The numbers behind Deion Sanders’ historic lineup overhaul: 60+ players

• Tom VanHaaren, ESPN Personnel WriterMay 5, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Close ESPN personnel writer Signed up with ESPN in 2011

• Graduated from Central Michigan

Colorado has had 71 players enter the transfer portal since last August, triggering a stir about what is happening in Boulder and how new coach Deion Sanders will manage the lineup. It has actually been an incredible couple of months for the Buffs, who saw 47 players get in the transfer website since the spring transfer window opened on April 15.

A few of it is expected, after all. When he met the Buffaloes in December, he motivated players to “hop because portal” after a 1-11 season due to the fact that he was going to be bringing in a great deal of transfers to reshape the roster.Some players

from the 2022 roster were pressed out. Some wanted a change with Sanders and his new staff coming in and discovered other chances. Some moved to Colorado in the winter season, then returned to the transfer portal in April.

“When [Sanders] initially can be found in, he stated, ‘there’s a lot of people here who might not be here,’ since he assessed and took a look at the talent on our group,” Colorado athletic director Rick George told ESPN’s Heather Dinich on Thursday. “He’s simply openly specified it, where a lot of individuals don’t. … Coach is doing what he believes is best for this program.”

Colorado’s lineup turnover serves as a new case study for coaches browsing the transfer portal and what the future of lineup management might appear like in the broader college football landscape.Here is a take a look at some of the numbers that underscore how extreme Colorado’s roster remodeling will be compared to 2022 and the names who are heading out and coming in through the portal.Jump to: History |

The increase of the portal Who’s out?|Who’s in?What’s next for Colorado? How does this compare to other teams’turnovers?Sanders and Colorado have actually had more

players enter the transfer portal in a year’s span than any other program since the transfer website was executed in 2018, according to ESPN Stats & Details. The 71 players are 21 more than the next program, Arkansas State, which saw 50 players enter the portal throughout the 2021-22 cycle.Ole Miss’2022-23 cycle is third on the list, as 48 players have actually left the program in

this current transfer cycle. Tennessee’s 2020-21 class is just behind the Rebels with 46. Oregon and South Florida have each had 44 players enter the website this cycle.In fairness to Sanders and his staff, it is difficult to compare numbers from previous years due to the fact that this is the very first

year with transfer windows, which allow players to get in the website at particular dates.The increase of the transfer portal The portal has actually also increased in popularity considering that its inception. There were 4,076 NCAA football

players to get in the portal

throughout the whole 2018-19 cycle, according to ESPN Statistics & Information.By last year, that number more than doubled to 8,242 players. From Aug. 1 through Might 1, 8,699 NCAA football players– including 3,284 at the FBS level– got in the portal.ESPN’s transfer and recruiting stories All transfer and recruiting coverage”Top winter transfers”| Class rankings”What’s next for the portal windows?”Grades”| Winners”| Superlatives”2024 college football recruiting rankings “From August 2018 through January 2019,
there were 2,405 NCAA football players who went into the portal. In December 2022 alone, 2,729 players entered the portal.The numbers in Stone, particularly, are historic
. Because Colorado hired Sanders in December, the

group has actually lost 61 players to the portal.By comparison, USC had 29 players get in the portal in between the time Lincoln Riley was hired and the start of the 2022 season.

Between the time LSU employed Brian Kelly and the start of the 2022 season, LSU had 25 players transfer out. Both of those schools integrated would still have fewer portal entrants than Colorado.Who has actually left Colorado?Not every player has actually been a scholarship player, however there are numerous notable names en route out.Colorado’s leading receiver, Jordyn Tyson, a sophomore who had 470 yards and four receiving goals is leaving, as is second-leading receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig, who had 359 lawns and three touchdowns.Quarterback J.T. Shrout, who began 9 games and threw for 1,220 lawns, seven goals and 8 interceptions, is leaving the team.Leading rusher, Deion Smith, is transferring, as is defensive back Nikko Reed, who had two interceptions and seven pass breakups in 2022. Linebacker Jeremy Mack Jr., who had 48 total tackles this previous season, is also leaving the program.Four players who transferred to Colorado during the winter re-entered the website in April, including tight end Seydou Traore, who captured 50 passes for 655 yards and four touchdowns for Arkansas State in 2022. Other significant names leaving: Who is transferring in? Deion Sanders is navigating the most significant lineup turnover in the transfer

portal age because taking control of at Colorado. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports While the variety of players leaving is bordering on disconcerting, the personnel has generated a large number of transfers to replace those who are on the escape. Sanders made it very

clear from the first day that he would bring his own travel luggage and turn the roster over if he didn’t feel that it depended on par.He has made good on that word and added more than 35 players to the roster since last December.The most significant names so far have been previous luxury athlete Travis Hunter, who signed with Sanders and Jackson State out of high school after decommitting from Florida State. Hunter played as a true freshman on both offense( 18 catches, 190 lawns, four TDs )and defense( two INTs, 8 pass breaks up )and need to do the same for Colorado.Sanders also brought his son, Shedeur Sanders, in to play quarterback. Shedeur had a ton of success at Jackson State, winning the Jerry Rice Award, provided to the leading FCS freshman, after the 2021 season. Shedeur, who threw for 70 touchdowns and 6,963 yards in two seasons, will be the starter for Colorado and has the skill to dip into this level.Sanders was even able to flip a transfer who had actually currently dedicated to another school. Auburn receiver Tar ‘Varish Dawson Jr. initially devoted to Cincinnati, but flipped to Colorado once offered the chance to play for Sanders.

Dawson was a redshirt freshman this past season and will still have three years of eligibility remaining.The personnel likewise included a fair bit on defense. Arkansas protective lineman Jordan Domineck, who had 34 overall tackles, 9.5 takes on for loss and 7.5 sacks this past season, will assist Colorado’s pass rush. He’ll be joined by Derrick McLendon II from Florida State, edge Taijh Alston from West Virginia, linebacker LaVonta Bentley from Clemson and Washington edge rusher Sav’ ell Smalls, a former luxury hire in the 2020 ESPN 300. In addition to Hunter, Sanders is adding to the secondary with Florida State corner Omarion Cooper(30 overall tackles, three INTs in two seasons ), Alabama corner Jahquez Robinson and Kentucky safety Vito Tisdale.Other noteworthy names transferring in: What follows at Colorado?The very first game of the Deion Sanders period is less than four months away when the Buffaloes take on national runner-up TCU on Sept. 2. But with the influx of players in the portal, they are going to spend the next few weeks filling out their roster.Sanders, who generated the No. 23 recruiting class in the 2023 cycle, has a few more transfers he is eyeing.Among that list consist of Houston offensive lineman Webcam ‘Ron Johnson, who did not give up a sack in 554 pass-blocking plays in 2022; James Madison edge rusher Isaac Ukwu, who has actually had 16.5 sacks over the previous two seasons; and Houston running back Alton McCaskill, who ran for 961 lawns and 16 goals in 2021 before missing out on the 2022 season with a torn ACL.College football groups are allotted 85 overall scholarships each year. Colorado’s 2023 lineup, still a work in progress, is working

to fill them up.