Deion Sanders Apr 22, 2023; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders during the first half of the spring game at Folsom Filed. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

It didn’t take long for Deion Sanders to put Colorado on the map, returning the Buffaloes to relevance with his mere presence. No one in sports churns out headlines as readily as Coach Prime, a human quote machine who never saw an audience he couldn’t win over. And while Sanders may not be a master tactician, his salesmanship and charm have already been felt on the recruiting trail, which, as we know, is half the battle.

Building a program from the ground up is never easy and while Sanders appears more than up for the challenge, Fox Sports radio personality Dan Patrick cautions us not to get too swept up in the narrative, suggesting it could be a while before the Buffaloes are competitive. “We have wishful reporting in the media because Colorado is a big story,” said Patrick, as transcribed by Barrett Sports Media. “We’re caught up with, ‘Oh my gosh, Deion Sanders! How long before he competes for a national title?’ We’ve run with this.”

No one has ever questioned Deion’s confidence or his ability to light up a room. But will it translate to winning? Maybe, says, Patrick, but it will take time.

“They were terrible last year. They’re not going to be good this year,” said Patrick, drawing parallels to the media frenzy that surrounded Odell Beckham’s free agency last year, conveniently forgetting the ACL injury he suffered months earlier. “Nobody wants to be a buzzkill going, ‘Yeah, they’re probably going to win two games.’”

Patrick knows he comes off as a wet blanket, tempering his expectations for a Colorado team that all of America will be watching with feverish anticipation. But reality isn’t always sexy. “I’ve made these mistakes before. You get caught up in the hype,” said Patrick, acknowledging his own tendency to think with his heart. “What if [Deion] goes 0-5? And he might. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t be successful.”

Even with a strong recruiting class and an influx of high-profile transfers, Vegas has set the over/under for Colorado at just three wins, which would actually be a two-game improvement from last year (1-11). The Buffaloes will be tested right out of the gate, entering their season opener against TCU (coming off a humiliating loss to Georgia in last year’s National Championship) as 20.5-point road underdogs.

[Barrett Sports Media, Fox Sports Radio]

About Jesse Pantuosco

Jesse Pantuosco joined Awful Announcing as a contributing writer in May 2023. He’s also written for Audacy and NBC Sports. A graduate of Syracuse’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a master’s degree in creative writing from Fairfield University, Pantuosco has won three Fantasy Sports Writers Association Awards. He lives in West Hartford, Connecticut and never misses a Red Sox, Celtics or Patriots game.