Pressure Mounts on Deion Sanders in Tough Marshall Faulk Revelation as Colorado HC Given Alarming Spring Game Warning

Tick-tock, Boulder. Time’s running out. Taking a 1-11 disaster team to a 9-4 turnaround in just two years? That’s a storybook arc, if we’ve ever seen one. Deion Sanders definitely wrote himself a good one. But his year three in Boulder is where the real test starts. With the Buffs’ third spring game under Prime just days away, on March 11th, the pressure’s building. Not just on the HC but the Buffs as a whole. For the longest time, spring games are usually a time for optimism and a showcase of new talent. But with the shift in how programs are viewing this session, it could backfire on Coach Prime’s decision to remain in the game. 

The Buffs already have unfinished business from last season. One of their top needs is the running game, which was almost non-existent. The arrival of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk as the new RBs coach somehow boosts hope for the upcoming season. But wait, he needs help too. 

On March 5th episode of That Number One College Football Show, RJ Young addressed Colorado’s run situation. “The one thing that I would like to see is a run game,” he stated. “Colorado ranked dead last in rushing yards per game, just 65, one of the reasons that I think the hire of Marshall Faulk is such a big deal. You’ve got another Pro Football Hall of Famer that has joined the staff as a running backs coach which means you’re going to recruit to the position very well.” Faulk has the resume to back up his hype. 

Marshall Faulk was a game-changer in his 12-year playing career, a dual-threat weapon who torched defenses with both hands and legs. He compiled 12,279 yards and 100 TDs on the ground while also recording 767 catches for 6,875 yards and 36 scores. Now he takes on the challenge of reviving a Colorado rushing attack, which was abysmal. In 2024, the Buffs racked up just 1,291 yards on the ground with an average of 2.5 yards per attempt and 65.2 yards per game. 

While the expectation is there, even an HoF and Super Bowl champ can’t fix the trenches alone. Young pointed out another concern for the Buffs, saying, “Knowing that Phil Loadholt has left that job and gone to Mississippi State, I’m curious what does the offensive line look like because Marshall Faulk will be the first person to tell you you’re only as good as your offensive line blocking for you to get to the second level.” But as if fixing the run game wasn’t enough of a challenge, Deion Sanders faces another looming challenge in the spring practice—poaching fears. 

Will Deion Sanders’ Colorado get poached in the spring game?

Across the nation, various football programs are rethinking the value of spring games. And it’s not the risk of injuries at play here. It’s something far more dangerous—NIL money and a spring transfer portal. In the current landscape, a strong spring performance isn’t just a confidence booster—it’s a potential recruitment ad for rival programs with deeper pockets. “We’re paying people,” Young bluntly stated. “And because we’re paying people, we know that someone else might see what we have and they might want to go poach it or someone might show out in a spring game which usually happens and then hit the transfer portal.”

That’s the reality for Colorado. The Buffs are loaded with high school and transfer talents like Julian Lewis and Kaidon Salter, among others, that are eager to prove themselves. The spring transfer portal window opens right after the spring game, meaning any breakout performance could turn into an instant bidding battle. With limited elite talent available in the spring portal, the Buffs can’t afford to lose any key pieces this late in the process. 

For Deion Sanders, this isn’t just another spring game. It’s a crucial test—a chance to show progress and prove his program can survive itself in the NIL era.