Colorado running back Deion Smith in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Boulder, Colo.In the front row of the Colorado team meeting room this winter, running back Deion Smith watched as the most talked about scene in the college football offseason unfolded before him.
But throughout spring camp in Boulder, Smith continued to watch the sport’s lightning rod. Sanders tore down the roster to its studs, opening up nearly 70 scholarships. Every new coach has some roster turnover, but very rarely is the overhaul so drastic and so public. Coaches don’t typically say they are cutting players — even if they effectively are. Sanders said the quiet part out loud, holding meetings with players as the weeks passed.
Eventually Smith decided to leave too. He felt the offense didn’t suit him — especially with his pass-catching abilities — and wanted more stability. He didn’t leave because of Sanders; it was his own choice. So with that in the backdrop, BYU has its newest running back. Smith entered the portal in late April and announced his plans to come to BYU by mid-May. He thought about a handful of schools: Houston, FIU and Cal. But BYU made the most sense.
“He’s ready to get back into that world of screens for running back,” Smith said. “He told me he kind of gravitated away from it just because he didn’t feel like he had the right personnel for it.”