IN SEPTEMBER 2023, Coloradofootball coach Deion Sanders could have been licking his wounds in the immediate aftermath of a 42-6 thrashing at the hands of the Oregon Ducks.
Instead, he sat down in the postgame news conference at Autzen Stadium completely unbothered.
“One thing I can say honestly and candidly: You better get me right now,” Sanders said. “This is the worst we’re going to be. You better get me right now.”
Despite the Buffaloes’ 3-0 start, this was an admission from Sanders. He knew his team wasn’t ready to compete with the better teams in college football.
But it was also a warning.
“I know I got on shades,” he said. “But I can see the future, and it looks real good.”
As the season wore on and Colorado limped to a last-place finish in the Pac-12, it was fair to question how realistic Sanders’ early-season proclamation was. The offensive line couldn’t keep his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, upright, and the defense allowed the third-most points among all Power 5 teams.
An offseason of staff changes and roster turnover didn’t do much to positively impact external expectations as the Buffaloes were projected to come in 11th place in the official preseason Big 12 media poll.
But on the same day the poll was released, Sanders sat with ESPN and snickered at that possibility.
“I’d be an idiot to sit over here and not tell you we plan on winning,” he said. “I don’t know who sits down and says they don’t plan on winning. You got to be an idiot to say that. We definitely plan on winning.”
Ahead of Saturday’s trip to Texas Tech, Sanders’ plan has come to fruition, and his spiel in Eugene from last season comes off almost prophetic.
With an improved offensive line and a reliable defense, the Buffs are not only much improved from a year ago, they’re in the thick of the race for the Big 12 title and the College Football Playoff berth that would come with it.
WHEN SANDERS HIRED Robert Livingston to be the defensive coordinator in February, it was a bit of an unorthodox move.
Though Livingston had spent the past 12 years with the Cincinnati Bengals — the past eight coaching the secondary — he had never called plays before. And here he was joining a staff that was otherwise complete and just happened to have two of the best defensive players in the history of the sport — Sanders and Warren Sapp — in the building.
With all the attention on Colorado, this would be a new level of pressure, and early in the second quarter of Colorado’s opener against FCS North Dakota State, Livingston was already feeling it.
“I thought I might get tar and feathered,” Livingston said. “It was 17-14, North Dakota State, and I’m like, ‘Oh, s—.'”
The defense settled down, and Colorado won 31-26, but it wasn’t exactly the statement victory Colorado wanted, as the same flaws from last season were on display. In the first half against Nebraska the next week, it was more of the same as the Buffs trailed 28-0 at halftime.
Here we go again.
Since then, however, Colorado has been a revelation, winning five of six — narrowly losing to No. 19 Kansas State — with the defensive improvement serving as the catalyst.
After allowing 34.8 points per game last year, that number has dropped to 22.0 this year.
Livingston had several conversations with Sanders throughout the interview process, including calls, video conferences with the staff and an in-person visit. He wasn’t exactly targeting a return to the college game after last serving as a quality control coach at Vanderbilt in 2011, but it quickly became clear Sanders was the right person, Boulder was the right place, and the opportunity to serve as the defensive coordinator was too good to pass up.
“I fell in love with the place,” Livingston said. “It was a no-brainer for me.”
Livingston said he adopted the philosophy Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon took when he was hired as the defensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021. He wasn’t coming in set on running a specific scheme. First, he wanted to understand the roster and then build a style to play to the strengths.
“It wasn’t going to be, ‘Hey, we got to do it this way, because this is the way I’ve always done it,'” Livingston said. “That’s lazy. That has always been a pet peeve of mine.
“You have to be able to ask the hard questions of, ‘Why are we doing it this way? Why are we teaching it this way? Why are we playing this coverage or this blitz?’ You have to be able to highlight the guys you want to highlight.”
His two-way prowess makes him one of the favorites for the Heisman Trophy, but it was at cornerback where he first made his mark on college football. He leads the team in interceptions (2) and pass breakups (7), and he is one of five players to have forced a fumble.
“Travis is a unicorn,” Livingston said. “His feel for the game is very unique. He can kind of sense the problems coming two series away. He’s obviously one of the best players, if not the best player, in the country.”
Livingston said the ability of Hunter and DJ McKinney to hold up in man coverage has been a key for the defense’s pass rush.
“We’ve put those corners in some tough spots,” Livingston said. “It’s a testament to them that they can win their one-on-one matchups, because when the rush and coverage aren’t working together, then explosive plays happen.”
