Jalen Ramsey is considered one of the best cornerbacks of his generation. As a Florida State alum, he followed in the footsteps of Deion Sanders, another notable Seminole who excelled in the NFL. However, Ramsey believes his career path might have been different if a figure like Coach Prime had been coaching at the college level during his recruitment.
“Take advantage of everything Coach Prime and his staff are giving you because it ain’t normal,” Ramsey told a group of Colorado football players during the program’s recent leadership retreat. “If this [Colorado] was an opportunity for me, there would have been no Florida State. I probably would have never thought about Colorado, but that is where I would have gone.”
It is quite the statement from the eight-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl LVI champion. Ramsey’s message underscores just how powerful Deion Sanders’ pull as a Pro Football Hall of Famer is on the recruiting trail, especially for defensive backs. He has the respect of anyone who has played the game, especially players like Ramsey and countless other young DBs who look up to him. Only Coach Prime can offer that to a player, and while the results have not been there, the recruitment has backed that sentiment.
— Darrius Darden-Box (@CoachBox6) June 30, 2026
Ramsey was a consensus five-star prospect coming out in 2013, and if he were coming out in the class of 2027 in this era of college football, even with NIL, he would be heading to Boulder to learn from the best at his position. Ramsey continued to discuss that he came out to the program’s retreat to be around “greatness,” alluding to Sanders to “soak up some knowldge” even though he is going into year 11 in the NFL.
While Sanders’ playing career stands on its own, Ramsey’s emphasis on Colorado’s new crop of leaders using their time at CU to learn from the best can only be a positive for a program trying to regain its footing on the national stage and bounce back from a 3-9 season.
Buffs fans should hope the next Jalen Ramsey is, or perhaps already has, walked through the doors of Folsom Field. Even if it still feels like an unlikely dream, Ramsey notes, it would not have been possible to get a player of his caliber to come to Colorado without Coach Prime.
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This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Jalen Ramsey says he would have chosen Colorado under Deion Sanders
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