Pitt Coach Pat Narduzzi Takes Major Swipe At Deion Sanders Over Colorado Transfer Policy

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There is perhaps no more polarizing figure in all of college football right now than Deion Sanders.

Sanders is in his first season with the Colorado Buffaloes after a successful, but also highly controversial stint with HBCU program Jackson State.

The Buffaloes went just 1-11 a year ago under coach Karl Dorrell. And Sanders has taken an aggressive approach to rebuilding Colorado’s roster.

The Buffs have lost an astonishing 50-plus players to the NCAA transfer portal since Sanders arrived, a number of which were more or less shown the door by their new head coach.

Sanders and Colorado athletic director Rick George are ready to proceed full-steam ahead with the aggressive rebuild. Though not everyone is a fan of his tactics.

It appears you can count Pittsburgh Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi in the latter of those two categories.

“That’s not the way it’s meant to be,” Narduzzi told Brandon Marcello of 247Sports.. “That’s not what the rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We’ll see how it works out but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country. The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall — those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life — I don’t know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave or they were kicked in the butt to get out.”

Narduzzi said that Sanders’ way of doing things goes again what he believes in as a coach.

“I grew up in a profession that you can’t tell a guy that he has to leave based on athletic ability,” he said. “I think he’ll be shocked that he probably had some pretty good football players in that room. When I got to Pitt back in 2015, I didn’t kick anybody off. Zero. Those are your guys. When you become a head coach you inherit that team and you coach that team. If someone wants to leave, that’s great. You don’t kick them out. I disagree with that whole process. That’s not why I got in the game.”

Additionally, Narduzzi says it’s not as simple as the sport changing over time.

“He’s not the only new head coach in college football. You hear about that anywhere else? No,” he said.

Sanders certainly isn’t making a ton of friends since moving to Boulder. But if he wins, it may not matter.