While coverage and pass rush stats have a chicken-or-egg dynamic to them, it’s worth noting Colorado ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 in sacks (22), No. 1 in QB pressures per game (14.88) and No. 3 in pass breakups per game (4). Its tackling percentage (85.4%) is up five percentage points from a year ago. Everything has trended better as the season has progressed.
NO FBS QUARTERBACK was sacked more than Shedeur Sanders a year ago. He was dropped 52 times in 11 games, eventually sitting out the final game of the season with an injury after taking a beating over the previous three months.
The pass protection was historically bad, and the rushing offense might have been worse. Colorado averaged just 2.21 yards per carry — the fourth-worst mark by a Power 5 team over the previous decade — which led to the demotion of offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, who was later hired as the head coach at San Diego State.
It was obvious to anyone who watched that an overhaul was required up front, and Coach Prime made it clear they would aggressively pursue linemen who could play right away in 2024. But as the season ended and that process played out, he also needed to find a new offensive line coach with Bill O’Boyle moving on with Lewis.
His preference for coaches with a professional pedigree led him to Norman, Oklahoma, where Phil Loadholt, a 7-year NFL veteran, was at his alma mater working as an offensive analyst.
“We got introduced through a mutual friend, and he asked if I was down to interview through Zoom,” Loadholt told ESPN. “But he was down at his place in Texas, so I told him I’d like to meet with him face-to-face.”
Coach Prime agreed, so Loadholt made the 2½-hour drive across state lines. They met for a couple hours, and it was a natural fit from the start.
With Pat Shurmur having been named the offensive coordinator, Loadholt came in with a strong understanding of the offense. The two briefly crossed paths with the Minnesota Vikings in 2015 — they spent OTAs together prior to Loadholt’s retirement that summer — but more importantly, they came from similar schools of offense.
“He comes from the same tree of a lot of guys I played for,” Loadholt said. “I feel like I have a great understanding of what he wants and how he wants to do it. There’s familiarity with that NFL style, and that made the transition a lot smoother for me, because even though we weren’t together long, we still speak the same language when it comes to offense.”
When Loadholt signed on, Colorado was all-in on rebuilding its offensive line through the portal. The prevailing wisdom was that was where they would find players ready to play from Day 1, and by the time the season opened, Colorado added 12 new offensive linemen, including nine transfers.
Through eight games, the results have been mixed. Shedeur Sanders has been sacked 25 times — only four FBS players have been sacked more — but the protection has improved throughout the year.
And for all the time spent adding players through the portal, those players haven’t been the ones to make the biggest impact.
Of the players on the five-man line combination the Buffaloes have used the most this season, only Phillip Houston arrived via the transfer portal — from Florida International Panthers — in the offseason.
Three others — RG Kareem Harden, LG Tyler Brown and C Hank Zilinskas — were on Colorado’s roster last season, while perhaps the best is five-star true freshman left tackle Jordan Seaton. UTEP transfer Mayers and Indiana transfer Kahlil Benson have also seen extensive playing time as Loadholt has searched for the best combination, rotating as many as eight players in a game. In the last game against Cincinnati, seven offensive linemen played at least 31 snaps.
Against Arizona, eight linemen played at least 19 snaps.
More than anything, Loadholt said, the first eight games have been a quasi trust-building exercise. He needed to learn what players he could trust, and they needed to build trust with each other and with their quarterback.
“I played with a Heisman Trophy quarterback [Sam Bradford at Oklahoma in 2008] and [Shedeur] is one of those types of guys,” Loadholt said. “If we can protect him and that trust is there, he’ll make us right.”
Before coming to Colorado, Loadholt met Seaton on a visit to Oklahoma. What stood out then has remained true this year.
“It was his attention to detail and the way he went about his business,” Loadholt said. “And then it shows up in our room, too. He’s the first guy to answer a question. He asks questions when he wants. He’s not scared to ask questions, he’s the first guy to answer you, he puts in the work outside of here, which has obviously been helping him out.
“He’s definitely wise beyond his years. He’s an intelligent young man who works his ass off, and I’m proud of him for how he’s been playing so far.”
Since allowing two sacks against Nebraska in Week 2, Seaton has allowed just one sack and two QB hits, according to Pro Football Focus.
The running game has been a work in progress, too. Only Florida State (2.67) is averaging fewer yards per carry than Colorado (2.77) among Power 4 teams, but the Buffaloes have more 100-yard rushing games over the past four games (3) than they did last season (2).
