Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders declared at his Big 12 Media Days press conference that he has his swagger back in 2026. Even in fall camp, he is proving that by setting strict rules for his players. Aside from banning phones, Sanders has also prohibited players from bringing in watches to important team meetings.

“Now, what we’re going to continue is no phones in the cafeteria, no phones in the meetings, no watches anymore,” Deion Sanders said in an August 10 video on the Well Off Media YouTube channel. “Coach has brought that to my attention. No watches on anywhere in a meeting or anything. So, some of you guys go ahead and take them off right now.”

The Buffaloes began fall camp on August 2, and 104 players reported for camp at the Champions Center in preparation for Coach Deion Sanders’ fourth year in charge of the program. The players joined Sanders and his coaching team as they traveled 113 miles south of Folsom Field to Fountain Fort Carson High School for the first week of workouts and team bonding.

While they were on the trip, they also visited the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs campus and visited the U.S. Air Force Academy. Sanders is definitely not joking about the off-field connection among his players, as he recently took over 20 Buffaloes players to his Texas ranch for a leadership retreat.

“We wanted to go somewhere away that was significant, not around the corner like 30 minutes, 45 minutes,” Sanders said after practice last Thursday. “We wanted to get away so they couldn’t have really the contacts or urge to drive back home — even though we’re on buses, they’re not doing that — no visitations or anything like that, no outside foot coming in. They’re doing a great job of feeding us.”

It was during this week away that Sanders reintroduced the phone ban to his players. He prohibited them from using phones as the team focused on bonding and building a solid relationship among players and coaches. A team that has as many as 43 incoming transfers needs such intentionality and discipline to ensure the players are familiar with themselves both on and off the field.

Defensive back Naeten Mitchell echoed the same sentiment: “When you first walk in, everybody’s new. We brought in a lot of new players from different places, and you don’t really know each other too well.” Linebacker Gideon Lampron called the trip a blessing, and noted that the decision to put away distractions has helped “build a sense of community”.

Sanders called his current group of coaches “the best staff I’ve ever had in my coaching career, from youth football all the way up”. On both sides of the game, the Buffaloes will be led by new coaches. Brennan Marion will be in charge of the offense, while Chris Marve will take care of the defense. The team is hoping to bounce back from the disappointment of the 2025 season, where they finished with a 3-9 record. Now, Sanders has his health back, and the team has fewer injuries to deal with. And with the work they have been putting in, a great result is inevitable.