"You have lost Shedeur, lost Travis Hunter" - Heisman winner drops blunt assessment of Coach Prime's Colorado for "successful" 2025 season

Coach Prime will be without Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter in his third season at Colorado. The two stars, who have now transitioned to the NFL, were the faces of the Buffaloes football program in the last two years, but the team now moves into a new era in their absence.

On The Triple Option podcast on Wednesday, 2009 Heisman winner Mark Ingram offered a blunt evaluation of Colorado heading into the 2025 college football season. Despite his confidence in Deion Sanders, the Heisman Trophy winner believes the Buffs could have it rough in 2025.

“I'm going over because I have faith in Deion,” Ingram said (at 46:25). I feel like they're going to get this thing together. Let's just be honest, though. With a 6.5, I’ll say 6-7 wins. I think that's a good season for them right now.

“You have lost Shedeur, lost Travis Hunter, arguably the best player in college football of recent. And then I just think their coaching staff, they have a lot of coaches with a lot of experience. They went and got Marshall Falk. They went and got Domata Peko, one of the D-line men I played with.”

Coach Prime led Colorado to a 9-4 finish last season, narrowly missing out on the Big 12 championship game. However, the absence of Shedeur and Hunter has reduced the team's confidence. Nonetheless, Deion Sanders will look to keep the program winning in 2025.

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Mark Ingram outlines what Coach Prime needs to ensure to have a successful season in 2025

Despite his noteworthy concerns, Mark Ingram has a lot of confidence in Coach Prime heading into the 2025 season.

The former Alabama running back believes that if the Buffaloes can ensure some things are in place, they could have a chance of success next season.

“I think with the coaching staff, with the players, with the mindset and the strategy that Deion has, I feel like they're going to get this thing going,” Ingram said (at 47:05). “Let's just be realistic, six or seven wins, that'll be a great season for Colorado. about it this year.

“As long as they look the part, they're two deep. If there's injuries that happen, they have two deeps that can go in there and still play formidable football. If they're running the football, not getting bullied in the trenches, if they're protecting the quarterback, all those things. If they do those things, I feel like it'll be a successful season for Prime.”

Coach Prime and his staff were active in bringing in a host of new faces via high school recruiting and the transfer portal this offseason. They hope to have a strong unit on both sides of the field to compete in the Big 12, and it's to be seen what they get to achieve next season.