Deion Sanders walked into Big 12 media days this week looking sharp and talking openly about last season. He is healthy again after bladder cancer, back in the building every day, and by his own words and his players’, still angry about how 2025 ended.

“Coach Prime is p—ed about last year,” senior safety Ben Finneseth said on TheDNVR.com. “He’s not happy. This is the most I’ve ever seen him around. He’s in the facility every day. First one in and the last one out. He damn near might be sleeping in there. He’s a competitor; he’s not going to put up with that.”

Ben Finneseth, who is entering his fourth season under Deion Sanders, said the energy inside the building has completely changed. He admitted Colorado’s problems last season weren’t about coaching. From his perspective, the locker room failed itself.

“We didn’t have the leadership,” he said. “It starts with me. I wasn’t the leader I needed to be… We weren’t on the same page as leaders. We didn’t have great leadership amongst each other, and we didn’t hold each other to a standard. There was no sort of accountability for each other.”

Few players understand perseverance like Ben Finneseth. After climbing from walk-on to starter, a serious injury looked ready to end his college career. Rather than move on to a WWE opportunity, he returned to Colorado, determined to make one final push toward the NFL. He also saw firsthand why Deion Sanders couldn’t be as involved as he wanted to be.

“Coach Prime is putting the hardest I’ve ever seen him working,” he added. “He wanted to put more time in last year, but because of his health, he wasn’t able to, and it broke my heart to see that because that dude’s bought into me more than anyone in my entire life aside from my family.”

Speaking this week at Big 12 media days, Deion Sanders didn’t hide just how difficult last year’s media day really was. He admitted he hid the physical toll of cancer from almost everyone by putting on shorts and a hoodie underneath his attire to hide the weight loss. But now, he says that version of himself is gone.

“Now, I’m here with full strength, full energy,” he said. “I got that thing back. I got that swagger back. I’ve got that dawg back. I got that charisma back.”

The difference is showing up in how Colorado has approached the offseason. After a season that ended with five straight losses, the Buffs enter 2026 looking almost nothing like last year’s team. New faces fill the roster, QB Julian Lewis returns, and expectations inside the building are noticeably more optimistic.

Deion Sanders also said that he and his staff evaluated every player on the roster, every recruit, and every position in painstaking detail. The Buffs also reshaped the coaching staff with the addition of OC Brennan Marion and DC Chris Marve. He believes it’s the strongest coaching group he’s ever assembled. Whether that leads to wins remains to be seen.

But per Ben Finneseth’s glimpse behind the scenes, the biggest change is a healthier, motivated Deion Sanders who has turned last year’s disappointment into fuel.