Colorado’s Deion Sanders eager to be more hands-on heading into next season after health concerns
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Colorado coach Deion Sanders was hands-on as he watched his team scrimmage Saturday at the spring game.
He’s going to be that way going forward, too.
That’s something he wasn’t able to do around this time a year ago when he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and focused on his health.
At Folsom Field on Saturday, he was all over the field giving the defensive backs advice during the hour-long scrimmage. He stood in the end zone at times, too, arms folded and taking stock of his team.
“Everybody inside these doors can tell you, it’s different when I’m here,” Sanders said. “I’m going to take my breaks, like every other coach, but I love to be here.”
Sanders recently left the team this spring for a few days as he dealt with blood clots. He reiterated over and over, though, “I’m good, I’m good,” when asked about his health.
While away, he leaned on his staff. That included a new pair of coordinators — Chris Marve, the defensive boss, and Brennan Marion, who’s overseeing the offense. Marve takes over for Robert Livingston — now with the Denver Broncos — and Marion steps in for Pat Shurmur.
The task is to get the Buffaloes back to their winning ways after a season in which they went 3-9.
“We’re going to make it better,” Sanders said. “We already have with the staff as well as the players that are inside the locker room. I love it. I love that everyday grind of it.
“Things definitely are, I’m not going to say 100%, but things are tremendously better on the field as well with the staff.”
Marion brings the high-octane “Go-Go” offense to town. It wasn’t on full display Saturday, only because the Buffaloes didn’t want to divulge too much of the system.
The “Go-Go” scheme emphasizes creativity and pace. Quarterback Julian Lewis looked sharp early, throwing a 13-yard TD pass to Danny Scudero, the transfer from San Jose State who had 88 catches for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago.
“I’m excited to see how good this connection can get,” Scudero said.
Sanders reached out to longtime New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman in an effort for him to give some tips to Scudero. The receivers are working on a time to chat.
“Just the idea of being able to talk to such a legend like him is definitely huge,” Scudero said.
The final play of the scrimmage ended with defensive back Mojo Williams Jr. intercepting a pass from Isaac Wilson, a transfer from Utah. It was a play near and dear to Sanders, the Hall of Fame DB.
“We’ve got some good things going on,” Sanders said. “You can see the fruit thereof.”
Remembering Ponder
On the roster, the gold team listed No. 7 — Dominiq Ponder. The late quarterback was killed in the early hours of March 1 when he lost control on a curve and hit a guardrail. The car he was driving, a 2023 Tesla, struck an electrical line pole and rolled down an embankment.
The Buffaloes remembered him with a video tribute. His family started a foundation to help others, including student-athletes, and to “promote responsible decision-making.” Ponder’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, according to the autopsy report from the Boulder County Coroner’s Office.
An opponent in a spring game?
Sanders wouldn’t mind setting up some sort of scrimmage or practice session with another team like, say, Colorado State. It would be a way to gain national attention for a spring game.
“No one’s valuing spring anymore,” Sanders said. “You’ve got several major colleges not even having spring games. The only thing that will bring that back is we compete against another school. I’ve been saying that for the last several years, but …
“Glad I didn’t say what I was thinking. But I can’t be the first one to say it. That’s what’s needed. … People get tired of the same old, same old, at a certain point. You want more.”
The scrimmage was free and 27,772 tickets were claimed. The fans were on the east side of the stadium.
Deion’s plans
Sanders intends to do plenty of fishing in his downtime, “at the crib,” he said. “Lake Prime and Lake Time. I like to go catching. I don’t go fishing.”
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