In more ways than one, Colorado football will be unrecognizable in 2023. Head coach Deion Sanders arrived with a Hall of Fame name, and big plans that did not include a huge chunk of the roster. More than 50 players from last season's squad are gone, as an entire program is being built nearly from scratch.

This historic roster turnover came with some negative optics, especially since Sanders encouraged players to enter the transfer portal in his first speech addressing the team. He is standing behind the mass exodus and is even offering a reason why it was necessary.

“It was tremendously tough, because you had some young men that just didn't want to play the game,” Sanders said, per CBS Sports' Dean Straka. “They didn't love football. It's hard for me to be effective [as a coach] if you don't love [football], if you don't like it, if you don't want to live it. That's tough. That's tremendously tough when you're looking at a body of just dead eyes.”

While it is Sanders' right as a coach to demand commitment from his players, it is safe to say this 1-11 team was scheduled for a huge makeover the moment he signed his contract. He brought in multiple players from Jackson State, the team he led to consecutive conference titles in 2021-22, and clearly sought significant change.

Things might have been tense and unpleasant in Boulder during the initial overhaul, but Deion Sanders is satisfied with the progress Colorado football has made in just eight months. “It was tremendously challenging day-by-day, but I'm happy with what I see every morning now. I really am,” the two-time Super Bowl champion said.

While Sanders is happy with the roster he has now, the departing Buffaloes may not have appreciated being so bluntly rejected. But in a sport where the ends often justify the means, no one is going to question Sanders' methods if results show up on the field.