The gains are marginal, but they’ve made a difference, and that incremental improvement combined with the preexisting star power has legitimized the Buffs in a way that cannot be disputed.
Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
Just over a month ago, the Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a blockbuster deal that sent shockwaves through the industry. At the time of the trade, the Red Sox were just a game over .500. They went 3-7 in their first 10 games without Devers and looked to be fading out of contention.
As the team fell in the standings, rumors began to circulate that the slugging designated hitter wouldn’t be the only star traded out of Boston. But a 10-game win streak before the All-Star break has vaulted the Red Sox into the thick of the playoff race and provided some clarity about their trade deadline plans.
“Throughout the whole year, we thought we had a really good team,” assistant GM Paul Toboni told ESPN over the weekend. “We were kind of waiting for it to click. That streak reconfirmed the thought that we had a good team.”
Boston doesn’t have a lot of expiring contracts, so even without the win streak, a complete teardown was unlikely. Still, trading some of its outfield depth was a possibility. The Red Sox rank in the top 10 in OPS in right field, center field and left field thanks to Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu.
With that group helping the Red Sox hold an American League wild-card spot, the front office is likely to add pitching, according to sources familiar with their situation, while retaining the abundance of outfielders unless the club is blown away with an offer in the next 10 days.
“Having a surplus of good players isn’t a bad thing,” Toboni said. “The high-end depth is a really good thing. It’s not like we’re anxious to move away from that.”
With their outfield situation likely to be addressed in the offseason, the Red Sox have winning on their minds. A young core, highlighted by the arrival of Anthony and infielder Marcelo Mayer, has had some time to adjust to the majors, leaving the team’s veterans excited about the coming months.
“These guys have been here for a few months now,” Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman said. “We’re starting to learn who we are as a group. The adjustments are being made quicker at this time of the year. It didn’t start out that way, but guys are wanting to learn and get better. You can see that in our growth this year.”
Bregman watched closely while he was out of the lineup because of a quad injury he sustained at the end of May. He has seen what winning baseball looks like during his time in Houston. It has taken the young Red Sox some time to get there.
“We’re a very dangerous team now, especially when we’re prepared and executing,” Bregman said. “We’ve played good for a while now.
“People will say this is a hot streak, but I believe this is who we are.”
As the calendar inches toward August, that’s the sentiment throughout the clubhouse, where the veterans who have been through the uncertainty of trade season are relieved to spend the next two weeks without trade chatter.
“The run we went on before the All-Star break, it was good. We needed something like that to get us back in the mix, restore some confidence,” starting pitcher Lucas Giolito said. “Right now, staying in the present is important, but I don’t think we have guys in this room too worried they’re going to get dealt or anything anymore.”
Two players who were brought in over the offseason might be the most relieved.
All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman, who has a 1.18 ERA and 17 saves, could have been one of Boston’s most sought-after deadline trade candidates had the front office elected to deal him.
When asked about possibly being moved, the 37-year-old, who is playing for his seventh major league club, smiled as he responded through his interpreter: “The team is in good shape.”
Fellow Boston pitcher Walker Buehler added: “It’s probably good timing to hopefully push the front office to go out and buy and help us make a run. We did our part at the end of the first half there. I want to stay here and be part of it. Don’t want to be on the wrong side of a trade.”
Though they might have done enough to convince the front office to stick with the current veterans, the Red Sox have some of their toughest work ahead of them. According to ESPN Research, they have the hardest remaining schedule for the rest of the month and sixth hardest for the rest of the season, but manager Alex Cora isn’t interested in looking at the stretch run — or what Boston’s first postseason berth since 2021 would mean.
Instead, he believes that if the players can keep attacking each day, the rest will take care of itself.
“I promised myself I’m going to stay in the moment,” Cora said. “It doesn’t do the group any good to start talking about that. We have to win games. It’s not to put pressure on the front office or ownership. It’s what we need to do for us to play in October.”
Opposing teams are asking for “outrageous returns” for pitching, according to league sources, but if the asking prices become more reasonable closer to the deadline, expect the Red Sox to be involved. Until then, they are focused on riding their July momentum while navigating a tough schedule.
“Time to keep it locked in,” Giolito said. “We’ll be welcoming whatever help comes.”
Whether your favorite club is looking to add or deal away — or stands somewhere in between — here’s the freshest intel we’re hearing, reaction to completed deals and what to know for every team as trade season unfolds.
