An unspecified health issue has kept Colorado head coach Deion Sanders home in Texas and it is unclear when he will return to Boulder to be with the Buffaloes.
USAToday reported on Sanders’ health issues, citing comments from Deion Sanders Jr. during a YouTube livestream on Sunday.
CU Buffs Coach Prime Grateful for Well Wishes Despite Health Issue
Deion Jr., who works with Coach Prime at Sanders Estate in Canton, Texas, said his father is feeling good.
“He’ll tell you soon enough what he’s been through, what he’s been through,” Deion Jr. said during the livestream, according to USAToday. “When we come back to Boulder, I don’t know. I’m waiting for my dad to leave. When he leaves, I’ll go. In the meantime, I’ll sit here with him.”
BuffZone contacted CU Tuesday, but the university declined to comment.
Coach Prime, 57, has dealt with health issues in recent years, dating back to his time as Jackson State’s head coach in 2021. He underwent several surgeries this fall, including the amputation of two toes on his left foot.
When he was hired at CU in December 2022, Sanders walked with a limp and had not been able to run since surgeries in 2021. However, in the summer of 2023, before his first season at CU, Sanders underwent two surgeries to repair blood clots. He missed Pac-12 football media day that summer due to his health, but those procedures improved his mobility and he has been able to run ever since.
It is unclear whether the current health problems are related to previous problems with his blood clots.
Sanders last spoke with local media following the Buffs’ spring game on April 19.
Since then, Sanders hasn’t made much noise in the media. On May 30, he appeared on a podcast with former NFL great Asante Samuel, a conversation that lasted about an hour.
At the end of that podcast, Sanders spoke briefly about his health, saying, “What I’m dealing with right now is a whole other level. … I didn’t do any media, I didn’t do anything for a minute. … I lost 14 pounds. I’m coming back, but I needed this. I needed this exchange because I had no energy.”
Last week, Sanders was unable to attend CU’s camp for high school graduates on June 3, nor a camp for high school players on June 5. He’s also not participating in a youth camp hosted by CU Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Several media outlets also reported that Sanders also canceled a speaking engagement in Florida scheduled for last Sunday.
Also last week, the current team returned to Boulder and began summer workouts. These are led, as usual, by the strength and conditioning team, led by Andreu Swasey.
During a podcast with DNVR on Friday, Thee Pregame Show’s Christopher Neely, who has been close to Sanders since 2020 at Jackson State, spoke about Sanders’ health.
“He’s good, man,” Neely said. “One of the things we said at the end of spring was that he was the most energetic and enthusiastic Coach Prime I’ve been around, and that goes back to the spring COVID season (in spring 2021).
“Like he said in Asante, he had a little setback. But nothing that with rest he can’t overcome. I FaceTimed with him the other day. When he’s at home, people get a to-do list. Know that he’s still the head coach of this football program because he takes some time off. But he’s still engaged, energetic.”
Sanders’ youngest son, Shedeur, who played at CU the past two years and is now a rookie with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, did not talk about his father’s health when asked after Tuesday’s practice.
“I don’t know what’s going on. I’m not here to talk about pop,” he told Cleveland media. “I’m here for the Cleveland Browns quarterback. I’m focused on learning this playbook and doing everything I need to do to be the most successful quarterback I can be and the best teammate I can be.”
Coach Prime is scheduled to appear at Big 12 football media days in Frisco, Texas, July 8-9. The Buffs open preseason camp in late July or early August and open the season Aug. 29 against Georgia Tech at Folsom Field.
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