Deion Sanders’ roster overhaul at Colorado continues to be a topic of conversation in college football.
“Coach Prime” has leaned heavily on the transfer portal to infuse the roster with talent, with 50 players coming to Colorado via the transfer portal, according to the On3 Transfer Portal rankings.
Deion Sanders, CUs new head football coach, takes questions in the Arrow Touchdown Club during a press conference on Dec. 4, 2022 in Boulder, Colorado. (Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
At Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday, Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker was asked about Sanders’ roster overhaul and the positives and negatives of one of the newer ways of building a roster.
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“Prime has done a great job so far. I’m pulling for him and the Buffs to get that thing going again,” Tucker said. “He’s got his own process that he’s following, obviously. And I think he’s going to be wildly successful there.
“The portal has been a benefit for us. We’ve used it to help upgrade our roster. We can fill some needs immediately. Some of the downside is that we all know there’s hundreds if not thousands of players that have entered the portal, haven’t found a home. And that’s disturbing. But for us, the portal is here, and we’re going to use it to benefit our program anyway that we can.”
Tucker, who was head coach of the Buffaloes for one year before heading to Michigan State in 2020, is heading into his fourth year in East Lansing.
Michigan State Spartans head coach Mel Tucker during the Big Ten Conference Media Days on July 26, 2023 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Spartans have been active in the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in 18 players, according to On3.
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However, no program has used the portal like Colorado, with Sanders completely flipping the roster after taking the job in December.
Sanders has benefited from an NCAA rule that stipulates first-year head coaches may cut players from a roster, though the university must honor the players’ scholarships.
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University of Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders before the Black and Gold game at Folsom Field April 22, 2023. (Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
His methods have ruffled a few feathers, with Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi taking issues with how Sanders has used the rule.
“That’s not the way it’s meant to be,” Narduzzi told 247Sports at the ACC’s spring meetings. “That’s not what the rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We’ll see how it works out but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country. The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall – those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life – I don’t know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave or they were kicked in the butt to get out.”
