Then it got me thinking: When was the last time you saw a picture of Sanders at a high school? Or doing an in-home visit? Or making a public appearance that isn’t an Aflac commercial? Does he even get on planes to recruit high school athletes? Does he leave Boulder at all for recruiting purposes?
One thing is for sure — Sanders doesn’t recruit traditionally. He’s not a traditional coach, so it stands to reason he approaches things differently. But is he going to travel across the country to visit five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton of IMG Academy in Florida, perhaps the most important player the Buffaloes could sign in the 2024 cycle?
Even when Sanders landed Hunter at Jackson State, neither he nor anyone from his staff ever stepped foot at Hunter’s high school in Georgia to recruit him in person. You may call that powerful recruiting, and it is. But that isn’t going to cut it when you’re trying to build a Power 5 program.
There may be reasons why he isn’t more aggressive in his off-campus recruiting efforts. He utilizes FaceTime to talk to prospects from all over the country and convince them to visit campus. Who wouldn’t want to hop on a plane to meet Deion?
Also, Sanders has had some pretty serious issues with his foot and that may be limiting what he’s able to do physically.
Eventually, though, Sanders is going to have to stop being a celebrity and start being a Power 5 football coach.