Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders is preparing to start his third season leading the football team at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Sanders, 58, is not only demanding that his college players perform at a high level on the field, but he also wants the student-athletes to look presentable in the classroom.
Footage of Sanders addressing his team at a meeting made its way to the internet on Aug. 20. In the vlog filmed by his son, Deion Sanders Jr., Coach Prime laid out a dress code and behavior rules.
“No slides. If I see you, and I’m gonna send people to campus tomorrow, if I see you with slides on campus, it’s gonna be a problem,” the two-time Super Bowl champion told the Buffaloes.
He said, “If I see you with a hoodie on in class or some 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.”
“There’s going to be a problem,” Sanders said, warning any players taking online classes who show up without wearing a shirt or cause distractions during the sessions.
When Coach Prime asked the team if they were good with his instructions, the players could be heard responding respectfully, “Yes sir.” The Colorado players may have accepted those orders, but fans had varied reactions.
“While he’s wearing a hoodie,” one X user tweeted, pointing out that Sanders had on a hooded Colorado sweatshirt while speaking to the team about how to dress. Another tweeter wondered, “I get headphones but a hoodie?”
The polarizing conversation about the former Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys superstar’s demands for his current players took place on Instagram as well.
“I have no problem with a dress code. But when it comes to collegiate athletes, the coaches and fans have attitudes that the players should always be broken down,” someone expressed.
One Coach Prime supporter added, “Teaching them to dress like young men and have respect for themselves is not strict. It should be the norm,” advocating for his off-field coaching methods.
Sanders took over the Colorado football program in 2023 after serving as head coach for Jackson State from 2020 and 2023. The Tigers went 27–6 under Prime’s leadership.
Following his jump to Boulder, Sanders opened with a 4–8 record. He improved the Big 12 Conference team to 9-4 for the 2024 season and led them to an Alamo Bowl appearance.
The Brigham Young University Cougars beat Colorado 36-14 in the 2024 Alamo Bowl by a despite going into the game as the underdogs to Coach Prime’s squad.
Sanders heads into Colorado’s 2025 NCAA season without his son, Shedeur Sanders, at the quarterback position. The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter also left Boulder to enter the 2025 NFL draft.
Hunter, 22, was selected second overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Shedeur, 23, slipped to the fifth round when the Cleveland Browns picked the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner with the 144th overall pick.
According to Sports Illustrated, senior transfer Kaidon Salter, 22, and freshman Julian “JuJu” Lewis, 17, are competing for the starting quarterback spot for Colorado, although the more experienced former Liberty University player Salter is thought to have the edge in the QB race. There are still questions about the Buffaloes’ ceiling in 2025.
ESPN college football analyst Joe Fortenbaugh predicted Colorado will win less than 6 games. Fortenbaugh’s “Get Up” sports show colleague Greg McElroy insisted Coach Prime does not have anything to prove.
“He’s done an amazing job taking Colorado from the seller of college football to one of the most watched and exciting programs in the sport year-over-year. He’s already established himself as a top-level coach,” McElroy argued about Sanders.
Colorado kicks off the 2025 season with a matchup against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29. Their schedule also includes games against the presently ranked teams of Iowa State, Arizona State, and Kansas State.
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