Colorado football fans had been getting a little worried about the state of recruiting in Boulder under head coach Deion Sanders.
On July 8, the Buffaloes stood at 97th nationally for the 2026 class rankings, according to the 247Sports composite.
The Buffaloes only had six commitments at that point from high school or junior college players for 2026.
Sanders also has been away from campus with a health issue while a number recruits came to visit Boulder in June before deciding which colleges to join in 2026.
So if he’s not there to see them, what happens then?
USA TODAY Sports discussed this with recruits who said they were told that Sanders was out sick when they visited. None said Sanders’ absence played a role in their decisions.
Despite his absence, Colorado has been on a roll lately with three new commitments from recruits since July 10, including four-star linebacker Rodney Colton Jr. from Georgia. In Colton’s case, it didn’t matter if Sanders wasn’t on campus when he visited Boulder in June. Sanders talked to him by phone instead.
“I got on the phone with him when I went over there for my (visit),” said Colton, who had more than 30 scholarship offers. “I was on the phone with him (July 12) too. He was just like, `We don’t recruit guys who don’t want to get in here and play.’”
Colorado staff explained Deion Sanders’ absence to recruits
Colorado since has moved up to 80th in the 247Sports rankings, as of July 16, with nine commitments for 2026, which still ranks last in the Big 12 Conference. However, these rankings are the full story in Colorado’s case because they only include high school and junior college recruits.
Sanders has been more selective about the high school recruits he brings in and instead has relied on the transfer portal to fill out much of his roster. The rankings don’t reflect that dynamic and therefore don’t mean much in the way of predicting the quality of his overall 2026 recruiting class.
But his absence still raised questions about its impact on recruiting, especially since Sanders doesn’t travel away from campus to recruit players. He instead relies on recruits visiting him in Boulder. And his presence is often the biggest draw for recruits to Boulder – a big reason Colorado gave him a new $10 million-per-year contract earlier this year.
So what if he’s not there when they come over to see his program?
Recruits said it came to down to other factors, as it often does, such as relationships with assistant coaches and culture. Colorado’s assistant coaches and staff welcomed the recruiting visitors in Sanders’ absence and told them why Sanders couldn’t be there.
A local offensive line recruit, Tripp Skewes, was one of them. He visited in June but later decided to join Vanderbilt instead of Colorado, increasing concerns among Buffaloes fans.
“It didn’t make a difference,” Skewes said of Sanders’ absence. “I understood he was sick and would rather him focus on getting healthy.”
Skewes said a big part of his decision was Vanderbilt assistant coach Jeff Nady.
“The main reason I chose Vandy is because of Coach Nady and strength of schedule,” Skewes told USA TODAY Sports.
June visitors to Colorado not fazed by temporary absence
Sanders suffered his health setback in May and missed a wave of recruiting visitors who came through Boulder in June before the NCAA window for visits ended June 22. A “dead period” for recruiting visits now lasts through most of August.
But of Colorado’s nine high school or junior college commitments for 2026, seven visited the Colorado campus in June when Sanders was out, underscoring the fact that his absence didn’t matter for them at least. That includes four-star cornerback Preston Ashley from Mississippi, who chose Colorado over Florida State and visited the same weekend as Colton June 20.
Some Colorado recruits who visited in June are still deciding which college to join, including offensive line recruit Ben Gula of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Gula said he’s narrowed his choices to Colorado or Central Florida.
Asked if Sanders’ absence mattered to him, Gula said, “It definitely did matter to me but to be completely honest I am happy I got to spend more time with their (offensive coordinator) because generally I’m going to be around him a lot more and it was awesome getting to talk ball with one of the most established coaches in college football.”
Gula said recruits were told that Sanders was “in the hospital and wasn’t able to be there.” Sanders was away at his estate in Texas during his sabbatical but returned to address the news media at Big 12 media days in Frisco, Texas, July 9. He is expected to return to the Colorado campus as soon as next week.
New Colorado recruit: ‘This is where I want to be’
In the meantime, Sanders’ message to recruits still seems to matter even if he wasn’t there temporarily. He has often stressed the vast amount of NFL experience on his coaching staff, which includes Pro Football of Famers Marshall Faulk and Warren Sapp.
Gula said that makes a difference to him “100%.”
“Colorado has an almost Hall-of-Fame level coaching staff with the amount of coaches that have had that NFL experience” Gula said.
Sanders has emphasized the quality of his staff to recruits over any money they’d get from deals with the university or third parties for their names, images and likenesses (NIL). Colton said NIL concerns weren’t an issue to him.
“I ain’t really too much of a money person,” said Colton, who chose Colorado over Florida State, Mississippi and others. “Money cool and all, but money is just materialistic things to me. It just buys you materialistic stuff, I guess. To me I’m not really about the money. I just want to ball.”
Colton’s relationship with Colorado linebackers coach Andre’ Hart sealed the deal, he said. Colton also said he liked the idea of exposing his name and brand to a different part of the country, far from Georgia.
“Everything about coach Hart Is just amazing, and then who don’t want to get coached by Deion, Prime Time?” Colton told USA TODAY Sports. “The big part is like the culture out there and like family. Everything out there is family, so I’m like, ‘OK, this is where I want to be.’”
Colorado opens preseason camp in late July before opening the season Aug. 29 at home against Georgia Tech. Many of the recruits who committed for 2026 are expected to enroll in January.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com