For those who questioned the power of the Colorado Buffaloes’ head coach during the 2025 season, Deion Sanders has proved himself. Now come on, grabbing nine wins in a season is no small feat for a team that couldn’t beat an FBS opponent two years ago. Now that this year he has lost two big pieces of his heart, his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, to the NFL, people are curious about their tempo.

However, as usual, nothing could dampen Deion’s fiery spirit as he promised, “We won’t have those two stars this year, but we’ll have a stronger squad.” We are yet to witness their 2025 run. However, Deion’s train is running too late when it comes to the recruiting track of the 2026 class. While the Buffs could see some light at the end of the tunnel, their hot recruit, D’Montae “Chico” Tims, had hit the ‘PAUSE’ button for now.

As per On3’s 2026 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings, Deion’s Buffaloes are now standing at No. 100 with only 5 recruits locked in this far. In contrast, there are programs like USC Trojans who are going full throttle with 31 recruits locked. Deion is now trying to take baby steps to bolster the 2026 class. They were looking forward to July 5, Saturday. The reason? A pair of their targets, 3-star DL Manoah Faupusa and 3-star DB D’Montae Tims, were about to make their commitment. But Deion is yet to get his goodnight’s sleep. On July 5, Colorado insider Scott Procter came up with some bad news for the Buffs squad. He tweeted, “Change of plans: D’Montae “Chico” Tims tells me he won’t be announcing a commitment today.” The reason behind the delay?

Turns out that the former Mizzou commit, Tims, is in two minds. He is yet to figure out which team fits him the best. Is it Deion’s Colorado or Louisville? While the hot target is yet to dock his wagon, Deion’s team definitely has a soft corner in his heart that puts Louisville on the edge. Here, Tims came up with a review for Colorado: “The consistent love they keep showing + the realness they bring to the table.” But what makes Tims a ‘cannot be missed’ target for Deion and Co.?

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound defensive back can play multiple positions in the secondary and racked up 29 tackles, five pass breakups, three interceptions, and two sacks as a junior in 2024. As of now, Deion has already locked in 5 recruits for his 2026 army. They are 4-star Preston Ashley, tight end Gavin Mueller, and junior college product Domata Peko Jr., among others. When it comes to the 2026 recruiting trail, a hot target has slipped away from the 57-year-old’s hands.  

Why are recruits rethinking moving into Deion Sanders’ Colorado?

That’s none other than 5-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo. The top recruit of the 2026 class has committed to the Texas Tech Red Raiders on July 4, landing a fat NIL check of $5 million. Deion’s excitement was hitting the ceiling to get the opportunity to host Ojo. That’s because the 5-star ad said only good things about the Buffs program. “I feel like (Coach) Deion is changing the game over there at Colorado.” Deion’s hope got 100x after Ojo’s visit to Boulder.

The player tweeted a snap posing with Coach Prime. He kept the caption short and sweet, “#LEGENDARY #GoBuffs @DeionSanders.” Other than the NIL, what might have propelled Ojo to change the track from Deion’s Colorado to Joey McGuire’s Texas Tech? The fear of losing his 5-star status must have played a crucial role in his decision. After all, here Deion carries a burden of the past. We all have seen how the Buffs HC went to great lengths to land 5-star Julian Lewis.

From appointing 101-year-old superfan Peggie Coppom to record a video message to woo JuJu to naming Boulder’s favorite joint burger after the Carrollton High star. Deion Sanders did it all. And getting all this love, Lewis took the risk of flipping from the USC Trojans. However, he had to pay a heavy cost for this move. Hopping onto Deion’s program, Lewis got downgraded to a 4-star. The same happened with OL Chauncey Gooden and DB Alex Graham, who were demoted from 4-star to 3-star by On3 after committing. So, can Tims be the band-aid Deion needs after the Ojo snub — or the next bruise?