to cut it when you’re trying to build a Power 5 program.

This is a critical juncture in the Colorado build. When the Buffaloes started 3-0, there was proof of concept of how fun it would be to play for Sanders. Colorado can offer things to prospects that other middle-tier programs cannot. Between Sanders’ profile, the beauty of Boulder, the promotion on social media and the income that comes with it, you’d think this would be a very attractive destination.

But we’re not seeing it. The results aren’t there. And that makes it easy to question whether Colorado is ever truly going to get where Sanders promised it was going.