1. Eugenio Suarez: The Arizona Diamondbacks star is No. 1 in our updated MLB trade deadline candidate rankings and could be the most impactful player to move this month. On pace to hit more than 50 home runs, the 2025 All-Star is on the wish list of every contender in need of third-base help.
2. Sandy Alcantara: The 2022 Cy Young winner is an intriguing option in a deadline with a dearth of impact starting pitching available. His ERA is over 7.00 for the Miami Marlins this season, but some contenders believe he could regain form in a new home.
3. Jhoan Duran: This deadline is suddenly teeming with high-end relievers who will at the very least be in the rumor mill during the coming days. If the Minnesota Twins opt to move their closer — and his devastating splinker — Duran might be the best of the bunch.
MLB trade deadline buzz
July 22 updates
Why the 2022 Cy Young winner isn’t the most in-demand Marlins starter: Edward Cabrera has become more coveted than Sandy Alcantara, who teams believe might take an offseason to fix. Alcantara’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is scary low — just 1.9 — and his ERA is 7.14. Cabrera, on the other hand, is striking out more than a batter per inning and his ERA sits at 3.61. The 27-year-old right-hander will come at a heavy cost for opposing teams. — Jesse Rogers
How Kansas City is approaching the trade deadline: The Royals have signaled a willingness to trade, but with an eye toward competing again next year — meaning they aren’t willing to part with the core of their pitching staff. Other teams say Kansas City is (unsurprisingly) looking to upgrade its future offense in whatever it does.
Right-handed starter Seth Lugo will be the most-watched Royal before the deadline, since he holds a $15 million player option for 2026 “that you’d assume he’s going to turn down,” said one rival staffer. That’ll make it more difficult for other teams to place a trade value on him: The Royals could want to market him as more than a mere rental, while other teams figure he’ll go into free agency in the fall when he turns down his option. — Buster Olney
But the Dodgers’ focus ahead of the deadline is still clearly the bullpen, specifically a high-leverage, right-handed reliever. Dodgers relievers lead the major leagues in innings pitched by a wide margin. Blake Treinen will be back soon, and Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol are expected to join him later in the season. But the Dodgers need at least one other trusted arm late in games.
It’s a stunning development, considering they returned the core of a bullpen that played a big role in last year’s championship run, then added Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates in free agency. But Scott and Yates have had their struggles, and there are enough injury concerns with several others that it’s a need. — Alden Gonzalez
Which D-backs starter is most coveted? The Diamondbacks are getting as many calls — if not more — about Zac Gallen as they are for Merrill Kelly even though the latter starting pitcher is having the better season. Teams interested in adding to their rotations still have more faith in the 29-year-old Gallen than the 36-year-old Kelly. — Rogers
Who are the White Sox looking to deal? Chicago’s Adrian Houser seems likely to move, as a second-tier starter who has performed well this season. The 32-year-old right-hander was released by the Rangers in May but has been very effective since joining the White Sox rotation, giving up only two homers in 57⅔ innings and generating an ERA+ of 226. Nobody is taking those numbers at face value, but evaluators do view him as a market option. The White Sox also have some relievers worth considering.
But it seems unlikely that Luis Robert Jr. — once projected as a centerpiece of this deadline — will be dealt, unless a team makes a big bet on a player who has either underperformed or been hurt this year. The White Sox could continue to wait on Robert’s talent to manifest and his trade value to be restored by picking up his $20 million option for next year, which is hardly out of the question for a team with little future payroll obligation. — Olney
Why Rockies infielder could be popular deadline option: Colorado’s Ryan McMahon is the consolation prize for teams that miss out on Eugenio Suarez — if he’s traded at all. The Cubs could have interest and would pair him with Matt Shaw as a lefty/righty combo at third base. — Rogers
Does San Diego have enough to offer to make a big deal? The Padres have multiple needs ahead of the trade deadline — a left fielder, a catcher, a back-end starter. How adequately they can address them remains to be seen. The upper levels of their farm system have thinned out in recent years, and their budget might be tight.
The Padres dipped under MLB’s luxury-tax threshold this year, resetting the penalties. But FanGraphs projects their competitive balance tax payroll to finish at $263 million this year, easily clearing the 2025 threshold and just barely putting them into the second tier, triggering a 12% surcharge.
