Less than 48 hours before the deadline to enter the transfer portal for the spring window, Colorado lost two players on Monday — cornerback Omarion Cooper, who started eight games last season, and redshirt freshman Kendal Stewart. That’s more than a dozen players who have left the program this spring cycle and eclipses 30 in the 2024 class.
Deion Sanders has secured commitments from several transfer portal players as well and said earlier this month there’s no panic buttons being pressed ahead of his second season despite widespread roster turnover.
“I don’t know how many starters have really transferred around the country,” Sanders said before Colorado’s spring game to conclude camp. “I think we got some coming in for visits pretty soon, maybe even this weekend. But we can attract those type of players, but I don’t think we’re losing those type of players. And if we do, we’re good. We’re good.”
Buff Stampede.com publisher Adam Munsterteiger told 247Sports this month upon further inspection, most of the Buffaloes’ portal casualties were not first-team players.
“There have been a few guys that have left the program that Colorado would like to have on its roster in 2024,” Munsterteiger said, via the College Football Recruiting Show. “However, a lot of the guys that left were not going to be starters. It is tough to keep depth around in the portal era. You’ve got this revolving door with depth pieces. The big picture still looks very promising for Colorado.
“There’s been an overreaction when guys hit the portal at the beginning of every portal window. Were they better off from a total talent at the end of each window? The answer is yes every time.”
Cooper’s entry on Monday is certainly a blow after he registered 37 total tackles, including 32 solo stops, which both ranked as the highest on the team among cornerbacks. Secondary stars Shilo Sanders and Travis Hunter are the only returning starters at the back end for the Buffaloes, who also lost former five-star signee Cormani McClain to the portal in April.
“There’s a reason that our experts had him as a five-star recruit coming out of high school, but he’s not a plug-and-play guy at Power Four level next year,” Munsterteiger said. “He would not have started at Colorado had he stayed around, and that’s partly why he’s on the move right now. It wasn’t a situation where he was a cancer in the locker room or was flunking out of school.
“Deion Sanders had a lot of talent as a player, but his success was based on hard work in his eyes. To see somebody come into the program with talent and not work the way that Travis Hunter does was a concern.”
Get the latest football and basketball transfer portal news from 247Sports.
Running back Dylan Edwards was another notable exit this month and has since committed to Kansas State.
