Former Colorado quarterback Maddox Kopp claims that Deion Sanders only cared about the development of his son, Shedeur, upon arrival to Boulder. He says that Coach Prime made it his job to make Shedeur better— not for him to get better.
An ongoing lawsuit aims to eliminate all NCAA transfer restrictions. Kopp, who had a very difficult journey, is among those to testify in court against the current restrictions and told the story from his brief time with the Buffaloes.
The 6-foot-5 signal-caller ultimately ended up in a brutal spot after Sanders was hired last December. He was ultimately not allowed to play during the 2023 college football season.
Maddox Kopp had a rough year.
The former three-star prospect in the college football recruiting Class of 2021 committed to Houston out of high school over 12 other offers. He did not play as a true freshman, took a redshirt, and transferred to Colorado.
Kopp joined the program before then-head coach Karl Dorrell was fired midway through the year and played in just two games for the Buffaloes. And then Sanders arrived.
Coach Prime made it very clear that he was going to turnover the majority of his roster upon arrival. Louis Vuitton “luggage” was on the way.
Kopp was pushed out the door and landed at Miami (Ohio) before this most recent season. However, because he had already used his free one-time transfer, the redshirt sophomore was forced to apply for a waiver with “extenuating circumstances.”
The NCAA denied his request. Kopp was deemed ineligible to play this fall and issued the following statement against the incompetent governing body of college sports’ decision:
ncredibly disappointed in the NCAA for denying my waiver today. Another case of the NCAA trying to save face and not caring about student-athletes. For 3 reasons:
1: I have Learning Disabilities and accommodations/evaluations were not made available to me at Colorado. My academic counselor left mid-year as did my head coach. I struggled alone.
2: My decision to transfer was made a day before the NCAA eliminated the “no participation opportunity” for immediate eligibility. I could not come back from this.
3: Coach Prime made it very clear that holdovers from the previous team were not welcome and it was best to leave. Especially as I am a quarterback, the same position as his son who I train with in the offseason. No disrespect to CU or to coach. Just go watch the intro team meeting that got 30 million views. I’m in the front row.
— Maddox Kopp
Kopp fell victim to an NCAA rule that allowed Sanders to, essentially, cut players. And yet the NCAA chose to ignore justifiable reasons for immediate eligibility to enforce a different rule that did not allow Kopp to play this year.
Deion Sanders forced him out.
Kopp, who will be eligible to play in the Redhawks’ bowl game because finals are over in Oxford, took the stand in court on Wednesday morning. He told the story of how Coach Prime encouraged him to hit the transfer portal if he did not want to sit behind Shedeur.
Sanders also went one step further, according to Kopp.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer pulled the quarterbacks aside for an individual position group meeting after he spoke to the entire team. Deion Sanders told them that Shedeur Sanders was transferring with him and would be the starter.
If the quarterbacks were to stay, Kopp said that they were given one job: to “make Shedeur the best he can be.” They were not tasked with being ready in case they were thrust into the starting job. They were not told to get better and develop into a possible replacement for Shedeur after he graduates.
Coach Prime supposedly told Kopp and his quarterback counterparts that their job was to make his son better. It was all about Shedeur.