Deion Sanders has quirky response to Pitt HC Pat Narduzzi's Colorado transfer portal comments
Deion Sanders, better known as Coach Prime these days, has been getting heat for how he has constructed the roster at his new school. One of those coaches is Pitt's Pat Narduzzi, who suggested in an interview that Sanders is abusing the transfer portal. Never one to back down, Coach Prime responded during a 247Sports interview as only he could:
"He is not mad at me. He is mad at the situation in football now that he allowed his best player to leave a year ago. He’s not mad at me. He’s using me to shoot bullets at another coach who he has an issue with. I don’t know who he is; if he walked in here right now, I wouldn’t know him."
Sanders knows who he is, a football legend who doesn't need to concern himself with uninvolved parties. Most people could pick out Deion Sanders in a crowd, but who outside of Western Pennsylvania would recognize Pat Narduzzi? It was a shot to Narduzzi's ego mixed with truth, an expert way to shut down what could've been an unnecessary cross-country war of words.
Coach Prime is focused on his new program in Boulder, Colorado, and seems to be reminding Narduzzi he should be concerned with his progress at Pitt. Sending shots at other coaches over their transfer portal behavior won't retain stars like Jordan Addison or help Pitt win the ACC. Even if Narduzzi's comments are stemming from a valid concern for college football's players and their future, Deion Sanders isn't breaking any rules.
Deion Sanders has essentially forced players out
There's a rule for first-year coaches that they are allowed to take players off their new roster, granted that the player retains their scholarship. He told everyone to be prepared for that to happen, and it did. Any student-athletes who wanted to play had to jump ship to find a program that would present an opportunity.
Seventy-three players that were on scholarship at Colorado, set to begin the 2022 season, are gone now. Forty-three Buffaloes entered the transfer portal after the 2023 spring game, and four players that transferred to Colorado this year have put their names back in the portal. All told the 2023 Colorado Buaffloes under head coach Deion Sanders will have fewer than 20% of the previous season's roster.
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The circumstances are undeniably unfortunate for the dozens of students that have had to adjust their collegiate careers because of a coaching change. However, Deion Sanders has a job to do, which is to transform Colorado into the best program it can be. There may have been more empathetic approaches toward this roster overhaul, but Coach Prime is getting the big bucks for results, not sparing feelings in the process.