Colorado Football’s Post-Spring Game Mass Exodus Reflects Harsh Reality Of New Transfer Portal Era

Deion Sanders’ Colorado roster is going to look different come Week 1 against TCU than it does today. The first-year FBS head coach said so himself on multiple occasions during Saturday’s sold-out spring game.

Part of that overhaul is because the Buffaloes’ staff is going to continue to add talent through the transfer portal over the course of the next few weeks and months. Part of that overhaul is because the transfer portal is a two-way street.

No team in the country has seen more players enter the transfer portal during the 2023 offseason than Colorado. And it’s not particularly close.

23 now-former Buffaloes entered the transfer portal prior to last Thursday, April 20. One entered on Friday.

Colorado played its spring game on Saturday. Its leading receiver from the weekend, Montana Lemonious-Craig, hit the portal on Sunday night.

One Day After Monster Spring Game For Deion, Colorado WR Enters The Portal: Shedeur Sanders Calls It ‘Crooked’

16 (!!) players have since followed suit on Monday:

Colorado DB Jeremy Mack Jr. is the 17th Buff to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal today, per @mzenitz.

He had 48 tackles last season. https://t.co/GjUd4iKJIO pic.twitter.com/Hq5jDX2Igw

— On3 (@On3sports) April 24, 2023

Most of those who left for the transfer portal in wake of the spring game are former three-star recruits, but their exit adds to an already significant number. The Buffaloes have now seen an FBS-high 40 (!!) players hit the portal since Coach Prime’s arrival.

It seems like they took his advice seriously.

Deion Sanders Tells Colorado Players To Hit The Portal In First Team Meeting

The players that Sanders doesn’t want from the 1-11 team are leaving. It’s all going according to plan!

Although the numbers out of Boulder are quite staggering, this is the new reality of college football. Player movement is more prevalent than ever.

This exodus serves as a great look at the modern era.

There are multiple components to how things have played out at Colorado.

1. When an old coach leaves or is fired, and a new coach comes in, players are going to leave. They were recruited by the old staff and might not want to stick around.
2. Plain and simple, there may not be the right fit. This is especially true with a coach like Sanders, who does not mince his words and might ruffle some feathers. A player may arrive to campus, realize that it isn’t for him, and leave at the soonest opportunity
3. Someone like Lemonious-Craig can show out in a spring game and then capitalize on his success while seeking a new opportunity. If coaches are going to talk about how college football is a business, and how they are going to take an NFL-like approach, they need to be prepared for players to do the same. Sanders and Colorado are prepared.
4. Players who fell down the depth chart during the spring practice period can get out by semester’s end and find a new school in time to compete for playing time during fall camp. Losing literal depth, in terms of numbers, is the only downside for the programs they are leaving.
5. Coaches process players out. It is not confirmed, but it is very possible that some (even all!) of the Buffaloes that hit the portal over the last 24 hours were told that their spot is needed for someone else or that their services are no longer necessary.

All of these different factors led to the current state of Buffaloes football. It may seem staggering to have 37 players leave in a span of four months, because it is, but that’s just how it’s going to work these days. This is the new way of doing things, for both players and coaches.

Colorado may be the first, but it won’t be the last. The new normal is here, get used to it!