“I think the most prominent players at every program are probably your best recruiters,” Deion Sanders had said in April after a spring practice session of the Colorado Buffaloes. If that sounds like a belief Coach Prime put into his sons, QB Shedeur and defensive back Shilo, arguably the leading faces of the Buffs, then they did not disappoint their father. Going beyond the transfer portal, these two have used their social media to play their part uniquely in the recruitment process.

Along a similar line, back in April, Shilo created a ripple when he, through his Instagram stories, urged defensive transfers to message him and offensive players to reach out to Shedeur. And it seems their strategy worked big time. If you are trying to put together instances, you don’t need to rewind much. Look at the September 21 game between the Buffs and the Baylors. Buffs indeed won (38-31) but after a tense battle and some heroics from Shedeur and Buffs WR LaJohntay Wester.

The clock had struck 0:00 and Shedeur Sanders rolled to his left for a 43-yard Hail Mary pass that landed with Wester, who then converted it to a touchdown forcing the game to overtime. Travis Hunter forced a fumble at the 1-yard line in overtime as Colorado picked up a miraculous win that looked almost impossible. Now Wester has revealed that his game-winning connection with Shedeur dates back to his recruitment with the Buffs in January.

On the latest episode of Reach The People Media, Buffs WR LaJohntay Wester talked about what made him switch to the Buffs. For a change, it was not Coach Prime, but Shedeur was the mastermind. “After the season, it was just like what we gonna do? I text him, I’m like what we’re gonna do, and we got on the phone and I had to transfer,” Wester mentioned.

“Um, Shedeur man. He played a big role in it, like me coming here. Like he really played a huge role in that,” Wester further added. Indeed, Shedeur has been quite vocal about how the Buffs wanted Wester so much on their roster. On January 7, Shedeur posted on his X, “We want @la_wester in Boulder” just three hours after Colorado football landed a transfer commitment from former Oklahoma State cornerback DJ McKinney. And what happened after that?

On January 9, Wester, who had entered the transfer portal on December 15, announced his joining the Buffs. “I pulled up his film and I was recruiting him myself. I pulled it up myself and was like, nah, we need this guy. This is the guy we want, this is the guy we need on the field. This is the guy we need on this team to continue to prosper and be great,” Shedeur had said about Wester in April. Even Coach Prime was elated about his talent.

“Oh my God, LaJohntay is a pro. He’s a Florida boy and he comes with that dog mentality, that swagger in him that he’s making Jimmy (Horn Jr.) go get it. It’s very competitive and I like it,” Deion Sanders had said. And it is not without a reason.

Wester’s production has been marvelous. Wester caught a career-high 108 passes (second in FBS) to go along with 1,168 yards (11th in FBS) and eight touchdowns during the 2023 campaign, earning first-team All-AAC honors. It was his third consecutive season with at least 60 receptions, 700 yards, and an average of 10.8 yards per catch. Over the last four seasons, the WR has registered 2,703 receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns on 252 receptions.

Wester’s talents can be used in the Buffs stacked receiver rotation. He would also be a solid addition, as Xavier Weaver is heading to the NFL. Wester is virtually impossible to guard 1-on-1. Looking at his explosive plays, it is quite logical for Shedeur to want him on the team. On the other hand, the Buffaloes accumulated 176 punt return yards on 17 attempts for an average of just 10.4 yards per return. These figures can improve drastically this season with Wester fielding punts.

Wester earned first-team honors as a return specialist and was named the 2023 AAC Special Teams Player of the Year. He has an average of 19.9 yards per punt return (returning one for a touchdown), and his 278 punt return yards on the season ranked fifth in FBS. In football, the special teams are often the deciding factor in close games. Colorado found itself in one-score games on eight occasions in 2023. So adding a field-flipping talent such as Wester should help them big time.

However, there is one thing we gotta talk about. We all know that Shedeur, Shilo, and Hunter will be leaving for the NFL next year. This would leave a major gap in the entire roster. Still, the games against the Rams and the Bears have given Deion Sanders a much-required push in recruitment.

Momentum in recruitment for Coach Prime

Standing on a 3-1 run, what’s making people chase the Buffs right now isn’t the season record. Hunter pulled some massive plays against the Rams and created history, and the same thing happened yet again against the Bears and the game-winning fumble. Shedeur has been on point with his throws and Wester is slowly rising to be the next big star.

Naturally, back on September 23rd, Josh Newberg from On3 brought us some positive news regarding Deion Sanders and the recent recruitment momentum he has managed to gain. “ I don’t know how fast things are going to transpire here with Colorado recruiting, but the buzz around last night’s win is palpable,” Newberg noted. Currently, 3 4-star recruits are looking to flip to the Buffs.

No.18 nationally ranked OT Carde Smith, followed by  No.17 nationally ranked Safety Byron Baldwin and No.37 nationally ranked Safety Antonio Branch Jr. All 3 players are currently committed to Trojans, Indiana, and Penn State, respectively. It is good to find that Deion is going to find new blood with relative ease, to take the place that Shilo, Shedeur, and Hunter are gonna leave behind.