Woah! That’s what you call a masterstroke. Colorado Buffaloes Deion Sanders has set a goal to flip the 4-8 script after analyst Paul Finebaym questioned their capability. And what will bring him closer to his cherished dreams? It’s a tad bit of Nick Saban’s touch. Knowing very well that his defense line in the 2023 season was a hot mess, Deion just had to rewrite the tale this time. Thus, Coach Prime laid hands on Saban’s playbook and landed George Helow, the senior defensive coach who had spent a short stint under legend Saban. However, Coach Prime has already outdone himself by revamping the defensive line, which has earned Shilo’s trust in having a “better space.”  

Finebaum is not convinced that Colorado will end it big in the Big 12 race and that Colorado getting the No. 25 rank in the preseason poll is nothing but a joke. On August 12, the analyst claimed, “There is no way I would vote for Colorado. This is a program that is living off of its head coach, not off of its reputation. Because they have none other than a national championship about 30 years ago.” However, Deion is hardly bothered by the attacks and instead channeled his energy to land a new defensive coach. College football insider Bruce Feldman confirmed the news. On August 15 he wrote, “SOURCES: Colorado is hiring George Helow as Senior Defensive Coach where he’ll work closely with Buffs DC Robert Livingston. Helow is a former Michigan LBs coach who spent time last season as a Special Asst. to Nick Saban at Alabama. Has experience at multiple SEC & Big Ten schools.”

Ann Arbor was under Helow’s charge for two seasons. With Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines, he coached the linebackers in 2021 and 2022 and was then replaced by Chris Patridge in 2022. When he became a free agent in 2023, Helow landed on Saban’s watchlist right before Alabama faced Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Is he new for Deion? Yes. Is he new to Colorado? No. Helow spent some time, though not with the Buffs, but with Colorado State between 2016 and 2019. Meanwhile, Coach Prime had already made big decisions to bolster the defense line.

Deion’s way of rebuilding the Buffs for success

After last season, Deion’s Colorado needed some help as they finished 107th in the nation against the run (176 yards per game) and, most importantly, their sacks percentage. Shedeur received 52 sacks, propelling him to become history’s most-sacked college football player. How could Coach Prime keep to himself, knowing that his program direly needs help?

The first thing he did was to take advantage of the transfer portal. For this season, Colorado has added 14 new faces to the defensive line. Not just players, other than Helow, the Buffs HC added three new coaches and grad assistants for the positions to tweak the table. Coach Prime seemed to have aced the game to bolster the D-line, which made his son, Shilo, claim, “You can’t [have] poison. We got rid of a lot of poison last year. And this year, we’re in a better space, clicking as a team and we expect to win.”

Throughout this time, Deion has only one mission: to keep his other son and the Buffs QB, Shedeur Sanders, out of harm’s way. Some of the big shots to look forward to are OSU transfer defensive linemen and Pittsburgh transfer Samule Okunlola and former ASU defensive lineman BJ Green, who will not move past any sack to reach Shedeur. Let’s see what kind of spice Helow adds to the Buffs’ defensive mix!