Stephen A. Smith Wants Deion Sanders to Leave Colorado for 'Big-Time' SEC Program

Similar to the 2023 college football season, one of the biggest headlines in the sport is Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.

All eyes continue to be on his Buffs team as he looks to revive a program that has won six or more games just six times since the 2000 season. However, while many people are torn about his coaching style and philosophy, which heavily relies on the transfer portal, the general assumption is that he will leave Boulder when his two sons (Shedeur and Shilo Sanders) and Travis Hunter do.

The trio is expected to head to the NFL after this season, which has led to the theory that he will leave for a bigger job or follow them to the NFL. Something Stephen A. Smith is hoping for, as he revealed on "First Take" when addressing Paul Finebaum's take that Sanders is looking for an "exit strategy."

"Paul Finebaum, I would love to disagree with you on what you said about Prime Time Deion Sanders, and you wouldn't be surprised if he's ultimately looking to get up out of there," Smith told Finebaum. "But I don't disagree with you. A matter of fact, I hope you're right. Because I was one of those people, Shannon [Sharpe], that I wanted Deion at Florida State. And then we he didn't get that job, I wanted him at Texas A&M.

"I don't believe he's gonna be able to do but so much recruiting for Colorado in Boulder, Colorado," Smith said. "So I believe that what he's experiencing now is going to continue. Put Deion Sanders in a big-time SEC program or something along those lines where recruiting comes into play. I think that you'll see him do lights out. But in Boulder, Colorado I just don't believe that's going to happen."

How Sanders is viewed as a candidate for a "big-time SEC program" outside of his ability to generate buzz at this time is a bit perplexing. His teams at Jackson State thrived off of being more talented than their opponents, and now at Colorado, teams that look good on paper have yet to put things together on the field.

Through 14 games with Sanders at the helm, the Buffs have a 5-9 record. Granted, his roster does look much improved, but he hasn't actively tried to recruit.

The high school recruiting aspect that Smith mentioned hasn't been a priority for Sanders, and it's blatantly obvious. When he was first hired ahead of the 2023 season, Sanders put together a top-30 class in about five minutes of being on the job. He flipped recruits from Notre Dame, Auburn and Miami, among others, while assembling a 21-man 2023 class.

So, with a full year to recruit, many thought he would push for a top-15 class or better. However, that wasn't the case.

The 2024 class consisted of just 11 high school recruits and ranked as the No. 95 in the country. It was also revealed by the USA TODAY that not once did Sanders conduct an at-home visit, which is something every coach in the country does. However, he still managed to show that if he had wanted to, he could have gotten major recruits. For the third year in a row of his coaching tenure, he brought in a five-star recruit who had major programs after him in five-star tackle Jordan Seaton.

As of right now, only Arkansas and Florida stand out as SEC jobs that will likely be open by the end of the year, but to Smith's point, his being at an SEC program would make recruiting easier than it already is for him when he tries. It is just a matter if they will end up wanting to take a shot at him at the end of the season.

The Buffs are heading up to Fort Collins to take on Colorado State in the "Rocky Mountain Showdown" on Saturday in a game they badly need to win. A loss to their in-state rivals would really derail any Sanders to the SEC chatter.

Related: Deion Sanders Provides Critical Update About Shilo Sanders Injury