Colorado is mere seconds away from being an already bowl eligible, 6-1 football team, but none of the program's success through the season's opening two months is changing the way Deion Sanders recruits future Buffaloes.
In fact, Coach Prime is adamant that his message never changes -- though he readily admits Colorado's winning ways this season certainly enhance the program's appeal to potential recruits.
Stressing the vision since taking over, Sanders says there's a calculated approach to Colorado recruiting and program-building -- something he's been doing since making something out of nothing "in the hood in Dallas."
"We kind of know what we’re doing," Prime told reporters Tuesday in Boulder, Colorado, ahead of Saturday's home tilt against Big 12 foe Cincinnati. "I know it didn’t seem like we did early on, but we’ve been doing this for a while. I’ve been building teams ever since I was coaching the youth level and went and made something out of nothing in the hood in Dallas.
"So, we kind of know how to work the landscape a little bit and now it’s coming to pass and we’re excited about it. But yes, winning does help with recruiting, the overall thought process with joining something that’s already successful. People don’t want to join something that’s failing; they want to join something that’s successful. With the continued success, we pray that we do a better job as well."
Deploying a more a la carte approach to high school recruiting, Sanders believes his program needs to be viewed through a nuanced lens to appropriately assess Colorado's recruiting.
Though the 2024 class now on campus numbers less than 15 high school signees, consensus five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton is tracking for freshman All-America accolades.
"You can’t measure us by how many we pull out of high school," Sanders said. "Why would you pull 30 kids out of high school when 30 kids are not going to play. I know last year, we may have played the most freshmen in the Big 12, or the PAC-12, a year ago.
"And right now, we’ve had three starters that were freshmen on the field at one time this year. So, I think we do a tremendous job of getting those guys involved when they can handle the expectation."
Whether it's high school, junior college or perusing the NCAA Transfer Portal, Sanders is adamant his program never wavers in its approach on the recruiting trail.
"My message don’t change, regardless of your record, regardless of what you guys may think of the program," he said. "The messages don’t change. We’re a team full of opportunities, and when we go out there and get guys from high school, we have an expectation of them to play. We really want them to play. We don’t want to put them on the backburner, sit them on the bench. We want them to play. So, they can see that. They can see where they fit.
"There’s a certain ratio that we want from the Portal as well as from high school and so forth that we have that balance. I can’t tell you that (ratio) right now because it’s all how it plays out. You know, you’re going to lose two to three or maybe five unexpected players that may jump on you, in the Portal, but you’ve got to be prepared for that. You factor that in as well."