Four things to know about TCU’s opening opponent, the Colorado Buffaloes
Saturday will be a monumental day for the TCU and Colorado football programs, but for different reasons when the two schools clash at 11 a.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
For TCU, it’s the first step to show the country that 2022 was no fluke, while for Colorado it’s the first game of the Deion Sanders era. There are so many questions that we’ll finally begin to get answers to after both teams.
Add in the fact that FOX Big Noon Kickoff will be at Amon G. Carter Stadium plus the relatively weak Week 1 slate and you have the biggest game of the day. All eyes will be on Fort Worth Saturday morning.
To get you ready for the season opener, here are four things to know about Coach Prime and Colorado:
Hall of Famer
Most people know who Deion Sanders is, but here’s a quick refresher on the man now known as Coach Prime. Sanders played for five different NFL teams including the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons during his 14-year Hall of Fame career. He won two Super Bowls, a Defensive Player of the Year award and was named first team All-Pro six times. Many consider him to be the greatest cornerback of all time.
His NFL resume and persona was enough to make the season opener a big game and that’s before you include his time at Jackson State where he went 27-6 and was the most high profile HBCU coach in decades. Did you know Sanders was also in the running for the TCU job? Sanders interviewed with the school and his charisma blew people away, but Sonny Dykes was always the target No. 1 and last season showed why.
College football’s Ohtani?
Travis Hunter shocked the nation by committing to Jackson State over numerous Power Five programs including Sanders’ alma mater Florida State. Hunter was the No. 1 player in the Class of 2022 and classified as an athlete because of his potential to be an all-conference player at cornerback or wide receiver.
As a freshman, Hunter racked up 15 total tackles, nine pass breakups, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown in seven games played. On offense, he added 14 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Hunter play both ways against the Horned Frogs as Colorado needs all the firepower it can comb together.
As for the Shohei Ohtani reference, college football analyst Josh Pate was the one that compared him to the two way standout for the Angels that excels in hitting home runs and striking out batters. It’s not a crazy comparison when you consider Hunter’s hype. He was voted an AP preseason All-American, has his own digital show with Bleacher Report and is viewed as a darkhorse Heisman contender. TCU’s the bigger brand, but Colorado will have the biggest star Saturday.
Coach’s sons
The Buffaloes’ quarterback is Sanders’ son Shedeur. He starred at Trinity Christian School in Cedar Hill during high school and was a four-star prospect that followed Prime to Jackson State. Shedeur was all-conference both years and won the Deacon Jones Award (HBCU Most Outstanding Player) last season. Like most of the program, there’s a lot of hype around Sanders who passed for almost 7,000 yards at JSU.
He’s more of a pocket passer than a scrambler. He has just over 100 career rushing yards, but he’s an extremely smart football player and will know where to go with the ball. Outside of his mobility, the biggest question mark will be his arm strength and whether he can attack TCU’s secondary vertically on a consistent basis.
Coach Prime’s other son, Shilo, plays defensive back. He spent two seasons at South Carolina before transferring to JSU, where he was All-SWAC in 2021. Shilo will likely be one of Colorado’s starting safeties and one of the top defensive backs along with Hunter and five-star freshman Cormani McClain.
Historic turnover
How much time does it take to turn around a football program? Some might say one season and point to what Sonny Dykes did with TCU last season. Going from 5-7 to the national championship game is certainly unprecedented, but the NFL Draft showed us talent wasn’t lacking at TCU. At Colorado, the story is a bit different.
The Buffaloes were the worst Power Five team by a wide margin last season, winning just one game. Of their 11 losses, only one came by a single possession. The rest were a variety of 30-, 40- and sometimes 50-point blowouts. So what did Coach Prime do when he got to Colorado? He completely turned over the roster. Less than a dozen scholarship players remain from last year’s team which lost its opener to TCU in Boulder.
According to 247Sports, Prime is bringing in over 50 transfers and over 20 freshmen, led by McClain and running back Dylan Edwards. Is one cycle enough for coach to go from the worst team in country to a viable contender in the Pac-12? We’ve never seen anything like it before, which only makes Saturday more intriguing.
This story was originally published August 29, 2023 at 1:36 PM.
