LAS VEGAS — Deion Sanders knows something most don’t. He just isn’t keeping it a secret anymore.
Hours after the Colorado football coach took center stage at Big 12 media days, Sanders sent a public message to high school recruits who may be considering the Buffaloes.
“To whom it may concern, if you desire to come play for us, they may drop your HS (high school) rankings just because,” Sanders posted on X Wednesday night. “I have a friend named LuLu from Ft. Myers they did that to years ago and they’re still doing it now. Fortunately we don’t care about rankings.”
Reading between the lines, Sanders is likely referring to prized quarterback recruit Julian Lewis.
Despite being committed to USC since last summer, the Lewis-to-Colorado buzz has been building in recent weeks and Sanders ‘has a real shot’ of flipping of him from the Trojans, according to On3’s national recruiting analyst Phillip Dukes.
The high school football star’s third visit to Boulder in late June was highlighted by a photo of him being handed keys by Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Lewis’ caption read: “Could it be ‘Perfect Timing’?”
But what does all of that have to do with Deion Sanders’ post?
Until this week, Lewis was a consensus five-star quarterback in the Class of 2025.
Lewis dropped to a four-star prospect on both On3 and 247Sports. ESPN and Rivals still have him ranked as a five-star recruit.
For comparison’s sake, On3 and 247Sports now have Lewis as the 44th- and 46th-ranked player in the nation, respectively (No. 7 QB). Meanwhile, ESPN ranks him as the No. 2 player in the country (No. 2 QB). Rivals has him as the nation’s top player in the 2025 class.
That’s a stark difference, and the timing is even more odd.
Lewis hasn’t played a down of football since On3 and 247Sports dropped him 20-plus spots in their rankings.
In fact, all Lewis has done (aside from showing serious interest in Sanders’ program) since throwing 48 touchdowns to just two interceptions in 2023 is impress. He took home the 2024 Elite 11 pro day championship with a perfect score of 50 the week of his visit to Colorado.
That just might be the motivation behind Sanders’ post, and he just might have a point.
Shedeur and Colorado football fans certainly thinks so.
“Y’all know what it is lol,” Shedeur said shortly his father’s comments in reply to a post that read: “Hold up 247(Sports) just dropped JuJu 30 spots. That’s crazy.”
Colorado will get the last laugh, however, if Lewis ends up flipping his commitment from USC to the Buffaloes.
After Sanders’ cryptic post, it seems like just a matter of time.
Follow Colorado Buffaloes sports reporter Scott Procter on X.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Deion Sanders warns recruits: ‘They may drop your HS rankings’
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