Padres general manager A.J. Preller might have to get creative in order to address his needs. One way he can do that is by buying and selling simultaneously. The Padres have several high-profile players who can hit the market this offseason — Dylan Cease, Michael King, Robert Suarez, Luis Arraez — and a few others who can hit the open market after 2026. Don’t be surprised to see Preller leverage at least one of those players, and their salaries, to help fill multiple needs. — Gonzalez
Which Orioles could be on the move? Not surprisingly, Baltimore is perceived as a dealer and is expected by other teams to move center fielder Cedric Mullins, first baseman/designate hitter Ryan O’Hearn and some relievers. — Olney
Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
Just over a month ago, the Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a blockbuster deal that sent shockwaves through the industry. At the time of the trade, the Red Sox were just a game over .500. They went 3-7 in their first 10 games without Devers and looked to be fading out of contention.
As the team fell in the standings, rumors began to circulate that the slugging designated hitter wouldn’t be the only star traded out of Boston. But a 10-game win streak before the All-Star break has vaulted the Red Sox into the thick of the playoff race and provided some clarity about their trade deadline plans.
“Throughout the whole year, we thought we had a really good team,” assistant GM Paul Toboni told ESPN over the weekend. “We were kind of waiting for it to click. That streak reconfirmed the thought that we had a good team.”
Boston doesn’t have a lot of expiring contracts, so even without the win streak, a complete teardown was unlikely. Still, trading some of its outfield depth was a possibility. The Red Sox rank in the top 10 in OPS in right field, center field and left field thanks to Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu.
With that group helping the Red Sox hold an American League wild-card spot, the front office is likely to add pitching, according to sources familiar with their situation, while retaining the abundance of outfielders unless the club is blown away with an offer in the next 10 days.
“Having a surplus of good players isn’t a bad thing,” Toboni said. “The high-end depth is a really good thing. It’s not like we’re anxious to move away from that.”
With their outfield situation likely to be addressed in the offseason, the Red Sox have winning on their minds. A young core, highlighted by the arrival of Anthony and infielder Marcelo Mayer, has had some time to adjust to the majors, leaving the team’s veterans excited about the coming months.
“These guys have been here for a few months now,” Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman said. “We’re starting to learn who we are as a group. The adjustments are being made quicker at this time of the year. It didn’t start out that way, but guys are wanting to learn and get better. You can see that in our growth this year.”
Bregman watched closely while he was out of the lineup because of a quad injury he sustained at the end of May. He has seen what winning baseball looks like during his time in Houston. It has taken the young Red Sox some time to get there.
“We’re a very dangerous team now, especially when we’re prepared and executing,” Bregman said. “We’ve played good for a while now.
“People will say this is a hot streak, but I believe this is who we are.”
As the calendar inches toward August, that’s the sentiment throughout the clubhouse, where the veterans who have been through the uncertainty of trade season are relieved to spend the next two weeks without trade chatter.
“The run we went on before the All-Star break, it was good. We needed something like that to get us back in the mix, restore some confidence,” starting pitcher Lucas Giolito said. “Right now, staying in the present is important, but I don’t think we have guys in this room too worried they’re going to get dealt or anything anymore.”
Two players who were brought in over the offseason might be the most relieved.
All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman, who has a 1.18 ERA and 17 saves, could have been one of Boston’s most sought-after deadline trade candidates had the front office elected to deal him.
When asked about possibly being moved, the 37-year-old, who is playing for his seventh major league club, smiled as he responded through his interpreter: “The team is in good shape.”
Fellow Boston pitcher Walker Buehler added: “It’s probably good timing to hopefully push the front office to go out and buy and help us make a run. We did our part at the end of the first half there. I want to stay here and be part of it. Don’t want to be on the wrong side of a trade.”
Though they might have done enough to convince the front office to stick with the current veterans, the Red Sox have some of their toughest work ahead of them. According to ESPN Research, they have the hardest remaining schedule for the rest of the month and sixth hardest for the rest of the season, but manager Alex Cora isn’t interested in looking at the stretch run — or what Boston’s first postseason berth since 2021 would mean.
Instead, he believes that if the players can keep attacking each day, the rest will take care of itself.
“I promised myself I’m going to stay in the moment,” Cora said. “It doesn’t do the group any good to start talking about that. We have to win games. It’s not to put pressure on the front office or ownership. It’s what we need to do for us to play in October.”
Opposing teams are asking for “outrageous returns” for pitching, according to league sources, but if the asking prices become more reasonable closer to the deadline, expect the Red Sox to be involved. Until then, they are focused on riding their July momentum while navigating a tough schedule.
“Time to keep it locked in,” Giolito said. “We’ll be welcoming whatever help comes.”