Colorado coach Deion Sanders’ ‘no travel’ approach to recruiting is unique, but it’s also ahead of the curve

Colorado coach Deion Sanders hasn’t visited a high school or home in back-to-back recruiting cycles, according to a USA Today report. The university told the outlet that Sanders managed all recruiting from Boulder, Colorado, despite a $200,000 annual budget for recruiting travel. 

“I don’t go to nobody’s school or nobody’s house,” Sanders said last month. “I’m not doing that. I’m too old to be going to somebody’s school, somebody’s house. All the kids that I’m recruiting, as a matter of fact, they in the portal. They’re grown men with kids. They don’t need me to come around their crib and try to convince them to come play for me, nah.” 

Historically, the visits are seen as a key opportunity to build relationships with both recruits and the people around them. For comparison, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule reportedly made 486 off-campus visits last year, according to USA Today. LSU’s Brian Kelly made 257. 

Over a 10-day period, five-star Class of 2026 quarterback Jared Curtis posted photos of in-home visits from the head coaches at Alabama, Georgia, Florida State, Auburn, South Carolina and North Carolina. Relationships can certainly prove valuable and help build edges in the recruiting process. 

At the same time, Sanders’ approach isn’t wrong. And in the pay-for-play era, it actually might be a glimpse at the future. 

Over the years, programs have expended massive resources to build relationships with players. Stories abound of coaches hitting the road for weeks to drive into every corner of the country in search of talent or incessantly texting to stay on top of players. It’s common for the head coach to be the closer on top recruits, but it typically happens with a final living room pitch. 

But things have changed, especially in the NIL and transfer portal era. Two major developments make it more reasonable: First, there is no longer a cap on official visits. Colorado can pay for any players it wants to visit campus and spend time with Sanders. Additionally, the pending revenue-sharing agreement may make managing a salary cap a bigger priority than relationships alone. 

There have been conversations around using off-field staffers as part of the recruiting process to let on-field coaches focus on football. It would mimic the NFL, where you have a scouting department, personnel department and coaching department. At the collegiate level, head coaches would certainly be more involved because of their disproportionate power, but an NFL head coach is probably only making appearances at postseason bowl events and perhaps Pro Days for top prospects.

Despite the lack of visits, Colorado reeled in the nation’s No. 37 high school recruiting class with only 14 commits. Six of the recruits were rated blue-chips, with three landing in the Top247. With the transfer class included, Colorado brought in the No. 27 overall recruiting class. There are fair criticisms of their process, but there is more talent on caumpus under Sanders than at any time since the Bill McCartney days. 

Some aspects to this approach are specific to Sanders. The Pro Football Hall of Famer is one of the biggest names in all of sports. The flash and hype have drawn celebrities like The Rock and Kevin Durant to the sidelines, along with postgame rap concerts by artists like BigXthaPlug. Former stars Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter appeared everywhere from social media to New York Fashion Week. Between YouTube and a streaming show, Sanders’ program is all over social media. It’s a little less feasible that, say, Kirk Ferentz or Mike Elko will win recruits over with their Twitch presence. 

Sanders has also landed a handful recruits because of long standing relationships dating back to his time as a youth coach in Texas. For example, transfer quarterback Kaidon Salter played high school ball in Cedar Hill, Texas, the same town where Sanders led a private school offense. Several Sanders’ top recruits have ties to Texas. His kids have also built relationships while going through the college process.

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Does Deion Sanders’ lack of Colorado football recruiting visits matter? 247Sports national analysts provide context on the Buffaloes’ strategy.

But even for non-celebrity coaches, the calculus could soon change in the pay-for-play era. Relationships certainly matter, but managing a payroll will too. Like Sanders, programs can get far more talent talent on campus with unlimited official visits. In the transfer portal, business and opportunity take precedence.

Granted, most programs will never be as visit-averse as Colorado. Relationships can be a market inefficiency, especially when you don’t have the maximum money to offer. Where Colorado likely feels the impact most is actually in retention, where the program has lost 60 players over the last two years. It’s a bold move, but one that most schools won’t want to replicate.

But still, Colorado won nine games for the first time since 2016. They finished in the AP Top 25 for just the second time since 2002. The Buffaloes tied for first place in the Big 12. Clearly, there’s a way to do this right. And while most programs will err towards a more moderate approach, the days of coaches perpetually recruiting may finally come to a close.