Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes football team receives prediction that highlights lows of the ‘Prime Time’ era originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Colorado Buffaloes have been a team that’s only ever won games due to strong quarterback performances in the “Prime Time” era. Boulder has not seen any great running backs during Deion Sanders’ CU coaching tenure.
That was never more evident than when Buff Insider’s Jack Carlough predicted that a Colorado running back would surpass 400 yards for the first time in four years since Coach Prime took over in 2023. Carlough believes one of the arrivals of two transfers/unknowns at RB, Alabama Crimson Tide transfer Richard Young and Sacramento State Hornets transfer Damian Henderson II, will surpass that modest mark in 2026.
Young was never a factor at Alabama during a modern historical low point at the position in Tuscaloosa. When you think about Kalen DeBoer’s toothless Crimson Tide rushing attack, remember that Young couldn’t even get extended looks in the room. Even in limited action that was mostly in blowouts, Young had just four yards per carry.
Henderson has more potential, though it’s important to note that his competition in the Big Sky largely lacked beyond the Montana Grizzlies. Still, against Montana, Henderson averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Sacramento State hung tough in that game. Importantly for Henderson, he’ll have former Hornets head coach Brennan Marion coming from Northern California with him, not to mention right guard Jose Soto joining Yahya Attia to make up an intriguing interior offensive line as well.
Relying on an FCS transfer to fix what has been a problem for three straight years is a gamble, to say the least. Truthfully, though, what else does Coach Prime and Co. have to lose? It’s been bleak in the backfield outside of the QB position.
What is Colorado’s best rushing performance under Deion Sanders?
93 yards is the most rushing yards a Buffs running back has had since Coach Prime became Colorado’s head coach. Isaiah Augustave, who’s since transferred to the South Carolina Gamecocks, had that on October 26, 2024, against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Sanders doesn’t call plays, but he’s one of the men who green-lights the team’s NIL salary structure. He has decidedly lacked focus on the run game, focusing more on recruiting strong QBs, blindside tackles, and receivers.
It worked when he had his son, Shedeur, under center and breaking records, Heisman winner Travis Hunter as one of several NFL-caliber weapons in the receiving corps, and the top offensive tackle, Jordan Seaton, in the 2024 class on the blindside. It hasn’t worked otherwise.
We’ll see if an emphasis on the run could change the narrative in 2026.
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