It is the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast. On the Infinity Sports Network. And we've known for months now that Deion Sanders has been dealing with a health issue. Kept it private. God bless him.
It is certainly his right. and he revealed earlier this morning during a press conference that he was battling A cancer had bladder cancer. God bless him. Had his bladder removed. Cancer did not spread.
He is now. Cancer. Free. We know Deion has had just a litany of health issues over the past several years from clotting, leading to amputations, problems with his legs and feet. There's a lot going on with Deion.
He was very honest earlier today. There's always been questions about how long he'll stick around in Boulder, what happens with the program now that his son and Travis Hunter are gone. Joining us right now to talk about the program and what's taking place, what we can expect next, is someone who covers the team. It's Brian Howell from The Buff Zone. Brian, thank you for joining us again.
Hey, no problem. Thanks for having me. Absolutely.
Now, it's just crazy to think here we are in 2025 with the way information moves around. That this was all done quietly. There's only a handful of people who knew about this, even in Dion's family. Were you shocked earlier today about what we heard? Yeah, I mean, obviously, when you find out there's a press conference with the medical team, you know that, all right, this is something serious, but you know, to find out that.
Um You know, he. He didn't even tell his sons. You know, Shaddur and Shiloh didn't even know what was going on. That's kind of shocking. Yeah, you think Dion doing this.
There's certainly. kind of leads to to more I don't want to say mystery, but it's always been how long is he going to do this? And when he was at Jackson State, how long? He goes to Colorado, how long? Wouldn't this put a little bit more of an an expiration date on his time in Boulder?
It could. It's interesting coming into this year without his sons. Even before this, I wondered. Will he do this one year and not like coaching without his sons? You know, if he has a good year, will he write off and say, All right, I prove myself without them.
I think certainly it does when you look at the fact that in the last few years, You know, he's had the toes amputated, the blood clots, and now this. And he'll turn 58 here in a couple of weeks.
So he's obviously not getting younger like the rest of us. And you're getting up there in age and you've got some serious health issues. You have to wonder how long he wants to keep doing this. Yeah, well, we don't know about that. When you think about You talk about what takes place with his son gone, and the same thing with Travis.
What does that quarterback situation currently look like? I mean, between Lewis and then also Salter. Has anybody kind of taken a lead on that at all? Not yet. I mean, they're coming into fall practice.
They open up tomorrow. And what they've told us, I mean, they brought both guys to Big 12 Media Day. Because Coach Prime says he has no idea who's going to start. And I believe him. You know, Salter was a really good player at Liberty.
He was the Conference USA MVP two years ago. Julian Lewis was a five-star recruit coming out this year. The one big difference in them is their age. Salter's 22 years old and a fifth-year senior. Julian Lewis is 17 years old and should be a senior in high school this year because he graduated so early.
So there's a huge difference in their age, but their talent level is pretty close. And so I think that it could be either one of those guys. Wow, Brian Howell is joining us covers the Buffaloes for Buff Zone. When you think about how active he's been, Dion and the team, and utilizing the transfer portal since he got there from day one, are there any players that we should pay attention to that have not played for the Buffaloes yet? Yeah, I think there's a lot.
I mean, there's actually a good amount of returning players compared to the previous couple of years. You know, and there's some guys that's just kind of been waiting in the wings a little bit that we've seen a little bit, but certainly there's some new guys. And I think at linebacker, I'm very intrigued by what happens there because they have Martavius French. Was uh, I think 10th in the country in tackles for loss last year at UTSA, and he was an all-conference linebacker. Reginald Hughes was the first team all-conference linebacker for Rich Rod over at Jacksonville State last year.
So they've got a couple linebackers there that are intriguing. Jaheem Otis. Was a highly rated defensive line recruit coming from Alabama this last winter.
So I. I think he's intriguing. And on offense, I think there's a few weapons that are coming here. Since Steer Brown was a thousand-yard receiver at Campbell last year, and Joseph Williams was the AAC freshman of the year at Tulsa last year at receiver.
So there's a lot of interesting guys coming in here. We know we've seen some changes with the coaching staff. Deion has been keen to bring on celebrities. Earlier today, he said that there are not going to be any major adjustments, even with his. You know, health issues now with his bladder.
What changes have taken place on his coaching staff? Yeah, there's been a few. There's a new running backs coach. I'm trying to think of all the ones. On the defensive line, there was kind of that three-headed monster they had there that they called the defensive line coaching groups, which included Warren Sapp.
Well, Sapp's the only one back because the other two guys both left for other jobs.
