Controversy seems to have found its favorite prey and it is none other than Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes. After one of the most dramatic transfer seasons, the Buffs are still not over disputes. This time it’s Assistant Director of Player personnel, Devin Ripress who got involved in poaching accusations.

However, soon, the Colorado staffer clarified and questioned the authenticity of the claim. Unfortunately, this has not only put Ripress’ integrity at stake but has also questioned Colorado’s recruiting antics. After Cormani McClain and Xavier Smith’s drama, this has come up again putting Deion Sanders’ program under scrutiny. 

Coach Vigil accuses Deion Sanders’ staffer of poaching

All this started when an anonymous person posted some screenshots of conversations on Twitter. The person on the other end is none other than the Buffs AD. The tweets were then shared by Philip Vigil, the coach of CSU Pueblo with the caption, “Hey @NCAA and @Big12Conference, is this considered tampering, or is @Coach2Bless and @CUBuffsFootball able to recruit our current players like this?” However, Ripress later chose to silence the accusations as he re-tweeted with the claim that a false charge had been brought against him, “nice try yall been catfished wrong guy brother. You could’ve hit me up before tweeting this and embarrassing your program.”

A part of the conversation went like, “Hey man how’s it going this is coach Devin Ripress the assistant director of player personnel here at Colorado University, me and my team wanted to check on your availability. Are you a full commit to CSU Pueblo”. What followed came as a deathblow as it allegedly shows Ripress urging the player, “Ok do you have any interest in a commitment flip with us”. This was not the first time that poaching charges have been brought up against the Buffs. Earlier it was Shedeur and Shilo who were held accountable for such actions. 

Deion Sanders’ sons’ attempts at recruiting

While there is no proof whether it was Ripress or not since the contact number in the screenshot lies hidden, in Shedeur and Shilo’s case everything transpired openly. When one after the other player was leaving Buffaloes and hitting the portal, Deion Sanders’ sons took the initiative to keep the Buffs boat afloat. The quarterback and safety made themselves reachable through social media. They posted a story on Instagram that read, “Last Chance U”.  

Instead of degrading his sons’ actions which according to some was no less than luring or poaching players, Deion Sanders took a stand. “I think the most prominent players at every program are probably your best recruiters. I wish you could have a conversation with Shedeur and just tell him to just show you his (direct messages) one time. You would not believe the kids that call him and call Shilo, because they’re high-profile young men.” 

Now that Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes have already found themselves in a negative light, courtesy of McClain’s “play for clicks” claim, it is unlikely that Ripress or any other staff will be resorting to poaching. Moreover, they already have big visits lined up for them including Julian “JuJu” Lewis in June.