“Minimising One of His Greatest Assets”: Coach Prime Called Out for Stringent Recruitment Strategy

“I can’t do things other coaches can do. You know why? I’m Coach Prime. And I didn’t stutter when I said it,” Deion Sanders said with an unapologetic smirk. It is one of the things that sets him apart from the crowd. It’s not just his gold box chains stacked on top of each other or the charm he has amassed from all his football years; it’s his business mastermind tagging beside each activity he does, as an individual or as a Buffs head coach, that makes him truly Coach Prime.

But what happens when the business acumen of a head coach overtakes his coaching duties? Criticism starts pouring in from analysts across the nation. First, it was Andy Staples of ON3, followed by On3’s JD Pickell, who called out Deion Sanders for his stringent, or ‘unorthodox’ recruiting ways. The problem in the way is Deion Sanders not hitting the road to visit hometown high schools to make recruits like other head coaches. Prime chooses to stay back instead at Boulder, relying heavily on the transfer portal for recruits to visit CU.

“The thing with Deion Sanders not going to these schools is that I think he’s minimizing one of his greatest assets, which is his visibility,” JD Pickell opined. Pickell makes a fair point, as Sanders’ name in a headline is enough to make sales, or Prime’s face in Sports Center is enough to increase views. Sanders has that marketability.

“If you get Dion Sanders in school and Buzz gets around the campus, that’s massive. You are the man on campus because Deion Sanders came and pulled you out of English class to talk to you about coming and playing for Colorado or he went to your house,” Pickell added, explaining the buzz Sanders’s mere presence would create on any campus, given the popularity he holds currently. After all this, Sanders was sure to get some tough comments from various people.

Reactions to Deion Sanders’s unorthodox recruiting style

As a matter of fact, Deion Sanders and Co. are yet to use up a single penny out of their contractual $200,000 travel budget for recruiting. The team has also not used the private jet facility available to them to make these high school visits. Deion Sanders’s claims of being a ‘businessman and saving the university money every darn chance he gets’, had On3s Andy Staples confused. “It seems like he’s got a couple of different reasons, and they don’t really match up. Maybe he’s just making excuses here,” Staples said to his guest Dukes.

To which Dukes explained Sanders’s point of view of “making sure that the school knows that I’m serious about us saving money.” There are a myriad of opinions surrounding Sanders’s approach. Former Bengals WR TJ Houshmandzadeh didn’t shy away from chipping in his opinion on SPEAK.

READ ALSO: Deion Sanders Accused of Making “Excuses” After Revealing His Unorthodox “No Visit” Recruiting Style

“I just don’t see it being feasible long-term that you are not going to do any home visits because I’m Deion Sanders,” Houshmandzadeh said, adding yet another condemning comment for Deion Sanders’ approach. Along with Sanders not visiting schools, his recruiting approach of only hiring four- and five-star recruits is also being viewed as problematic.

Do you think that it is a reason that the Buffs are not making a winning record? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

READ MORE: “I’m Deion Sanders”: Hours After ‘Approach’ Justification, Ex-NFL Stars Unite to Scrutinize Coach Prime’s Recruiting Antics