Deion Sanders will have some major roster building at Colorado next season after another key player hit the transfer portal.
Safety Carter Stoutmire is entering the portal, potentially costing the Buffaloes a key member of the secondary who has seen his role grow over each of the last three seasons. Sanders has already seen some massive turnover in his roster, creating an even bigger challenge as the program looks to rebound from a 3-7 season.
Carter Stoutmire is ‘Tough Loss’
SI.com’s Angela Miele noted that Stoutmire played an important role for Sanders at Colorado, joining the program in his first recruiting class.
“Stoutmire is a tough loss for the Buffaloes, as he has been a key part of the defense,” Meile wrote. “Stoutmire was among Sanders’ first recruiting class when he took over the program, and earned playing time throughout the three seasons.”
Stoutmire had 37 total tackles this season, adding five passes defensed and a forced fumble.
While players who hit the transfer portal can still return to their school, Miele noted that Stoutmire has already gotten some interest from another major program.
“Stoutmire could gain interest quickly in the portal. Any team in need of safety depth could look his way, given his playing experience,” Miele wrote. “One possible team that could target Stoutmire is the Virginia Cavaliers. Ahead of the 2025 season, Sanders revealed that Virginia offered Stoutmire.”
The Buffaloes have added some important players as well. Adam Munseterteiger of 247 Sports noted that Sanders got three big commitments within the span of a few hours.
“Former New Mexico State defensive tackle Ezra Christensen, Sacramento State offensive line transfer Jose Soto, and former San Jose State defensive tackle Vili Taufatofua all announced their decision to join the herd within the span of two-and-a-half hours,” Munsterteiger wrote.
Deion Sanders Facing Roster Concerns
While Colorado peaked with a 9-3 record in 2024 when Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy and Shedeur Sanders was quarterback, he struggled to replicate the success this year. The Athletic spoke to some other top college coaches who expressed concern about his ability to build a roster.
“College rosters are a blank canvas where it’s not like you have to wait a few years to rebuild,” a Big 12 assistant coach told the outlet. “He’s had plenty enough time to build a program.”
Another gave Sanders credit for attracting some top players to the program, but said they failed to produce the expected results.
“If you take a look at a lot of the guys that they brought in, there wasn’t a ton of production,” a Big 12 general manager said. “They took a bunch of Power 4 big names, big (recruiting) star guys, and they put them in with the expectation that they were going to have big jumps. And they just didn’t.”
Deion Sanders Hit With Setback as Colorado Roster Suffers ‘Tough’ Loss