Sav’ell Smalls, meet Deion Sanders.
Smalls — a Seattle product and former five-star recruit — announced a transfer from Washington to Colorado Tuesday, after completing a visit to Boulder, Colo., last weekend.
The 6-foot-4, 244-pound edge entered the transfer portal on April 17, after practicing primarily with the second team this spring. Smalls produced 32 tackles with one tackle for loss, one fumble recovery and zero sacks in three seasons and 29 career games — including 14 tackles and one tackle for loss in 13 games last fall.
“The dream is still the dream,” the junior with two seasons of remaining eligibility wrote upon entering the transfer portal. “Wherever I land you (gonna) get everything out of me. Believe that.”
Two weeks later, Smalls landed in Boulder — and quickly decided to stay. The Kennedy Catholic alum’s arrival coincides with Sanders’ orchestrated upheaval of the roster he inherited on Dec. 3.
“We’ve got a few positions already taken care of, because I’m bringing my luggage with me,” Sanders told his team after being introduced, encouraging players to enter the transfer portal. “And it’s Louis [Vuitton].”
Since that day, an unprecedented 52 Buffs have entered the transfer portal, with 31 others transferring in (so far). Sanders — the 55-year-old Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback — unabashedly addressed the exodus on the Pat McAfee Show last week, saying “there’s no way I can put new furniture in this beautiful home if we don’t clean out the old furniture.”
But will Smalls — once ranked as a five-star recruit, the No. 1 player in the state of Washington, the No. 3 weakside defensive end and the No. 30 overall prospect in the 2020 class by the 247Sports Composite — reach Louis Vuitton status in his second college stint? That remains to be seen.
Likewise, “Coach Prime” — whose Buffs finished 1-11 last fall — may be in for a rude welcome, with College Football Playoff entrant TCU, Nebraska, Colorado State, Oregon and USC on the schedule in his first five weeks. (That schedule does not include Washington.)
But regardless of whether Sanders, Smalls and a Frankenstein’s Monster portal roster wins or loses, it will be something to watch.
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