BOULDER, Colo. — It's the meeting we've all been waiting for: Coach Prime and Ralphie.
New University of Colorado football head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders met with live buffalo mascot Ralphie VI, the school shared on social media.
Sanders climbed in the trailer with Ralphie and fed her some corn and grain.
Ralphie's handlers then had Sanders stay inside her trailer while Ralphie completed a run around Folsom Field.
"Oh no, are we supposed to stay here why that thing is coming?" Sanders asked. "Oh, I'm not standing here while this thing is coming at me full speed."
"Oh, no! Oh, no!" Sanders yelled, as Ralphie barreled into the trailer at full running speed.
"Ralphie was intimidating. That was intimidating. That was something," Sanders said.
In less than four months, Sanders has turned around the CU football program, giving the downtrodden program and fanbase a jolt of energy and excitement.
Sanders' first recruiting class at CU, unveiled earlier in February, received a No. 21 ranking, which was the highest in 15 years. Sanders also signed two five-star recruits, players from 16 states, and two from England.
"Hope is in the house. Hope is in the air. Hope is in the city. Hope is in the community," Sanders said.
Sanders' first Black and Gold Day spring game is sold out for the first time in the program's history. Attendance for the game, which will be played at 1 p.m. on April 22, will be just over 45,000.
It will be the largest spring game attendance in CU history by far, with the previous record set in 2008 when 17,800 Buffs fans turned out. This year's attendance will be greater than the last nine spring games combined.
It was previously announced that the game will be televised by ESPN, with CU alum Chris Fowler, Robert Griffin III and Quint Kessenich in the broadcast booth.
Ralphie through the years
Sanders said he's only getting warmed up.
"This is just a comma, because there's a lot of people that's going to bungee jump into the portal after spring because they're going to be disappointed in playing time, commitment or the level of participation they're garnishing," Sanders said. "We're going to take full advantage of that. So we're not done. This is just the comma for the spring. But I love where we are, and what we have."
In February, Sanders gave Grammy Award-winning musician Lil Wayne a late-night tour of the facilities of the Colorado football program.
On the tour, Sanders showed Lil Wayne the spectacular facilities of the CU athletic department and football program, including training, weight and meeting rooms, indoor practice facility, entertainment area, and barbershop.
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