Christmas came early for Deion Sanders! The Colorado Buffaloes equipment manager, Michael Smith, brought a smile to Coach Prime’s face with a gift hamper. He also heaped the Buffs’ head coach with much-needed praise, specifically when Deion’s “darker” side emerged after the transfer portal.

The manager expressed his appreciation for Sanders, emphasizing how the Coach helped him overcome his struggles. The gift hamper was handed to Deion, but it wasn’t meant as a gesture of gratitude toward the coach.

Buffs’ manager’s gift for Deion for fostering confidence

The video posted by the unapologeticallybuffs account on X captured the incredible relationship between Deion Sanders and the Colorado equipment manager. The young man is seen walking to Coach Prime with a huge gift hamper in his hand. While the Buffs HC was expecting something for himself, Smith burst the bubble, disclosing, “A token of appreciation…this is for your grandbaby.”

Why would Smith suddenly decide to give gifts? It’s because he wanted to thank Sanders for being the ultimate pillar and helping him rise in his role without losing confidence in him, “Coach Prime is a great mentor, I’m blessed; he believed in me.”

We all know how the Buffs HC never misses a chance to drill ambition into the Buffs. In the video, Coach Prime appeared as the powerhouse of motivation. While Smith started to introduce himself to the fans, “So I’m the equipment manager,” Deion interrupted to correct him, saying “A good one.” “I am doing this because Coach Prime helped me out in rough times and he believes in me,” he then gave a shout-out to the coach. Interestingly, this narrative contradicts the ones brought about by the ex-Buffs.  

Deion caught in the mire of ex-Buffs’ blame game

The former Buffaloes cornerback was the first one in this transfer season to voice pessimism about Sanders’ Colorado. He exposed the program, tagging it as “playing for clicks” and that was hollow at the heart. According to Cormani McClain in search of genuineness, he hit the transfer portal, “I’m just ready to bring the old version of me out and change the narrative of everyone’s thinking on my name [and] be a part of a real and a great program that’s going to impact me at my best ability.”

The same thing goes for the ex-Buffs safety, Xavier Smith. Right after hitting the portal, the player wished to expose Sanders for ruining his confidence along with multiple other Buffs. He raised an allegation, “He [Coach Prime] was destroying guys’ confidence and belief in themselves. The way he did it, it could’ve been done with a little more compassion.”

But here comes the Colorado Buffaloes equipment manager who overturns the negative narrative that the transfer season ushered in for Deion Sanders. Now that the Buffs favorite Julian “JuJu” Lewis is here in Boulder over the weekend, will this evolved perspective about the Buffs HC act as a catalyst for acquiring the five-star QB’s commitment?