How would you feel if a camera were to capture every little thing you did? Deion Sanders has a thing for social visibility and popularity, and he brought that interest to Boulder when he became the head coach for the Colorado Buffaloes. Now, the Buffs’ online visibility is at an all-time high, giving them a huge boost in popularity. But at what cost?

This spring, more than 40 players left Deion Sanders’ program, including the latest departing player, Bishop Thomas, who played 9 games and recorded 6 tackles, 2 TFLs, and a fumble recovery in 2023. Colorado met the same fate with Cormani McClain and Dylan Edwards a few weeks ago, who were having a hard time dealing with Coach Prime. And when they left, they made searing revelations about playing for “clicks,” which Thomas now seems to have confirmed. 

In an interview with Listen 2 DP, Colorado Buffs’ departing defensive lineman, Bishop Thomas, opened up about cameras constantly rolling at Boulder. When Daymond Patterson II asked him if that increased attention was a lot to deal with, Thomas replied, “Me, coming here, not used to cameras on my face. I was just being myself, man. Everything you see, that was just me. It was all raw.” But about constantly being in the public eye as a topic for discussion, he added, “I don’t want to say it was hard because I adapted to my environment. But I feel like it’s tricky. It’s very tricky.”

Thomas added that things are taken out of context these days, so anyone can take one thing and “run with it.” And that’s the most challenging part of it all – controlling your own narrative. “The hard part is knowing you don’t have the control on editing the videos. The camera’s always rolling, so they catch things you don’t really catch or you don’t even see on the video… The hard part is not knowing what you’re gonna see today,” he added.

Being in an environment where he may have had to focus more on the fact that anything and everything he does has the potential to be taken out of context, concentrating on football could’ve gotten tough to do. Considering that football was why he was in Colorado, part of the reason he left could very well have been due to the Buffs’ media presence. But now, he’s heading to a school where he believes the staff and his goals align.

The former Colorado Buff is taking his talents to Georgia State. Describing his decision to move, he revealed there was a “mutual feeling” after speaking to everyone on the team there. Thomas added that they “understand each other’s background and everything.” He shared more insights into his decision to leave Colorado, adding, “I’ve grown.” But reflecting on his time in Colorado with the cameras capturing everything, he couldn’t help but add one more thing. Something that resonated with the sentiments of another transfer.

“The new day and age is making it easy because everybody has YouTube channels. Anybody can control the narrative of your sales. When you don’t have that control? That’s hard,” Thomas said. Referring to Coach Prime’s documentary as well as Shedeur and Shilo Sanders’ YouTube channel, former Buffs wide receiver Chase Sowell said, “It kinda felt like a reality TV show.” 

Both their declarations came around when former five-star cornerback Cormani McClain announced his entry into the transfer portal, shortly after which he had some striking words for his now-former head coach, Deion Sanders. 

Cormani McClain’s “play for clicks” dig at Deion Sanders

Cormani McClain revealed that the dynamics at Colorado with Deion Sanders weren’t what he had asked for. After his departure, he appeared in a YouTube video saying, “Some people just gotta take a step back from things sometimes, certain people, you know. I feel like I just don’t want to play for clicks. I actually want to be involved with a great leading program that’s going to develop players.” 

Several degrading reports surfaced about McClain in Boulder, including how Coach Prime berated him after the cornerback’s lack of discipline in some aspects. As a result, Sanders didn’t think he was willing enough to start games, so he benched him. McClain added how he wishes to change the crowd’s perception of him: “I’m just ready to bring the old version of me out and change the narrative of everyone’s thinking on my name [and] be a part of a real and a great program that’s going to impact me at my best ability.”

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As of now, he remains uncommitted but has received interest from various programs in the Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC conferences.