A team that used to win just one game in previous seasons is now a Big 12 championship contender, the national championship contender, and has given a Heisman winner in 2024. That’s Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes for you. They finished the 2024 season at 9-4 and helped Travis Hunter win the elusive Heisman. All this while excelling in their academics, too. Folks, this is a true arc of redemption, a rendition of sheer will and determination. And most of all, Coach Prime’s leadership.

Well, by now, everyone knows about the Colorado Buffaloes 2024 season. However, they have achieved another historic milestone by becoming the first batch in their team’s history to achieve a cumulative GPA of over 3.0. Furthermore, their Heisman winner, Travis Hunter, has a GPA of 4.0, which is just mind-blowing. The news came as a surprise for many fans.

During the Week 14 game against Oklahoma State, ESPN’s announcer Mark Jones revealed Hunter’s feat. “Oh, by the way, folks, He’s a 4.0 GPA student as well, if you were wondering.” That’s just crazy, right? Because Travis Hunter played on a team where Shedeur Sanders was having the best of the season. Shedeur was not only the lead passer in every game but was also the favorite to win the Heisman. But then came Travis Hunter and told Sanders, ‘Close your eyes and just throw it’. This is because Hunter was everywhere on the field; no passes were too far, and no tackle was too physical for him playing as a two-way star. All this while achieving a 4-point GPA is undoubtedly a monumental feat. But wait, there’s more.

The historic feat was announced by Colorado’s director of personnel. Coach Prime might have a crucial role to play in this historic feat. This is because, time and again, he has emphasized the role of achieving academic excellence together with playing football. He emphasized that recently in an interview.

“My wins are totally different than your wins. I start out talking about education and academics because there’s a greater scope. I can’t win nine games, and our GPA suffers. We have to win in every area.” The statement reported by the Associated Press in July 2024 highlights the sheer influence of Coach Prime on his team. The feat also tells you the mentality he has instilled in everyone’s mind, where you will run havoc under floodlights and then turn to your study light in your dorm. Coach Prime is not just running a football program now. He is running a holistic excellence program from the core. Moving on, let’s see what Deion Sanders is brewing for the 2025 season.

Deion Sanders’ prospects in the 2025 season.

Deion Sanders’ team was ranked 25 in All NCAAF rankings with 79 points scored. That is something of an achievement, too, for Coach Prime. But the rebuilding is an ongoing process, and there may be some flaws that Coach Prime would be inclined to rectify going into the 2025 season.

First and foremost, they will expect that their new QB, Kaidon Salter, the former Liberty Flames player, has enough in his tank to at least match some of the standards set by Shedeur. Of course, Julian Lewis may need some time before getting the keys to the offense. Furthermore, their offensive line also needs to be replenished since they ranked way below in offensive rankings in 2024. They were even lower than colleges like BYU Cougars and WYU in their conference. However, their defense was something that had numerous positive signs, as they ranked 6th in defense in the Big 12. The verdict?

Well, with various players like Jahem Oatis (DL) and Makari Vickers (Safety) coming in in their 2025 class. Add that to their high-rated freshman prospects like QB Julian Lewis, OT Carde Smith, and Edge London Meritt. Coach Sanders has a lot of ingredients to build on something exciting in 2025.