BUFF BITES: SANDERS’ HEALTH, FOOTBALL RECRUITING PICKING UP STEAM, $10M BASEBALL DREAM, AND THE SCORE ACT

This is another baneful (boorish?) BuffsBlog Buff Bites Blogpost. Ahhh, the BBBBB!

There are several things addressed here, ranging from dumb (is that Congressional pressure on CU to add a 16th varsity sport?) to a Deion Sanders’ health update and is that football recruiting momentum? Feel free to read any or all of this post, just know that I’m watching and will report you to the BBBBBBBureau if you don’t read the whole damn thing.

Deion Sanders Health Update

The big story going into Big 12 Media Days last week was Deion Sanders’ health.  And while Sanders participated in the event, his deflection of questions about his health probably ensures that his health will remain the biggest story in the Big 12 as fall camp approaches.

“I’m really not going to tell you much,” Sanders said to questions about his health. “I’m not going to talk about my health.  I living good.  I’m living lovely.  Not a care in the world.”

The usually camera-ready Sanders has been missing in action since April while dealing with an unspecified health issue.  He missed Travis Hunter’s wedding in May, the contract-stipulated CU football camps in June, and the Foundation for Sickle Cell Disease Research’s annual symposium at which he would have been the keynote speaker.

As of today (July 13^th), Sanders has not yet returned to Colorado.  Fall camp stars in two weeks, and I’ve been told that he is expected back in Boulder by the end of this week —- well before the start of fall camp.  That’s good news, folks.

Now, if Sanders is not here by the start of fall camp, I think it’s time worry about his availability to start the season. Based on what I’m hearing, however, this concern shouldn’t be keeping folks up at night. Again, Sanders is expected to be in Boulder by the end of this week.

CU has really missed having Sanders in Boulder.  From a recruiting standpoint, the on-campus “hit rate” for getting players on official visits to commit is way down this year (from last year’s 61.11% rate to < 10% this year so far).  See https://buffsblog.com/its-time-to-talk-about-cu-football-recruiting/ for more.  Still, Sanders has been able to be more involved in recruiting recently even if he’s recruiting from his ranch near Dallas.   Last week, Georgia prep LB Rodney Colton Jr. said that a phone call with Deion Sanders on Thursday evening was the catalyst for his commitment to CU the following day.  

Sanders is far and away the most important person in CU’s program, and CU fans everywhere hope that his health will enable him to be a change agent in Boulder for years and years to come.  Continue to heal up, coach!

Other items of note from Sanders at media days:  he noted that he’s “praying” that former NFL quarterback Byron Leftwich and former NFL head coach Mike Zimmer join CU’s football staff; he doesn’t know whether Juju Lewis or Kaidon Salter will start game 1 against Georgia Tech; and his desire for an NFL style salary cap in college football.  For a full transcript of his media day appearance, check out https://www.si.com/college/colorado/football/deion-sanders-colorado-buffaloes-better-losing-shedeur-sanders-travis-hunter-kaidon-salter-big-12-media-days

What is this recruiting momentum?

Rodney Colton Jr. and Colton Crawford enjoy dancing and prancing on Folsom Field.

Colorado’s recruiting momentum picked up last week with commitments from two Texas linebackers and one Florida defensive back.

Carson Crawford, a 6-3, 215-pound linebacker from Carthage, Texas, is the latest flip for the Buffs; he backed out of a Texas State pledge and announced for Colorado on July 10.  247Sports lists Crawford as the No. 34 LB in the country in 2026 (No. 77 overall in Texas), and he chose CU over offers from Houston, Tulsa, New Mexico, UNLV, San Diego State and Arkansas State. A full Hello! post is being prepared as we speak.

Just days later Colorado landed four-star outside linebacker Rodney Colton Jr. from Newnan, Georgia. Colton (6-1, 220) had been a South Carolina commit who reopened his recruitment, and he announced for Colorado after a June visit to Boulder and the afore-mentioned phone call from Sanders.

Colton choose Colorado over finalists Florida State and Ole Miss (he also had offers from Tennessee, Texas A&M, Oregon, Ohio State, LSU, Georgia, Miami, UCLA, Penn State and others). According to 247Sports, Colton is the No. 15 linebacker in the class of 2026 (No. 23 player overall in Georgia), making him arguably the biggest defensive recruit of the cycle so far. Now Sanders has three linebackers in the 2026 class (joining Colby Johnson), a clear sign he’s beefing up the middle of the defense.  A full Hello! post for Colton will be forthcoming.

