Deion Sanders’ Colorado team lets EIGHTEEN players enter transfer portal after spring training as its overhaul continues with mass exodus
- After becoming head coach, Deion Sanders told most of the team to enter the portal
- The Colorado team had an atrocious 1-11 record last season before hiring Sanders
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Eighteen Colorado players, including returning starters and the 2022 leading rusher, entered the transfer portal Monday after the school’s spring football game, as the roster continues to evolve under new head coach Deion Sanders.
Wide receivers Montana Lemonious-Craig and Jordyn Tyson, safety Tyrin Taylor, linebacker Shakaun Bowser and offensive lineman Jackson Anderson heeded the advice Sanders gave when he was hired in December when he encouraged players to “jump into that portal.”
Deion Smith, who rushed for a team-best 393 yards and two touchdowns last season, is also in the portal.
Lemonious-Craig started all 12 games in 2022 and caught six passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the Buffaloes’ spring game on Saturday. He caught 34 passes for 497 yards and five touchdowns in three seasons at Boulder.
Taylor made nine starts (seven in 2022) in two seasons at Colorado, recording 34 tackles and one interception.
Dion Sanders has seen a total of 28 players enter the transfer portal since becoming head coach
The Deion Sanders effect is real, as evidenced by the increasing turnout at Colorado’s spring game
Neither Bowser nor Anderson saw significant action with the Buffaloes, who loaned Sanders away from Jackson State after finishing 1-11 last season under Karl Dorrell and interim coach Mike Sanford.
The other players who entered the portal on Monday include:
LB Devin Grant, DL Aaron Austin, DB Xavier Smith, WR Chase Sowell, WR Grant Page, OL Alex Harkey, CB Jason Oliver, LB Aubrey Smith, DB Oakie Salave’a,
A total of 28 Colorado players have entered the portal since April 15, according to ESPN.
It looks like Sanders’ plan to flip the program’s roster is becoming a reality, given the sheer number of departures.
After becoming head coach, Sanders told most of the team to enter the portal, meaning the mass exodus is no surprise and the Sanders effect is real, as Colorado saw an unprecedented crowd at their spring game.
More than 47,000 fans were at Folsom Field to witness the game, compared to only about 2,000 supporters the year before.