“Gonna Miss U My Man”: CU Buffs Dealt a Blow as Deion Sanders Bids Farewell to a Loyal Player’s Loss to Transfer Portal

Deion Sanders proved to be a master in the transfer portal. Upon his arrival at Colorado University this year, he signed over 86 players to the team, including several new transfers, starting with personnel that he hauled in from Jackson State. Among them was Long Snapper Jacob Politte but this season, he’s set out to figure out his destiny after what he deemed his time at Boulder as “bittersweet.”

Jacob played 12 games at Jackson State in 2022 where he earned fourth-team All-SWAC honors in 2022 as a long snapper. Although he didn’t see any game action last season, his departure still leaves a trace of sadness behind. When Jacob Politte dropped his decision to leave Boulder and enter the transfer portal, Deion Sanders had nothing but best wishes for the 6’1 sophomore. With two years of eligibility remaining on the books as a graduate transfer, Politte first announced his departure on X with a special mention of Coach Prime, 

“I have officially entered the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility remaining. Thank you @DeionSanders for the opportunities that were offered to me because of you. It’s bittersweet but I am excited to see what God has in store for me.”

Coach Prime responded to the farewell post with an emotional heartwarming message that reads, “Love ya and gonna miss u my man! God bless u and the family. I Believe in You!” 

Prior to Politte’s exit news hitting the Buff nation, Tar’varish Dawson made an announcement that he too would be transferring last month. With the second exit in Politte, Colorado is currently plus nine for transfers before the 2024 season starts. The window opens in two months.

It is noteworthy that ever since Deion Sanders came to Colorado, a lot changed roster-wise from players entering and leaving the program. His strategy is more formulaic than one would imagine. 

Roster building is a number game for Deion Sanders and Co. 

For new things to come, the old needs to be removed and that’s what Deion Sanders did for Colorado, allowing him to bring in 86 new players in Boulder. 57 of these new faces reportedly joined through the transfer portal. Colorado’s Athletic Director Rick George previously told ESPN, “When [Sanders] first came in, he said, ‘there’s a lot of people here who may not be here,’ because he evaluated and looked at the talent on our team… Coach is doing what he thinks is best for this program.”

For a second straight season, Sanders and his staff absolutely crushed it in the transfer portal. Sanders has kept no secret about his roster-building formula, which heavily prioritizes portal shopping over prep prospects. Coach Prime’s preferred ratio is 40% undergrad transfers, 40% grad transfers, and 20% from the high-school ranks. On a percentage basis, Coach Prime has extended just 2.4% of his total offers to Colorado preps in the classes of 2023-25.

From 2019-22, the program carried an average of 28 active players who graduated from Colorado high schools on their roster, with a high of 35 in the fall of ’21 when the team finished 4-8 under Karl Dorrell. According to the most recent roster posted on the program’s webpage, that in-state count was down to 11.

Since his arrival, 72 players entered the transfer portal, with the latest being Jacob Politte. But 4-8 is still an improvement from a sickening 1-11 record the previous season. Besides, Deion Sanders has already brought talents like Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter who can be potential Heisman winners. Hopefully, good change is coming on the field for the Buffs this season. 

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