Since the NCAA transfer portal's spring window opened on Tuesday, Colorado has seen a plethora of players enter with the intentions of playing elsewhere. While the exodus includes both former starters and young blue-chip prospects, Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders seems relatively unfazed.
Asked about the departures during a weekly press conference, Sanders responded to the room with a question of his own.
"I wish you guys would do a little more homework when you start talking about the portal and understand what we're losing," Sanders said. "What are we losing?"
To which a reporter replied: "Potential starters. Depth."
That's not necessarily the case, according to Sanders.
"We're good," Sanders said. "I trust the recruiting team. I trust our coaches. Please have some faith in me. We're good. We're alright. What happens with the portal man, and what you guys need to know, a lot of people are fighting for backups. When a guy's a starter and he transfers, you got to really think about that. I mean, is he really that? I don't know how many starters have really transferred around the country. I think we got some coming in for visits pretty soon, maybe even this weekend. But we can attract those type of players. I don't think we're losing those type of players. And if we do, we're good. We're good. We're making a big deal out of nothing."
On paper, at least, some of Colorado's departures thus far seem impactful. Former five-star cornerback Cormani McClain, the No. 1 corner prospect in the Class of 2023, entered the portal after one year with the Buffaloes. So did former starting right tackle Savion Washington, who was a bright spot on Colorado's ineffective offensive line last season.
To Sanders' credit, Colorado has also been busy adding talent via the portal. The Buffaloes signed 24 transfer prospects during the winter window and recently received a commitment from former Ohio State tight end Sam Hart. As Sanders alluded to, Colorado will be busy evaluating its options and engaging in visits during the next couple weeks as well.
