The past few weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions in Colorado. Following the recent passing of Dominiq Ponder, it has become even more important for the team to stay focused and honor their late teammate. As spring practices begin in Boulder, a noticeable change has already emerged, one that reminds Deion Sanders Jr. of his old practice days with his brother, Shilo.

He praised the players for showing sharp focus, especially after the difficult loss of Dominiq Ponder. Sanders Jr. compared the current practices to Colorado’s 2024 sessions, when Shilo Sanders was part of the team.

“Them boys turnt tf up today. This one of those LaJohntay / Jimmy Horn / Shilo Sanders Energy type of practices today.” Sanders Jr. wrote on X.

Deion Sanders Jr. will know the level at which players like Jimmy Horn Jr. and Shilo Sanders operated. His brother, in particular, doubled down on building himself after being signed by the Bucs. He used to work out and practice drills even on weekends, but he had to do it outside of the Tampa Bay facilities since they were closed. During his collegiate career, too, the safety had a lot to prove after injuries brought him down. But the situation is very different for the CU team, who are fired up in the desire to remember Dominiq Ponder.

Sanders had given the team an option to skip the first day of spring practice. But the players refused to do so, driven to honor Ponder in their game. It was difficult for the team to gather without the QB amidst them, but Deion Sanders remains supportive of the team as they navigate this tough time.

“We’ve got to keep going,” Coach Prime said of his message to the locker room in the wake of Ponder’s passing. “We’re going to love him, we’re going to appreciate him, we’re going to uplift him, we’re going to support the family, friends, and loved ones. But we got to keep going. Everybody’s dealing with something. … So I want those kids, … they’ve been wonderful. God, have they been good. They’ve been so good and mature. And it don’t make you soft for a man to cry, it don’t make you soft for a man to show his emotions, so I want them to do that. So, if they feel it, alright, let’s go.”

That strong emotion carried into the spring practice sessions, where the intensity was high throughout the field. The speed and explosiveness of the new players stood out during the session. RB DeKaylon Taylor told ESPN that practice was “heavy at first,” but the team “had no choice but to go hard for him.”

The players’ attitude appears to be in the right place right now. However, while Deion Sanders is seeing positive developments on the field, matters off it could give the Colorado head coach reason for concern.

Shilo Sanders faced with huge headache after judge rejects plea deal

Not everything is going smoothly for the Sanders family. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Romero rejected Shilo Sanders’ appeal to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the trustee overseeing his bankruptcy estate. The decision effectively allows the case to move forward to a full trial.

The crux of the trustee’s lawsuit is a feud over the money Sanders earned through his name, image, and likeness (NIL) ventures, Big 21 LLC, and Headache Gang LLC. Trustee David Wadsworth sued Shilo in 2025, alleging that he broke bankruptcy law. He is seeking approximately $250,000 in unauthorized transfers made via Big 21. Wadsworth is also going after nearly $203,000 in NIL-related payments from Headache Gang.

The safety filed for bankruptcy in 2023 to get out of an $11.89 million debt related to another case. In 2015, Shilo Sanders allegedly assaulted a security guard when he was in high school. The latter sued him in 2016, but Shilo appeared in court only in 2022. The security guard, John Darjean, won $11.89 million in a default judgment. Part of the bankruptcy case also depended if the injuries inflicted on Darjean were found to be “malicious,” but the court seems convinced on Wadsworth’s side of the argument alone. This could turn out ugly for Shilo Sanders if it keeps dragging on.