Deion Sanders' quarterback and top recruit at Jackson State are following Coach Prime to Colorado.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Deion's son, was among Colorado's first class of signees Wednesday with its new coach.
Later Wednesday, cornerback Travis Hunter announced on his YouTube channel that he, too, would be transferring to the Buffaloes.
“I committed to Coach Prime at Jackson State when he was there, and I want to honor my commitment and stay with him,” Hunter said. “I’ve got to stay with my dawg.”
Hunter was one of the highest rated recruits in the Class of 2022. His signing with FCS Jackson State, flipping from a verbal commitment to Florida State, was an unprecedented move. No five-star recruit had ever signed with an FCS school out of high school.
Deion Sanders spent three seasons at Jackson State, winning two Southwestern Athletic Conference titles. He was hired by Colorado earlier this month and in his first meeting wit his new team, he told the players he planned to bring some of his Jackson State players to Boulder.
"I’m bringing my luggage with me, and it’s Louis (Vuitton),’ Sanders said.
Shedeur Sanders passed for 3,752 yards and 40 touchdowns for Jackson State (12-1) this season.
Hunter played eight games at both cornerback and receiver. He intercepted two passes on defense and caught 18 passes, including four for touchdowns, on offense.
Colorado also announced the signing of Jackson State transfer Tyler Brown, an offensive tackle and third-team FCS All-American.
Colorado, coming off a 1-11 season, signed 16 recruits from high school and junior college on Wednesday.
Most notably, the Buffs signed running back Dylan Edwards, a four-star recruit from Kansas who was previously verbally committed to Notre Dame, and receiver Adam Hopkins, a four-star from Georgia who was committed to Auburn.
Several other Colorado players have entered the transfer portal since Sanders took over, including quarterbacks Maddox Kopp and Owen McCown, lineman Austin Johnson, Kaylin Moore, receiver Chase Penry and tackles Noah Fenske and Savion Washington. Corner Isaiah Lewis, lineman Edgar Amaya, and quarterbacks James Mott and Brendon Lewis also entered the transfer portal after the team’s season ended, before Sanders came in.
Coach Sanders has assembled a veteran staff that includes 10 coaches who have helped develop more than 350 all-conference players and 85 All-Americans.
Sanders has been busy gathering his staff since being hired by the Buffaloes on Dec. 3. His budget is $5 million for assistant coaches, which was a substantive bump over the allocation afforded to former coach Karl Dorrell for assistants.
“Coach Prime” is diving in at Colorado after finishing up at Jackson State last weekend after his team lost 41-34 in overtime to North Carolina Central in the Celebration Bowl. It spoiled Sanders’ bid for an undefeated season.
Colorado announced the additions to Sanders' staff Tuesday night. It includes Charles Kelly as the defensive coordinator/safeties coach and Sean Lewis as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.
Kelly joins the Buffaloes from Alabama, where he served as the associate defensive coordinator. Lewis relocates to Boulder after five years as head coach at Kent State, bringing with him a high-scoring offense that averaged 49.8 points in 2020.
Bill O’Boyle will be the offensive line coach and Nick Williams in charge of defensive ends.
In addition, Sanders brought several coaches with him from Jackson State, including Brett Bartolone (wide receivers), Tim Brewster (tight ends), Gary Harrell (assistant head coach/running backs), Andre’ Hart (linebackers), Kevin Mathis (cornerbacks) and Dennis Thurman, who will be the director of quality control for the defense.
The group Sanders assembled has been a part of 40 10-win seasons, coached in 59 bowl games and brought home 27 conference title. They’ve made the postseason in either the NFL, FCS or FBS level 21 times, according to research by Colorado.
