In college football, one of the most difficult and most overlooked things is keeping athletes in check. Not many programs excel in that area. Luckily, the Colorado Buffaloes aren’t one of them, all thanks to Deion Sanders. The Buffs head coach isn’t shying away from laying down some clear “must-follow-if-you-want-to-play-at-Boulder” laws during the team’s first offseason meeting.

One of the biggest rules he dropped is that demanding more maturity and respect in how the guys carry themselves every day. He’s banned profanity in common areas like the dining hall and told players they need to address all female staff members as “Miss” rather than using their first names. If you’re in a meeting, you better leave the phone and snacks behind, and don’t even think about wearing a hat, hoodie, or earrings during those sessions.

The classroom rules are changing a lot. Players cannot wear slides, hoodies, or headphones in class. They also cannot sit in the back and try to hide.
Even in online classes, Sanders wants them to act serious. They must be fully dressed and sit up straight. They cannot be shirtless, lie down, nor walk around the house while the teacher is talking.

He also made sure nobody is allowed to wear gear from their old school. Coach Prime compared it to someone wearing an ex’s shirt while they’re with you, calling it completely disrespectful to the Buffs.

There’s also a zero-tolerance policy for things that mess with the team’s professional vibe. For example, any player who shows up to the facility smelling like marijuana is going to be cut from the team immediately. He also had a funny but firm warning for parents: if they call the coaches to complain about playing time, Sanders said he’ll call them back personally and invite them to practice so they can see for themselves that their son might not be “Tarzan” that they think after all.

Finally, safety is a huge focus because the program apparently deals with about five death threats every single day. The head of security warned the players to be super careful about who they let into the building and told them never to scan someone they don’t know into the elevators. It’s all about keeping the locker room tight and professional as they try to turn things around for this 2026 campaign.

What’s the bar for Sanders’ team in 2026?

For the Buffs, a “win” in 2026 is all about a major comeback. After a rough 3-9 finish in 2025, the bar is set at reaching at least 6 wins to get back to a bowl game. Coach Prime has hit the reset button again, bringing in 42 new transfer players, so success looks like all those new faces actually gelling together quickly instead of playing like a group of strangers.

Plenty of things come down to Juju Lewis and how he’s going to work with new OC Brennan Marion. The schedule is a beast early on, so just surviving September would be a massive victory. They start with three out of four games on the road against tough Power 4 teams like Georgia Tech and Baylor. So the Buffs need to come out with a 2–2 or 3–1 record. If they manage a couple of early wins, then this would literally help them in the mid-season schedule.

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Truth be told, winning in 2026 for the Buffs basically means fixing the little things that went wrong last year or season. This means fewer penalties and showing that Coach Prime’s strict new locker room rules are actually working. If they finish their season strong with a better bowl game or eight or even wins, that should suffice or even considers borderline miracle. In simple terms as possible, the 2026 season shouldn’t resemble anything like their 2025 campaign.