Should Texas Tech Be Scared Of Cowboys Icon Deion Sanders' Colorado Recruiting?

I' ve known Deion Sanders for more than 30 years.

And what I know?

The Dallas Cowboys' iconic Hall-of-Famer is the greatest cover cornerback in NFL history and maybe one of the grandest all-around athletes to ever live. (Seriously.)

He is a marvelous showman, he is a crafty salesman and he is no dummy. ... though there is a sort of silly con-man vibe about his attention-grabbing approach to life.

But having said all of that? Well, yes, the powers that be in the Big 12 - that would be you, Texas Tech - might want to take the "silly con man'' seriously this time.

Sanders' style has allowed the University of Colorado to assemble a first-rate recruiting class that could lift the Buffs into top-three contention in the conference.

And he's done it - like always - his way.

Sanders has assembled a 20-player class without following college football’s traditional recruiting playbook. He hasn’t been crisscrossing the country for living-room pitches, and Colorado’s staff skipped the January road grind entirely.

Instead, the Buffaloes have leaned on FaceTime calls, campus visits, staff connections and recruits convincing other recruits to join them in Boulder.

It sounds unconventional because it is. It’s also working.

Quarterback Andre Adams has become one of the class’s loudest recruiters after choosing Colorado over programs such as Auburn and Arkansas.

Four-star offensive lineman Li’Marcus Jones bought into the family atmosphere. Edge rusher Drew Sapp committed after a visit that included everything from football conversations to an hour of driveway basketball with running backs coach Johnnie Mack.

Meanwhile, offensive line coach Gunnar White has handled the old-fashioned work Sanders avoids.

White logged hundreds of evaluations across multiple recruiting periods, with a heavy focus on Mississippi, his home state.

That pipeline has already produced several commitments and helped establish White as one of the Big 12’s most effective recruiters.

That combination should concern the Big 12 contenders. ... who needn't be "scared'' ... but who should be taking notice.

Colorado isn’t trying to copy Texas Tech or anybody else. Sanders is turning his celebrity, Boulder’s scenery and a carefully selected group of road recruiters into a system built around efficiency.

The head coach closes on campus. His assistants build relationships in targeted regions. Committed players then keep the sales pitch moving through group chats and weekly Zoom calls.

The results are becoming impossible to dismiss.

Colorado’s high school classes ranked near the bottom of the Big 12 during the previous three recruiting cycles.

Now, per the prediction people. the Buffaloes sit third in the conference with Sanders’ largest class since arriving in Boulder.

Tech coach Joey McGuire gets the job done in part due to his sincerity. With all due respect to Deion - and I say this from an up-close-and-personal place - the same cannot be said about him.

But while Sanders may recruit differently from everybody else. The uncomfortable truth for the Big 12 is that "different'' might be producing a CU roster that could become a dangerous threat to the Red Raiders' lofty perch.