CU Buffs need collectives to step up as Coach Prime builds roster – …

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has made it clear he’s not a fan of college football players making money their top priority.

In an interview with BuffZone last December, Sanders said of collectives: “That’s just, ‘Hey, I’ll give you some money if you come here and play.’ That’s all that is. That’s where we’ve gone in college football and that’s not what it’s supposed to be.”

Fast forward to last Tuesday and he basically said the same thing.

“We’re not an ATM. That’s not going to happen here,” he said. “If you come to Colorado to play football for me and the Colorado Buffaloes because you really want to play football and receive a wonderful education, all the business stuff is going to be handled on the back end if that’s the case, but we are not an ATM. You’re not coming here to get rich unless you really come here with a plan to go to the NFL and get your degree.”

Sanders is also aware of how big-time college football works. The transfer portal is a big deal every year now and the opportunity for a nice education isn’t going to attract the best transfers. The best transfers in the country want to win and they want to get paid – and not necessarily in that order.

With Saturday’s 23-17 loss to Utah, the Buffs (4-8, 1-8 Pac-12) finished alone in last place in the final year of Pac-12. For all the hype and excitement that Sanders brought to Boulder, the results were all too familiar for CU, which went an abysmal 28-84 in its 13-year run in the Pac-12.

If the elite programs are having to come up with money for the elite transfers and recruits, so are the teams finishing in last place – even with a Pro Football Hall of Famer as a head coach.

Next year, the Buffs will head to the Big 12 and Sanders was asked Saturday night if he has the resources he needs to turn the fortunes of the program at CU.

“We’re getting there,” he said. “We definitely need giving. You know what I mean?”

Translation: If CU fans want to their team to be elite, they better give money to the collectives.

“It’s unfortunate to say this, but some kids cost,” Sanders continued. “It’s unfortunate to say this and I have not charted this yet, but I’m gonna ask for the numbers … but if you start thinking about the top several teams in the country, let’s see what was spent on assembling the teams. We can sit and talk about great coaching and great this and great that all we want. But it’s a credit card swipe some kind of way with all these guys going into the playoffs, right? I understand that.

“And you gotta have a quarterback. You look, commonality (with the best teams): players, quarterback, run game, stop the run. That’s pretty much what all these pretty darn good teams share.”

Of those four things, the Buffs have one: elite quarterback Shedeur Sanders, as long as he chooses to return for his senior year in 2024 rather than enter the NFL Draft.

CU had the worst rushing offense in the country this season (68.9 yards per game) and the second-worst rushing defense in the Pac-12 (176.4 yards per game allowed).

And, it’s clear that the Buffs have plenty of holes to fill throughout the roster.

“We’re getting ready to start cooking,” Sanders said Saturday night. “We’re getting ready to start to pick up that grocery and make sure we do it right. Everybody knows what we need. You know darn well what we need, so we’re gonna get it.”

How much that costs is to be determined.