USC’s Lincoln Riley gives Deion Sanders ‘credit’ for roster overhaul at Colorado

USC head coach Lincoln Riley was in the identical place as Deion Sanders only one yr in the past, and Riley went 11-3 in his first season in Los Angeles. 

Sanders is on the lookout for an analogous lead to his inaugural season at Colorado, hoping to show round a program that went 1-11 in 2022. 

Head coach Lincoln Riley of the USC Trojans runs onto the sector for the spring soccer recreation on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on April 15, 2023. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Photos)

“Coach Prime” goes about altering the tradition at Colorado by flipping the roster, with almost 50 gamers leaving the staff since his arrival in December and greater than 70 in whole coming into the switch portal since August, ESPN reported in Could.

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His roster overhaul has drawn quantity of consideration, including criticism from a couple of coaches across the nation. 

However don’t depend Riley as one of many coaches upset with Sanders’ roster flip at Colorado. The USC head coach provides Sanders credit score for utilizing the foundations to his benefit. 

“I give them credit score,” Riley stated at Pac-12 Media Days, in accordance with The Denver Gazette. “Everyone knows what the foundations are, everyone knows what the parameters are. Our job is to construct the very best groups that we are able to on the universities that give us the alternatives to do it. No excuses. 

College of Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders earlier than the Black and Gold recreation at Folsom Discipline April 22, 2023. (Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Put up by way of Getty Photos)

“There clearly wanted to be a roster transformation there in coach Sanders’ opinion. They’ve gone about it aggressively. Clearly, the success of that, similar to ours or anyone else’s, will likely be decided on the sector within the fall (and) as time goes on.”

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Sanders has benefited from an NCAA rule that stipulates first-year head coaches might lower gamers from a roster, although the college should honor the gamers’ scholarships.

Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch additionally praised Sanders, saying he’s flipped his roster in Tucson as he prepares for his third season as head coach of the Wildcats. 

Head coach Jedd Fisch of the Arizona Wildcats speaks with the media at Zouk Nightclub at Resorts World Las Vegas on July 21, 2023. (Louis Grasse/Getty Photos)

“He is aware of what he desires in a soccer participant and he is aware of what he desires in his roster,” Fisch stated. “We’ve turned over our roster, too. We’ve got 5 gamers which have been there since 2020. I believe that’s simply a part of the deal. How he turned it over and what he selected to do, that’s as much as him. I believe coach Sanders is nice for our league. I’m excited to educate in opposition to him (on) Nov. 11.”

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Sanders was not current for his first Pac-12 Media Days after present process a “routine follow-up process” associated to the blood clots in his legs. 

The Buffaloes open the 2023 college football season at TCU on Sept. 2.