Deion Sanders is the starting gun for the Colorado Buffaloes football program, but Sanders is not expected to be the sole headliner in Boulder, Colorado.
Multiple sources told FootballScoop this weekend that University of Alabama assistant defensive coordinator Charles Kelly, who coaches Tide safety for Nick Saban staff, intends to join the Sanders staff in Colorado in a senior coordinator role.
Though Kelly never worked directly with Sanders, he coached at Florida State — Coach Prime’s alma mater — for five seasons with Jimbo Fisher, the last four of those seasons as Fisher’s defensive coordinator for the Seminoles. At FSU, Kelly worked alongside Tim Brewster for all five seasons in Tallahassee, Fla.
Kelly has been on the Saban staff for the past four years after spending a year on the staff of failed Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt. He got his first big break in college football as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech for seven years.
Brewster, who spent the past year as Coach Prime’s tight ends coach at undefeated Jackson State, will join Sanders for a staff spot on the Buffaloes’ program.
Southwestern Athletic Conference sources on Saturday told FootballScoop that Sanders is expected to bring additional Jackson State staff to Colorado; Those employees are said to include current Tigers defense coordinator Dennis Thurman, a nine-year former NFL veteran who has placed the Tigers’ defense groups among the best in the nation at the Football Championship Subdivision level; running backs coach Gary “Flea” Harrell; Brett Bartolone, JSU’s freshman offensive player; and off the field, Otis Ridley — JSU’s current director of player staff — is seen as the top choice to join Sanders in a similar role within the Buffs program.
Harrell had a brief professional career in both the NFL with the New York Giants and in the Canadian Football and World Football leagues. He was previously a head coach at the FCS level and began pursuing an upward path in coaching in January 2017 when he joined Lane Kiffin’s staff at Florida Atlantic University.
Bartolone, a former Washington State protégé of Mike Leach who switched to coaching after suffering an injury to his playing career, was widely praised this season by Sanders for turning around the Tigers’ stagnant offense and JSU quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the Son of Coach Prime, helped with school books.
Prime also took corner coach Kevin Mathis and linebackers coach Andre Hart to Colorado last night. Stay tuned for more on their roles.
Sanders’ announcement Saturday night that he had accepted the job in Colorado, followed by the school’s own press release formally announcing Coach Prime’s hiring, already had repercussions down the recruiting lane. Robert Lockhart, a potential three-star wide receiver in the Class of 2023 who previously made verbal commitments to Sanders and Jackson State, announced late Saturday night that his enlistment was “100% open again.”
As a native of Fairburn, Georgia, it’s worth noting that among the verbal offers Lockhart has already had was one from… the University of Colorado.
More on that later in the day. As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest coaching news.
Add that too…