Deion Sanders is feeling like himself again. Almost a year after surgery to remove a cancerous bladder, the Colorado head coach says he's finally back.

Sanders told The Associated Press on June 30 that he now considers himself cancer-free. The robotic procedure, which also rebuilt his bladder using part of his intestine, got him back on the sideline faster than even he expected.

He didn't hide how hard last summer actually was. "I was fighting at this time last year," Sanders told the AP. "I was walking out on the property with a bag of blood and also urine, and trying to get back."

That stretch kept him away from Boulder during a critical part of last offseason. This year, Sanders is already in Boulder overseeing offseason workouts, a stark contrast to last summer, per The Associated Press.

He gives the surgery itself credit for handing him back time he thought was gone. He called the robotic system his "time machine" because of how fast it got him out of recovery.

As for the team, he sounded just as upbeat. He brought up Julian Lewis, who took over at quarterback as a freshman late last season, and a locker room that feels more unified than before.

“I just want him to be happy. I can’t tell those coaches how to coach and Travis what he’s gifted to do. Sanders said in the same interview. "I just want him happy; that’s all I want.”

He also touched on his son Shedeur, now with the Cleveland Browns, and Travis Hunter, keeping his message simple and personal rather than football-focused.

Sanders walks into one of the toughest schedules in the country

There's no easing back in for Sanders. Colorado is one of only five teams nationally with 11 Power Four opponents on its 2026 schedule, the most of any Big 12 program, per The Buffaloes Wire.

The Buffs open on the road at Georgia Tech, then travel to Northwestern before a brutal Big 12 stretch that includes Texas Tech, Utah, and Oklahoma State.

That's a lot to ask of a team coming off a 3-9 season. But a fully recovered Sanders walking into that gauntlet is a very different picture than the version of him who spent last summer in recovery.

Do you think Sanders gives Colorado a real shot at bouncing back in 2026? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi