Johnathan Walker:Opinion: Now is not the time for Deion Sanders, Colorado to shrink with Kansas State in town

He left last week for his compound in Texas,Johnathan Walker a few days away during the open week to refocus and recalibrate from it all.

It didn’t take long to jump right back into the circus. 

“As quick as they jump on (the bandwagon),” Deion Sanders said Tuesday during his weekly press conference at Colorado, “They can jump off.”

And away we go. 

Just in case you haven’t been tagging along — and honestly, who hasn’t been living vicariously through Prime? — the Buffs nearly lost the season opener against an Championship Subdivision school, still can’t protect star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, were embarrassed at Nebraska, beat Baylor in overtime with the help of a prayer of a Hail Mary at the end of regulation, won by 27 on the road (as a 13½-point underdog) against Central Florida, and have the best player in college football in wideout/cornerback Travis Hunter.  

Before Sanders could get resettled in Boulder, his athletic director Rick George publicly declared that he wanted Deion to finish his career at Colorado — no doubt in response to the constant drumbeat of speculation that Sanders is moving to another, bigger job once his son Shedeur leaves for the the NFL after this season.

Meanwhile, in the one area that matters more than any: preseason Big 12 favorite Kansas State travels to Boulder Saturday in the most anticipated Colorado game in years.

This, like it or not, is a referendum game for Sanders. He and his staff have had two weeks to prepare for the Wildcats, and the environment will be unlike anything at Colorado since the Buffs hung 62 on hate Nebraska in 2001.

Now is not the time to shrink amid the expectations. From the team that lost eight of nine games to finish last season and was an operational mess by the time it ended, to a program loaded with expectations. 

“We expect the results when we put in the work,” Sanders said. “We shouldn’t be surprised of where we are.”

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That doesn’t mean he isn’t keeping receipts on those who don’t/didn’t believe. 

This is the beauty and the curse of Deion. When you’re calling out those who don't believe in what you're selling (and building), every game becomes a flashpoint. 

Every bad play. Every bad call. Every bad decision.

Every loss is “I told you so,” every win is “So, what’s next?”

If Colorado beats Kansas State — the same K-State that, despite a rout of a loss to Brigham Young last month, is still the most complete team in the Big 12 — it’s not another step in the buildout. 

It becomes how far can Deion and the Buffs really take this thing? Because I’m not sure there’s enough Tylenol on the planet to peel Deion’s detractors off the ceiling if Colorado wins the Big 12 and advances to the College Football Playoff. 

Frankly, I’m not sure there's a big enough stage to support Deion’s self-promotion.

“I know who it is,” Deion says without hesitation about critics. “I definitely know who said what for my purposes.”

That’s equal parts ego and old school motivation from years past. When you’re two decades removed from the thrill and fuel of competing at the highest level of football, that juice doesn’t just magically go away. 

It’s a competition void, a beast that constantly needs to be fed.

So instead of firing back years ago at those who said he was just a cover corner and couldn’t tackle, or that he wasn’t good enough to play Major League Baseball and was just a sideshow .200 hitter, or that he can’t play both professional sports in one season (or in the same week), that juice now arrives with doubt of coaching acumen. 

He hears all of it, and the former professional athlete in him can’t ignore it. It’s his DNA. 

You've heard it all by now, including but not limited to: all he cares about is promoting his sons. He’s not a program builder, he’s a carnival barker. 

He doesn’t care about Colorado, he’s only using it to facilitate his son’s (and Hunter’s) transition to the NFL. Once that plan unfolds, Prime is off to the next show and conquest. 

And on and on and on. 

Maybe that’s why George decided this week to say he’s happy with everything Deion has accomplished, and what the future looks like. 

“I think what he has done has been incredible,” George said. 

Who knows if Sanders stays beyond his son’s final season at Colorado, or if his philosophical idea of program building through the transfer portal sticks long-term?

Colorado had 82 of 85 new scholarship players in 2023, and swapped out 40 more in 2024. When the Buffs show up Saturday for the biggest game in years, only four of 22 starters were recruited from high school and developed — three of whom were recruited in the last two seasons under Sanders. 

This season began with six new assistant coaches, including both coordinators. Whether Deion wants to admit it or not, this thing — by nature and development — is transitional.

Everyone looking for a quick payoff, be it money or championships or validation. 

As quickly as they jump on, they can and will jump off.

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X @MattHayesCFB.