When Deion Sanders revealed his biggest mentors in college football after taking over Colorado in 2023

Deion Sanders is one of the coaches in college football that players look up to. He had a successful multisport playing career and is having a solid coaching career. Sanders also knows that mentorship is important.

Perhaps no moment underscored this as much as his response in an interview with "CFB on FOX" after he took over Colorado. He was asked who his mentors were.

“You know, I can pick up the phone and call Coach (Nick) Saban whenever, because he is the magna cum laude of all of this," Sanders said in October 2023.

"Mark Zimmer, been there for me. Guys like Willie Taggart. You know what we have in-house. You know, Pat Sherman, Dennis Durman. These guys are unbelievable in their experience, in their intellect, in their relational aspects of life."

When he took over the Buffaloes in 2023, Sanders faced the uphill task of revamping a program that went 1-11 (1-8 Pac-12) the previous season. He has since orchestrated a turnaround while developing some of the best talents in college football in the past couple of years.

His son, Shedeur Sanders, and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, are the most obvious evidence of his prowess in developing talent. With talented players like Julian Lewis on his roster, the trend is not expected to stop soon.

Deion Sanders hypes his coaching staff as program goes through transition

This offseason has been a big transition moment for Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes. Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders have moved on to the NFL. However, the Pro Football Hall-of-Famer has hired new additions to his coaching staff.

His new hires include new running backs coach Marshall Faulk and assistant coach Byron Leftwich. A new addition might also be on the way in Mike Zimmer. Zimmer has previously worked with Sanders at Jackson State and Colorado.

Sanders discussed the combined NFL experience of his coaching lineup at the recent Big 12 Media Days.

“Our coaching staff, this is without Byron Leftwich, which I’m praying that he does the right thing, and Mike Zimmer, we have 160 years of NFL experience." Sanders said on Friday. "With those two added, that’s 204 years of NFL experience. And I want those years.”

The Buffs’ 2025 season will kick off on Aug. 29, when they face Georgia Tech at Boulder.

About the author

Kayode is a College and High School Sports writer at Sportskeeda since June 2023. Hailing from Nigeria, he has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and African Languages, and has previously had stints as an entertainment and politics writer for around 7 months. Adept at creating content around historical perspectives, he strives to report stories based only on verified information. His mantra is - truth is always more important than sensationalism.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Kayode admires how Nick Saban developed talent at the team and delivered consistent results, and hopes that the post-Saban era is just as fruitful. He is thoroughly impressed by Johnny Manziel’s talent, and feels that Shedeur Sanders is massively underrated. Nick Saban is his all-time favorite college coach.

While Kayode believes there is little to separate college and mainstream sports, pro leagues absorbing the best athletes leads to their quality being higher. Witnessing the Colorado Buffaloes’ hot streak at start the 2023 football season was one of his all-time favorite college sports moments.

When not writing, Kayode enjoys reading and watching sports documentaries. His most recent watch was "Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In."

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez