The energy around the Colorado Buffaloes’ fall practice shows zero tolerance for laziness or mediocrity. During the spring camp, multiple videos of Deion Sanders’ players getting into a fight at practice went viral. While such altercations are common, Coach Prime will no longer tolerate any such distractions.

“I’m giving the coaches strict instructions that if you’re loping, if you’re half-stepping, if you’re not giving it all, send them in because we’re in front of company today,” Deion Sanders said to his players in an August 11 video posted on the Well Off Media channel. “I don’t want to embarrass the program because we work too hard to allow two fools to mess it up for everybody. So today we gonna work… We ain’t going to, ‘Holler, coach. I’m tired.’ Everybody’s tired. Everybody’s a little sluggish.

“Come on, y’all. Come on. This is unbelievable. We’re going to work today. We going to challenge one another, sir. All right, so keep your tempers down. I don’t want to see no fight. If you do, we’re going to circle up, and I want to see who wins.”

The Buffaloes have been having an open practice at Franklin Field in Boulder. After enforcing strict rules against the use of phones and wristwatches and eliminating distractions around his players, Sanders wants to see them give their very best. It reinforces several other orders he had been giving his coaching staff and players since fall camp began.

Opening the fall camp. Sanders took 104 Colorado Buffaloes players and his coaching staff to the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and Fountain-Fort Carson High School. His intention for moving them away from Boulder was to get rid of the distractions in and around the campus. There has also been an emphasis on team bonding as the team added 45 new players via the transfer portal. Sanders understands that not just their on-field chemistry would bring about success, but also how cordial the players are off the field.

This was after he took more than 20 Colorado players to his ranch in Texas for a leadership retreat. Sanders brought in an NFL veteran to speak while players bonded over meals and shared personal stories.

A team that finished with a 3-9 record last season surely needs that much concentration. The team’s 2025 season was marred by Sanders’ battle with bladder cancer and injuries to some key players on the team. The lack of a clear starting quarterback also contributed to their poor performances. For 2026, the Buffs can’t afford any of these excuses.

Beyond his players and coaching staff, Sanders has taken his discipline to the next level by banning even fans from using their phones. The team announced that practice would be open to fans on Tuesday, between 9 and 11 a.m. Within a few hours, the tickets were sold out. However, fans had to submit their phone before gaining access to the practice field. At this point, both players and fans are all locked in as the 2026 season draws close.