So there's some new guys there, like Domata Peco, the former NFL star, is now coaching the defensive line. You've got. Oh, well, I mean, Marshall Falk is the running back coach.
So you got some.
Well-known guys that we've heard of that are now coaching on this staff that haven't been here before.
So there's certainly some changes. Lots of familiarity as well. Both coordinators are back and that's a big deal. Brian Howell joining us from Buff Zone. We know they open up the season.
Against tech, and Dion says that there's not going to be any adjustments and nothing changes with the staff. Do you think that's all wholly accurate? Like, there has to be some type of adjustments, no? Uh as it currently is? Yes, I mean, w with the staff and his job and how much he does and what he doesn't do, uh there has to be some changes.
I don't think so. I think that he's very hands-on when it comes to coaching and when he gets to practice in the games, things like that. But I also think he may not know at this point because of his health. And like, you know, he kind of joked today, and I don't know if it's a joke or not, that he said you might see a port-a-potty out there on the field because he has trouble controlling the bladder. You know, I don't know if that's a real thing.
And if that's something that he has trouble with, does he have to coach from the booth? Or, you know, does he have to give up some of the.
Some assignments and things like that because he's got to run to the bathroom in the middle of the game. I don't know.
So I think he may. Learn a little bit about how this is going to work as he goes throughout fall practice. I mean, their first one's tomorrow, so he hasn't really been through a practice yet. He probably doesn't know how it's going to work yet. Man, if I thinking about Deion Sanders coaching up in a booth, I would really then say that he's going to have one foot on out the door.
I mean, I guess maybe if it's a temporary type thing. What is his current contractual situation with the Buffaloes? Yeah, just signed a new five-year deal, five-year $54 million deal in March.
So he's got. Four more years after this one on his contract.
So at least as far as we know how these contracts work.
So I hate to say locked in because nobody's ever locked in, but he's got a lot of money coming over the next five years if he wants to stay here. Yeah, that's a s certainly a reason to to stick it out. What do you think this season will look like given all the changes? I think they're going to be a solid team. I don't think they're going to be as good as last year.
They believe they can be better. If they are, it's because The offensive line and defensive line are better. And I think they are. We'll just see how much better they are. They're going to be a tougher team in the trenches than they've been the last two years.
And I think that's going to help them. Stay competitive and be a bowl team again. I don't know if they're going to win nine games like they did last year, but I see them winning six, seven, eight games. Yeah. I mean, given all the the the parody and the the Big Twelve, everybody's just gonna beat up on each other, no?
Yeah, I think so. And, you know, their schedule is tough. They got a lot of the top contenders on the schedule. Of course, a year ago at this time, we would have said the same thing. And most of those teams wound up not being very good.
So we'll see how the the season plays out. But they certainly have some difficult teams on their schedule. And I think they're going to be solid though. They're not going to be an easy out. We'll see what the Buffaloes do.
You talked about Dion and his contract, and we know how contracts go, we know the money is there, it's nice. Do you think he's gonna see all these years through? I don't. I I would be surprised if he's here another five years. And frankly, for me, it's a year to year deal.
I think that every year when the season ends, we're going to wonder, is he still going to be back? You know, and I think this year. You know, as he talked about, I mean, with the health issues and this being the first year without Shadur and Shiloh and Travis, you know, does he go through this year and say, you know what, this isn't as fun. I'd rather. You know, go take a TV job and then have some time to go watch Shadur and Shiloh and Travis play in the NFL.
Maybe he does that. I don't know.
But I'd be surprised if he's here five more years. I I certainly understand that. Given what we've already seen over the past two, I mean, from enrollment and tuition and money that's coming into the program. The effect that he has is not going to be something forgotten whenever he leaves, right? It's not something that's just going to go back to the doldrums, no?
Yeah, I wouldn't think so. I think that they're certainly a more attractive program now and maybe I don't know, maybe it's because of him only. I I I wouldn't think so. But I think that people have opened their eyes a little bit about what potential Colorado has there. I would think that once he leaves, when he does at some point, they'll be able to get maybe a higher quality coach than they could have gotten you know, a few years ago.
Yeah, this seems the Dion effect. Let's see what he does. The rest of the way.
Well, Brian, thank you so much for coming through and joining us. Tell everybody how they can keep up with you and all your work following the Buffaloes. Yeah, check us out at buffzone.com and also I'm on Twitter or X at BrianHowell33. Hey Brian, appreciate your time. We'll catch you down the line, okay?
Yeah, thank you.
