Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders on Wednesday responded to a USA TODAY Sports story last week that documented his highly unusual recruiting style of not making a single home visit or off-campus contact with recruits since his hiring in Boulder in early December 2022.
“Coach Prime” brought it up at the end of his first news conference in Boulder since his team finished 4-8 in his first season on the job. He didn’t dispute the story, which detailed another way Sanders has approached his job differently than others in the changing game of college football. But he did explain why he does it that way and instead relies on recruits and their families coming to campus to see him instead of him going to see them at their homes as well.
USA TODAY Sports attempted to get his explanation of it nearly a week before publication but didn’t hear back from the university. On Wednesday, he gave a short speech about it that he said he wanted to get “off my chest.”
“There was an article that came out that said I don’t go on visits,” Sanders said at a news conference about spring football practice. “OK, my approach is totally different than many coaches’ approach. I’m a businessman as well, so I try to save our university money every darn chance I get.”
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders
Why does Deion Sanders not recruit on the road?
By contrast, virtually every other coach brings recruits to campus while also going on the road to their high schools or homes. Former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh made 145 off-campus contacts with recruits or their families since Dec. 1, 2022. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian made 128 and former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly made 55 during that time, according to records obtained by USA TODAY Sports from public-records requests.
The University of Colorado confirmed Sanders hasn’t…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/deion-sanders-responds-story-unique-214052349.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-03-20 21:40:52
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