Deion Sanders has a color-coded roster inside his office that details every player in his program, how many years of eligibility each has left and which athletes are on scholarship.
That roster had to be adjusted this offseason when the NCAA implemented a new “5-in-5” rule that goes into effect in full in the fall of 2027. It also affects current players — and now some former players who are trying to get an additional year of eligibility.
The rule, which is now age-based and starts at 19 with very few exceptions, gives players the chance to have five years of NCAA eligibility over a five-year span. Gone are medical hardship and extension-of-eligibility waivers that have kept many college athletes around for six, seven and even eight years.
It’s a way to simplify things in the future and clear more roster spaces for high school graduates, a growing concern since COVID-19 restrictions impacted college sports in a way that is still being felt. But that doesn’t mean it won’t create some challenges going forward.
There are some immediate challenges, like potentially welcoming Class of 2022 high school graduates back into the fold after a U.S. District Court in Denver made those athletes eligible for a fifth season.
The ruling applies to three players from last year’s Colorado team: defensive end Keaten Wade and kickers Alejandro Mata and Buck Buchanan, who could potentially rejoin the Buffaloes for the 2026 season. Even so, CU has just one of its 105 roster spots available, and that is likely being saved for defensive tackle Ezra Christensen, a New Mexico State transfer who is suing the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility after starting his career at the junior college level.
Sanders specifically mentioned Buchanan, the team’s kickoff specialist and long distance field goal kicker from last season, as the most likely player to return, if any do.
Down the road, there are now dozens of current CU players who have an additional year of eligibility at their disposal and could be considered for future rosters they weren’t expected to be a part of.
“I like (the 5-in-5 rule), but you’ve gotta really think about that in recruiting,” Coach Prime said. “You don’t want to run guys off. You really have to think about the moves you make when you’re accumulating a roster right now because it can hurt you in several ways if you don’t face it correctly.”
There are plenty of players on the current Buffs roster that have NFL aspirations and don’t plan to use their fifth year. They include Vanderbilt transfer safety Randon Fontenette, who told The Denver Gazette he is hoping to declare for the NFL draft after the upcoming season, his fourth in college.
There are plenty who could use that fifth year, both to their and CU’s benefit.
The overall hope, though, is that the rule change returns college football to a simpler time, where rulings on waivers and hearings didn’t drag into the season. Not just Sanders, but coaches all across the country want clarity and an easier way to navigate roster construction in an environment that makes it increasingly harder to do so.
“I’m just a believer that the simpler you make it and the hard-and-fast rules you have that you can’t take to a local judge to overturn, the better off you’re going to be,” West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez told The Denver Gazette at Big 12 media days in July. “We’re on the steps to the right way.
“We need some common sense right now. Is anybody going to tell me that what’s going on right now is good for the sport? There’s administrators and commissioners that are smart enough to fix it.”
The “5-in-5” rule feels like a common-sense fix, but as is college sports in 2026, things can quickly change.
What I’m hearing
Notes and observations from this week at CU Buffs and CSU Rams fall camps:
- Coach Prime isn’t lowering expectations for Tennessee transfer Boo Carter. After originally spurning the Buffs in high school, the Chattanooga native is ready for a fresh start in Boulder and is doing so at a different position, playing at outside cornerback after featuring at the inside/nickel cornerback spot. He’s excelled since arriving at CU, with Sanders saying Carter is a future first-round draft pick who could be a top-5 pick if he stays with the Buffs for two seasons.
- Off the field, CU appears to be heading in the right direction in terms of keeping up in the arms race that is raising money to pay athletes. Athletics director Fernando Lovo said the department raised a record $37.7 million in the 2025-26 fundraising year, which is more than $2 million greater than the previous record set in 2024-25. Lovo reiterated it’s only a start and that CU needs to eventually land deals for jersey patches and naming rights for Folsom Field and the CU Events Center, something he envisions coming together in the next few months.
- In Fort Collins, don’t expect new Rams coach Jim Mora to name a starting quarterback anytime soon. The battle between Oklahoma State transfer Hauss Hjeny and UConn transfer K’saan Farrar rages on with both getting plenty of opportunities in practice. Mora said they may wait until minutes before kickoff against Wyoming in the Sept. 5 season opener to officially name a starter. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see that battle drag into the season.
What they’re saying
“Not only experience, but understanding of the group of young men that we have. We’re not just speaking to the football guy, we’re speaking to the young man that maybe has just broken up with his girlfriend, that is mismanaging his money, who wants to be that guy but don’t understand the work ethic that comes along with being that guy. They understand how to communicate with the young men that we have. We don’t have a lot of problematic men and when they start to see anyone problematic, they’re gonna see me and we’re gonna have a tremendous relationship and we’re gonna get this together or we’re gonna get ‘em up outta here. These men on this staff, they get it and they love this game. They love our young men and Boulder has been a blessing to them.”
—Deion Sanders on why the 2026 Colorado coaching staff is the best of his tenure
