Following a disappointing 3-9 season, the air in Colorado is charged with an urgent energy as Deion Sanders and his team are fired up to improve. Coach Prime also wants them to have a fiery attitude to keep others in check.

During a practice drill, Sanders spotted a CU player giving transfer TE Fisher Clements a tough time. The coach walked over to him and told him not to sit back and take the attack. “If he hit you, knock his head off,” Sanders said. This is the first time Clements, who transferred to Colorado from in-state North Colorado, has faced an environment so demanding. He will have to buckle up to survive and make a mark for himself on the team.

In Deion Sanders’ perspective, instances like these don’t create hostility but give players a chance to compete and stand out. Clements, in particular, has to do so, since he comes in as an unranked transfer. He is now part of an offense that is expected to be electric under the new offensive coordinator, Brennan Marion. Coach Prime’s words will help Clements create a commanding attitude for himself.

This is not the first time Deion Sanders has encouraged such an attitude. Last week, when a fight broke out during practice, Coach Prime only let off the players with a slap on the wrist. He also said that he “doesn’t mind” fights breaking out between players, but they should be wholesome. It’s an approach that stands in stark contrast to coaches in the P4 level, because Sanders sees such situations as opportunities for teambuilding. In 2023, he was angry at a player who decided to walk away from a scuffle during practice.

“If one fights, we all fight,” Sanders said, followed by a tough order. “You understand that? I don’t want to see you all walking off when somebody’s fighting. Never again!”

This mandate for a tougher identity extends to the other side of the ball, where new defensive coordinator Chris Marve is charged with echoing the same message.

Chris Marve implores team to toughen up

Chris Marve is seeking redemption in this mega stint at Colorado. He spent the last year without a job after he was fired from Virginia Tech. He comes in to coach a defense that was extremely poor last season, needing a massive turnaround. To get the job done, Marve is putting the team through a tough grind. After a seemingly poor practice session, the DC rounded his players up and sounded off on them.

“Ain’t nothing soft about what we do,” Marve yelled in their faces. “Nothing! So make up your mind about who we are going to be. Identity – because what you put on tape is who we are. And what y’all just put on tape, I ain’t coaching that s—.”

Identity was one of the major problems that troubled both the defense and the offense. Colorado had 69 new scholarship players last season, a massive overhaul compared to Deion Sanders’ previous seasons at Boulder. This new team was not able to gel together through the course of the 2025 season and ultimately fell apart. 34 players left the program after the disappointing turnout. But during this offseason, Colorado coaches are leaving no stone unturned in building a united front for the team.

Deion Sanders will once again be stepping into the 2026 season with a lot of fresh faces on his staff and team. He simply cannot repeat the disaster that was last year. Because there is so much at stake, Deion Sanders is making his players thick-skinned so that they can retaliate against whatever their opponents unleash on them.