CU beat writer: Deion Sanders chose Colorado over Auburn

According to BuffsBeat’s Josh Tolle, Deion Sanders chose to bring his two younger sons and his youngest daughter to Boulder, Colorado to play for CU over a chance to run the Auburn football program and have his own family absorbed into the famed Auburn family.

“Let’s talk about the facts,” Tolle prefaced before saying, “Sanders could’ve gone to Auburn or USF and chose to come to Colorado instead. This wasn’t my mistake either. Prime knew he could make the program his own without interference. This was an important step for the process with CU Football.”

When it comes to facts, the reality is that Coach Prime was always a long-shot candidate to become the new head coach on the Plains — and that there was ultimately no offer. Auburn was focused on Lane Kiffin as Plan 1, and Hugh Freeze as Plan 1A. Meanwhile, Sanders was always choosing between USF, Cincinnati, and Colorado, and made the obvious choice given the wealth of the Buffs’ boosters and more illustrious history than the other two programs; UC’s 2021 College Football Playoff appearance be damned.

Auburn football and Deion Sanders were never going to be a good fit

Given Coach Prime’s stance on meeting with boosters, the fit between Sanders and Auburn was never going to be one built for the long haul. At Colorado, Sanders calls all the shots he wants; helping to get his players paid historic NIL numbers, and filming every single thing that happens for future use.

Maybe the former would’ve been welcomed at Auburn, but the Plains isn’t a place built for constant attention and tabloid drama.

Boulder isn’t either. But that’s a story for another day.

Freeze was the right man for the Tigers job, and Sanders got everything he could’ve wanted at Colorado; besides a state with a top-notch built-in recruiting pipeline.

This topic will surely be revisited plenty moving forward.