Colorado has seen players come and go almost every year since Deion Sanders took over. This offseason was another big reset. The Buffs added 43 transfers, while several players left after a 3-9 season. New AD Fernando Lovo, however, isn’t sold on the system making all that movement possible.
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Speaking on the DNVR Buffs Podcast, Fernando Lovo pointed to unrestricted player movement as one of the biggest changes and problems facing college sports. He was quick to say he supports athletes getting paid and having control over their careers. His concern, however, is what happens when players can keep moving with barely any limits.
“When I look at the overall landscape of college athletics, the thing that is probably the most seismic of a change is the unrestricted player movement,” he said. “I have a very parental way I view my job. I want to make sure I protect our student-athletes like I would protect my own son and daughter. And if I feel like something’s going wrong there, I want to protect them.”
Fernando Lovo made it clear it was not meant to be a dig at the transfer portal. He supports player empowerment. Still, he believes college football has lost something with the constant roster shuffle. For years, fans watched players arrive as freshmen, develop over several seasons, and eventually become stars. That connection is harder to create when a player might be gone after one year.
“I hope that we’re able to find a pathway to where we can have some control over that,” he said. “Because what I also believe is if you recruit at a high level, you should also have a really good opportunity to try to retain the best.”
It doesn’t end there. Lovo questioned whether athletes can realistically stay on track academically while bouncing between multiple programs. Credits do not always transfer smoothly, and attending four schools in four years can make graduating far more complicated.
“If they don’t play professionally, have we really done our job by preparing them for life after sports?” he questioned. “I don’t know that we have. So, I think the unrestricted player movement is really hard.”
That argument is especially interesting at Colorado because Deion Sanders has leaned so heavily on the portal to reshape his roster. The Buffs have added experience with the addition of DLs like Santana Hopper, Ezra Christensen, Vili Taufatofua, and Immanuel Ezeogu. There were plenty of offensive additions, too, with the likes of DeAndre Moore Jr., Richard Young, and several offensive linemen to rebuild a unit that needed help.
So, there is an awkward reality here. The portal is a huge part of Colorado’s rebuilding plan, yet the AD believes the sport needs guardrails around that same machine.
For Colorado, the issue is immediate. Deion Sanders has rebuilt the roster again. Now the Buffs have to prove the latest overhaul works while their own AD is warning that the system behind it may be getting out of hand.