Deion Sanders Claims Ex-Player Was 'Used' In Recent Transfer Portal Exodus Article

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders' transfer portal methods were a popular subject this past week.

In an article by The Athletic's Max Olson, it was detailed as to what happened to the nearly 60 players who left the program last year. Most of them didn't necessarily choose to leave the program but were shown the door by Sanders and his staff.

One of the players who left the program and was featured in the article was former Austin Peay and current UTEP safety, Xavier Smith. While detailing his experiences, Smith may have not realized the absolute toxicity he was bound to face from fans of Colorado. He likely also wasn't expecting his former teammate Shedeur Sanders to call him "very mid at best".

“He was destroying guys’ confidence and belief in themselves,” Smith said about Deion Sanders. “The way he did it, it could’ve been done with a little more compassion.”

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While Shedeur Sanders faced a ton of backlash for the jab at Smith, fellow Buffs began to dive into what was a messy situation on social media.

One that Deion Sanders felt could have been prevented altogether by the story not being written. Sanders addressed the article in an exclusive interview with a group of content creators, and revealed that he felt Smith was "used".

“This is what’s strange to me," Sanders told the group via Thee Pregame Show . That great weekend with the (spring) game. with the festivities, great recruiting weekend, million recruits up there that can flat-out, play and change the complexity of your program. And right after that, somebody goes and finds a young brother. They talk about another brother and. Is that okay? How’s that okay? You go and find somebody that bad mouths us that ain’t been with us. Why aren’t you talking about the team you’re with or the team you’re getting ready to go to?

"And how can this gentleman not know that you’re being used? Because now you’re going to get used again. Now the fans getting ready to jump on you, and you ain’t built like that mentally and emotionally. You’re not prepared for that onslaught. So you got to be careful with that. And, that’s the sad thing about it. You’re not you’re not built for that kind of stuff, man. Like, don’t don’t do that."

Sanders also denounced the claims that Smith and others made about any kind of mistreatment taking place with the former players.

“No one mistreats nobody, man. Like, we don’t do that," said Sanders. "I don’t condone that. Y’all been around me. Y’all know how I get down. I don’t mistreat anybody. I don’t play that, I don’t condone that."

Sanders urged players from the previous regime to enter their names into the transfer portal to allow him to bring in more transfers or what he referred to as "Louis" luggage. In total, Colorado saw around 60 players exit the program via the portal before 2023, while over 50 joined.

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Sanders and his roster full of transfers, which saw another 41 leave and 37 join this offseason, are looking to contend in the Big 12 in 2024. They dramatically improved the roster from where it once was, but whether or not a contender can be built through the portal remains a mystery.