Head coach Deion Sanders gets interviewed during the game for ESPN. The Buffaloes spring game was the only school to be broadcasted on ESPN. April 22, 2023. (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)
Colorado’s Black and Gold game has now come and gone, and what an atmosphere it was. Even though it was 35 degrees with snow flurries, Folsom Field was over 47,000 people deep. The energy and excitement in the air were palpable, and it truly felt unlike any spring game experience ever.
“Today was phenomenal. I’m really happy, appreciative and thankful for all of this,” said Head Coach Deion Sanders about Saturday’s spring game atmosphere.
Coach Prime saw a lot of positives all over the field from players in many different positions.
Quarterback Shedeur Sanders looked the part of a Pac-12 starting quarterback and was very accurate, going 16/19 on completions with over 200 yards and two touchdown passes. Sanders plays the position well with a high motor, excellent processing skills and is not afraid to take risks. He arguably has the strongest arm CU Boulder has had at QB since Kordell Stewart. Sanders has an absolute cannon and is not scared to let it rip.
Sophomore cornerback Travis Hunter defends junior wide receiver Michael Harrison during the second quarter. April 22, 2023. (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)
Travis Hunter Jr. wore a gray jersey playing wide receiver and cornerback, and he did not disappoint. Hunter opened up the game’s scoring with a smooth touchdown grab and was Sheduer Sanders’ favorite target on offense Saturday. At the corner position, he was shut down, as the ball was hardly ever even thrown his way. Quarterbacks know just how deadly a player Hunter is.
At running back, Dylan Edwards was impressive; he made some lovely cuts, and once he was in the open field he was gone.
On the defensive side of the ball, defensive lineman grad transfer Shane Cokes and linebacker Jeremiah Brown raised some eyebrows with a great burst and solid tackling all day. Cokes was one of the first players on the team to earn his number and has been one of Sal Sunseri’s, the new defensive line coach, favorite players so far.
“The thing about Shane is his explosiveness, his quickness, his speed. He goes out there and works every single day and he wants to get better,” said Sunseri on Cokes.
Sheduer Sanders and Hunter have become even closer after they both transferred from Jackson State University, and it was visually evident Saturday as Sanders was constantly looking Hunter’s way.
Junior quarterback Shedeur Sanders looks for an open receiver to pass the ball to during the second quarter. April 22, 2023. (Kara Wagenknecht/CU Independent)
“The main thing [in] a quarterback-receiver relationship is trust,” said Sanders. “If I trust him and I know regardless of anything he’s not going to let anybody pick my ball, then (targets are) going to go up.”
As Deion Sanders remarked, Saturday, April 22, 2023, was a “genesis of a new era” for Colorado football. A packed house saw the future of CU football begin right in front of their eyes, as did the 100+ recruits that withstood the cold elements and witnessed history Saturday afternoon.
Colorado could be in for an eventful week as they hope to land more players from the spring transfer portal and sign even more future CU commits for upcoming years. While the groundwork has been laid for an extraordinary 2023-2024 season in Boulder, it now depends on Deion Sanders and his players. The future looks incredibly bright for Colorado football.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Griffin Dreifaldt at griffin.dreifaldt@colorado.edu.
