Friday Night Notes: Prime Time in Colorado, 5-star recruits for Florida and Texas A&M, plus more

USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond.

Few athletes have been as disruptive as Deion Sanders in his career.  For 14 years, Sanders played DB at the highest level, snatching 54 interceptions, making eight Pro Bowls and six All-Pro teams, winning two Super Bowls, and eventually earning a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sanders was also good enough at baseball to hit 39 home runs and steal 186 bases in the majors. At his peak, he led MLB in triples in 1992 with the Braves.

Sanders has also found success in his endeavors after his playing days. After a few years of analysis work at NFL Network and coaching high school football he took over at HBCU Jackson State, where he went 27-5.

Next up, Sanders will attempt to lead a floundering Power-5 program to relevance. On Sunday, Sanders officially took over as the new head coach at Colorado, turning a derelict recruiting team into a heavyweight contender overnight.

The results are yet to be determined. However, it’s clear Coach Prime is already a fan favorite.

"DEION SANDERS"

Colorado fans are already fired up about Coach Prime @DeionSanders

(via @cgags303)pic.twitter.com/90dRVvvw0f

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 9, 2022

Make no mistake; Sanders has inherited a mess of a program at Colorado. The team hasn’t won more than five games in a season since 2016, bottoming out with a 1-11 record in 2022. The Buffaloes are also behind the herd in the recruiting game. Their 2023 class currently ranks No. 72 in the nation and they have no recruits on board at all for 2024.

Some of those holes will be filled by players Sanders is bringing over with him from Jackson State. The first to do so is offensive tackle Jordan Hall. Hall is a huge (6-foot-8, 330 pounds) three-star lineman who is ranked No. 48 in the state of Ohio. Prime’s son Shedeur Sanders will be among those following suit and he’ll be starting at quarterback.

Time will tell if Jackson can turn this team around, but he’ll have his pick of the upcoming high-end prospects.

On3 has reported that over 200 recruits have reached out since he was hired. Five-star 2025 wide receiver Winston Watkins Jr. became Sanders’ first new recruit and some flips may also be coming soon.

For starters, they have made an offer to five-star Iowa commit, OT Kadyn Proctor. Colorado is also favored to land four-star RB Dylan Edwards, who just decommitted from Notre Dame.