Colorado's Deion Sanders After TCU Upset: 'We Told You We Coming...We Keep Receipts'
September 2, 2023
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders hasn't forgotten about the doubt and criticism he received throughout the offseason for his complete teardown and rebuild of the Buffaloes roster.
Following Saturday's 45-42 season-opening win against the TCU Horned Frogs, Sanders shared a simple message to both fans and critics.
"We told you we coming. You thought we was joking and guess what, we keep receipts."
FOX College Football @CFBONFOX"I'm so thankful right now." ❤️🦬<a href="https://twitter.com/CUBuffsFootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CUBuffsFootball</a>'s <a href="https://twitter.com/DeionSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeionSanders</a> catches up with <a href="https://twitter.com/JennyTaft?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JennyTaft</a> after his first win ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/AipuMnZpEU">pic.twitter.com/AipuMnZpEU</a>
"Nobody believed in us and it just showed me a lot about how people is and they let names and they let Power 5 and stuff get to their head," Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the son of "Coach Prime," said. "I think this is the highest passing yards I had in my life. I was just at an HBCU, you know what I mean? They ain't believe us, but God did."
FOX College Football @CFBONFOX"I was just at an HBCU... they ain't believe us."<a href="https://twitter.com/JennyTaft?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JennyTaft</a> talks with Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter after their first win of the season with <a href="https://twitter.com/CUBuffsFootball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CUBuffsFootball</a> ⬇️🦬 <a href="https://t.co/9Jzb0kkEpL">pic.twitter.com/9Jzb0kkEpL</a>
Shedeur Sanders spent the first two seasons of his career at Jackson State, a historically Black university in Jackson, Mississippi, before transferring to Colorado to join his father and several of his Tigers teammates with the Buffaloes.
Shedeur had the best game of his career against the Horned Frogs on Saturday, completing 38 of 47 passes for 510 yards and four touchdowns. It marked the first time in his career that he passed for at least 500 yards.
Prior to that, his best game came against the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils on Sept. 24, 2022, in which he threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns against one interception in a 49-7 win.
Deion Sanders overhauled nearly his entire roster when he was hired as head coach at Colorado ahead of the 2023 season, bringing in 86 new players between high school and the transfer portal, including nine who followed him from Jackson State, led by his son Shedeur and corner back/wide receiver Travis Hunter.
When Sanders was introduced as the head coach in December, he encouraged Buffaloes players to enter the transfer portal, and 50 followed his advice and did so.
"I'm coming, and when I get here, it's gonna be change," Sanders said, per BuffZone. "So, I want you all to get ready to go ahead and jump in the [transfer] portal and do whatever you're gonna get, because the more of you jump in, the room you make. We're bringing kids that are smart, tough, fast, disciplined with character. That's the ones we're gonna get. Is that you?
Sanders received immense criticism for his overhaul of the roster, which led to questions about what the team's culture would be like following a 1-11 finish to the 2022 season. He told reporters this week that he doesn't care about culture and just wants to win.
Colorado athletic director Rick George told ESPN's Heather Dinich in May that he fully supported the changes that Sanders made, saying that he has "confidence in him and his staff and they know what they're doing."
Following Saturday's win over TCU, which reached the national title game last season, George is probably even more supportive of those moves.