Colorado Buffaloes football: Deion Sanders lands 22 players on first signing day – The Denver Post

Shedeur Sanders is coming to Colorado, and so are a lot of other players who hope to make an impact with the Buffaloes.

New Colorado head coach Deion Sanders kicked off his first signing period Wednesday with the Buffaloes by landing 14 high school recruits and eight transfers, including his son, who was the star quarterback at Jackson State the past two seasons.

Coach Sanders went against tradition by not conducting a signing day news conference, but the work of Sanders and his staff spoke volumes as the three-day early signing period got underway.

In addition to Shedeur Sanders officially announcing his decision to come to CU, the Buffs stole a pair of recruits from Auburn and another from SMU and signed several ready-to-play transfers in the trenches.

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The headliner of the class, of course, is Shedeur Sanders, who has known since his father was named head coach on Dec. 3 that he’d be coming to Boulder.

As a sophomore this season, Shedeur completed 70.6% of his passes for 3,732 yards, 40 touchdowns and only six interceptions, while also rushing for six scores in leading JSU to a 12-1 season. In two seasons with the Tigers, Shedeur threw for 6,963 yards, 70 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and led them to a 23-3 record and two SWAC titles.

With Shedeur leading the way, CU’s transfer class ranks 14th nationally according to 247Sports.com. CU’s signing day class (14 prep recruits, two junior college transfers) ranks 42nd, which isn’t a big difference from last year’s No. 47 ranking. However, the average rating of 87.19 is by far the best average CU’s had since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. The previous best was 85.64 last year.

Aside from Shedeur Sanders, the Buffs made a splash in landing Adam Hopkins, a four-star receiver from Thomas County Central (Ga.) High School; and Isaiah Jatta, a 6-foot-6, 310-pound offensive tackle from Snow College who earned junior college All-American honors this season.

Jatta, rated as a top-10 JUCO prospect by 247Sports, was projected to sign with Auburn and had previously been committed to South Carolina. Hopkins had been verbally committed to Auburn and didn’t announce his decision to come to CU until a signing day celebration at his school.

Another signing day surprise came when Jaden Milliner-Jones, a safety from DeSoto (Texas) High School, chose the Buffs. He committed to SMU in June and had a table filled with SMU balloons at his signing day celebration Wednesday. He then took off his sweatshirt to reveal a Colorado T-shirt and announced he would be signing with the Buffs.

The highest rated player in the class is running back Dylan Edwards from Derby, Kan. A former Notre Dame commit, the four-star prospect flipped to CU on Dec. 10. Edwards has a 92.70 rating at 247Sports.com, the third-best by any CU signee in the last 11 recruiting classes.

Another player CU flipped was cornerback Carter Stoutmire. He committed to Arizona in June, but visited CU last weekend and flipped to the Buffs on Tuesday. He made it official by signing Wednesday.

Jatta was one of four transfer linemen to sign a financial aid agreement with the Buffs on Wednesday. Landon Bebee (Missouri State) was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference second-team selection. Jack Wilty (Iowa Central Community College) was a first-team all-conference performer this season. And, Savion Washington (Kent State) was a 10-game starter for the Golden Flashes.

In the high school ranks, CU went heavy at receiver. Of the 14 prep players who signed national letters of intent with the Buffs on Wednesday, five are receivers. That group is led by Hopkins, but also includes four three-star recruits: Isaiah Hardge, Jordan Onovughe, Jacob Page, Asaad Waseem.

Overall, the Buffs also landed four linebackers, including three prep players. Transfer LaVonta Bentley (Clemson) leads a group that includes Victory Johnson, Morgan Pearson and Kofi Taylor-Barrocks.

While CU added 22 players Wednesday, coach Sanders isn’t done.

He told BuffZone last week, “Wednesday’s a big deal, but there’s a continuation after that. … It’s not the end-all. You can’t just hang your hat on the high school day. You’ve got to hang your hat on the other days.”

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