Colorado’s 41-7 loss to Northwestern did extra damage to some. Deion Sanders confirmed Tuesday that several players were no longer with the Buffs. He did not give names nor numbers. And he made it clear this was not simply about a few players smiling or laughing after getting blown out. But a CU insider offered one detail the head coach left out.

According to Uncle Neely on TMR LIVE, the number involved was three. That number may still change, though. 

“I know everybody wants a name,” he said. “I know the name. She going to know the name. Coach Prime certainly know the names… Don’t get me wrong, it’s three, but I wouldn’t be surprised to wake up tomorrow morning, and it’s two.”

He made a point that could explain why Colorado has not publicly identified anyone. Uncle Neely said the situation was still moving, suggesting conversations with players and families could alter the final number. He even indicated that some parents might not have known everything about the situation at the time Deion Sanders spoke publicly.

“You also have to have respect for not only these young people, but their families,” he added. “Some, as in the time of the press conference and maybe even now, some of these guys’ mom and dad might not even know yet.”

That is a very different picture from a clean, finalized list of three players being removed from the program. For now, Deion Sanders has only confirmed the big picture.

“There’s a few guys who aren’t on the team anymore,” he said Tuesday.

Three days earlier, Colorado had been embarrassed at Northwestern after falling in its first loss of the season. Deion Sanders was particularly bothered by a video showing some Buffs laughing after the defeat. He addressed the reaction immediately, saying he’s “gonna put my foot in it, not on it.” 

Deion Sanders also explained that the issue went deeper than what happened on the field in Evanston.

“It’s never one thing,” he said.

He described the dismissals as the result of recurring conduct detrimental to the team. In other words, he was not presenting this as punishment for one bad reaction after one ugly loss.

“Those guys will tell you: I’m the most loving, giving and forgiving man you can ever meet,” he said. “But when you start being conduct detrimental to the team that will set us back in things that you’re doing – you don’t care about the team. You care about you. I have a problem with that.”

Deion Sanders also pointed back to last season, when Colorado stumbled to a 3-9 finish. He admitted he believed he had allowed certain problems to hang around too long.

“A year ago, I didn’t put my foot down in it enough,” he said. “It lingered a little bit. Then, it imploded. I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that anymore.”

For a program trying to recover from last season’s collapse, Deion Sanders believes the problem cannot be allowed to linger again. This time, he is making the changes before the dust settles.

A Colorado spokesperson later told The Denver Gazette that potential roster changes had not been finalized and that an updated roster would be released later in the week. So while the insider’s three-player figure adds substance to Deion Sanders’ vague “few guys” comment, the Buffs have not officially confirmed the final number or identities.

That leaves them heading into their Big 12 opener with two stories developing at once. On the field, they have to respond to a 34-point defeat at Baylor on Saturday. Off it, Deion Sanders is trying to reset the standard inside his locker room.