Getty Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes.
The latest college football transfer portal opened on April 16, with over a dozen Colorado Buffaloes players entering the portal.
One player looking to find a new home away from Colorado is running back Alton McCaskill, who was considered a top 10 transfer in 2023 but wound up getting only 14 carries for 59 yards.
His father slammed the school on X, explaining McCaskill’s search for his third school after two years at Houston and one at Colorado.
“If my sons not RB1 We Gotta Go…He was ready last year! He’s a 100% this year! Unfortunately have to find another home where there’s no favoritism and he is valued, appreciated and has no doubts about RB1…He is the best RB in Colorado…But He Not settling! We Going!” Alton McCaskill III wrote in a post on X that was deleted, but not before it was screenshotted and <a href="http://” target=”_blank”>tweeted by a fan on April 17.
Head Coach Deion Sanders Downplays Spring Portal Exodus
As of April 19, McCaskill was one of 17 Colorado players who’d entered the portal in April, but the program’s head coach, Deion Sanders downplayed the situation.
“We’re good,” he said at Colorado’s spring press conference on April 18, the same day McCaskill entered the portal. “Quit making a big deal out of nothing.”
Colorado’s roster has been significantly affected by the transfer portal. Notable departures include Cormani McClain, the top cornerback from the 2023 recruiting class, and Chamon Metayer, a tight end who transferred in just last December.
It’s not the first time Sanders has faced questions about a high number of players leaving the program for the transfer portal. Sanders saw a mass exodus during the 2023 spring portal. In his second season with the Buffaloes, Sanders trusts the process.
“I trust the recruiting team. I trust our coaches, and please have some faith in me,” said Sanders. “We’re good. We all right. We all right. What happens with the portal, man — and you guys need to know — a lot of people are fighting for backups. When a guy’s a starter and he transfers, you’ve got to really think about that. Is he really that? I don’t know how many starters have really transferred around the country. I think we’ve got some coming in for visits, pretty soon, maybe even this weekend.”
“Overall, Coach Prime and the Buffs are currently negative four when it comes to the portal,” according to an April 18 story by SI.com’s Josh Tolle.
Deion Sanders pushed back on the idea that Colorado is taking hits from its transfer portal losses:
“What are we losing? Potential? Where? You haven’t been watching practice have you?”
(h/t @noskozone)
The Colorado spring game will take place on April 27, with the roster set to change further before then. The spring portal shuts on April 30.
Shilo Sends Out Social Media Post to Players in the Transfer Portal
Shilo Sanders, the son of Deion and a Colorado defensive back, caused controversy with an Instagram post on April 16. The post on his personal Instagram account asked spring portal prospects to direct message him or his brother, Shedeur.
The media criticized the post. However, Shilo and his brother have confirmed that they have been bombarded with messages since the post. Shilo spoke on April 18 about why he posted the message.
“I just want to make it easier for other guys to really just feel like, ‘All right, if I want to go to Colorado, it’s not hard,’” Shilo said.