Colorado also added D’Montae Tims on July 10, a 6-1, 195-pound safety from Armwood High in Seffner, Florida. Tims is a three-star player and chose Colorado offers from Louisville, Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Miami, Michigan State, Iowa, Indiana and others (he had previously decommitted from Missouri). 

The Florida product said what set CU apart was Sanders’ pitch. Tims said Colorado “showed me how much I was needed, how I fit their vision,” and praised Sanders as “someone who’s been where I’m trying to go.” The safety joins four-star Preston Ashley and three-star Maurice Williams as the third defensive back in Colorado’s 2026 class. As you can probably guess, a full Hello! post will be drafted for Mr. Tims.

$10 million baseball dream

CU may be forced to add another varsity sport?

At Big 12 Media Day, Colorado’s athletic director Rick George inadvertently set social media abuzz (ok, BuffsBlog abuzz) by attaching a price tag to potentially reviving baseball and softball in Boulder. 

When a fan asked, “Any movement yet on Softball and Baseball?” George reposted it with a blunt response: “When we get a $10M gift, we will have some movement. Until then, no movement.” It’s the first time I can remember George opening the door on baseball and softball, and the dollar amount he cited isn’t impossible.  [Easy for me to say, of course.]

Colorado hasn’t fielded varsity baseball since the early 1980s – today CU and Iowa State are the only Big 12 schools without baseball, and CU is one of five in the league with no softball. George’s tweet signals he’s keeping the possibility alive: if a donor can muster $10M, those programs are back on the table. 

[Quick spoiler alert for the next section of the blogpost:  CU may soon find itself under pressure to get up to 16 varsity sports.  CU currently funds 15 varsity sports, although this author is unsure if indoor track and outdoor track are considered 1 sport or 2 sports — if it counts as 2 sports, CU has 16 varsity sports).  Recent bills that are being discussed in Congress might require well-funded athletic departments to fund 16 varsity spots.  Is George’s comment and this development a coincidence?]

George spent years as a Texas Rangers executive and loves baseball.  CU also happens to be coached by Deion Sanders, who famously played a decade in Major League Baseball (he even said baseball “shaped [his] discipline”). Those guys love baseball.  Geroge’s tweet is a dare to donor(s) to make it happen.  Hey rich CU donors that read this blog (you know who you are) — that $10M is a challenge flag thrown down to you.  Make it happen and become legendary.  

CU’s 1979 varsity baseball team.

SCORE Act and fixing the madness of college football

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are scrambling to stabilize the insane college sports landscape. Representatives Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) unveiled the “SCORE Act” last week, which would codify the recent House–NCAA settlement and related NIL rules. Absent Congressional action, lawsuits will continue to be filed challenging various aspects of the House settlement. 

And while this humble blogger the US government screw up just about everything it touches (ok, it does screw up everything it touches), the SCORE Act would be a huge boost to the college athletics landscape and provide a framework for competition that all teams need for clarity purposes.

Ross Dellenger at Yahoo Sports reports the draft bill would “grant liability protection and preempt state NIL laws,” include an “anti-employment clause,” and require that all NIL deals have a “valid business purpose.” (Among many other provisions: it would cap total pay under the new revenue-sharing cap, require NIL deals to stick to fair-market values, limit agent commissions, and mandate that revenue-rich schools field at least 16 varsity sports.) 

[As an aside, CU currently fields 15 sports.  Do you think Rick George’s comments about baseball and softball could have something to do with the potential passage of the SCORE Act????]

The legislation appears likely to pass the House on a bipartisan vote, but the Senate is another story. Republicans hold 53 seats and need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, meaning several GOP senators (or Democrats) would have to break ranks.

If the SCORE Act fails in the Senate, chaos will continue to reign. In fact, the plaintiffs in the House v. NCAA case have already sounded the alarm. In a terse letter to NCAA officials, lead plaintiff attorney Jeff Kessler demanded that the NCAA “retract” its new NIL guidance and reinstate deals the NIL clearinghouse has been denying – many of which he (incorrectly) says were legitimate collective-backed NIL agreements. In short, House lawyers are essentially warning that if Congress doesn’t act, they’ll take the NCAA back to court. Let’s hope Congress can get its act together.

Fat chance.