Colorado Seeking Commitment Flip From 4-Star Vanderbilt Recruit – Sports Illustrated

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The Colorado Buffaloes are in the running class of 2027 recruit, linebacker Omarii Sanders. Sanders has been committed to the Vanderbilt Commordores since November of 2025, but the Buffs are still in play for a flip. 
Omarii Sanders is a 6-3 210 pound linebacker out of Nashville, Tennessee. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1 linebacker in the 2027 recruiting class. A a junior for Franklin Road Academy in 2025-26, Sanders had 73 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, two fumble recoveries, and two interceptions in 12 games. 
Sanders committed to his local power conference college in Vanderbilt on November 29 of 2025 and been committed to them ever since. However, Sanders does have some upcoming official visits on his calendar. He spoke to Tom Loy of 247Sports about his upcoming visits that will all happen in the next few weeks.  
Colorado is among the four visits that have been set along with Vanderbilt, the Tennessee Volunteers, and LSU Tigers. Here’s what he said about Colorado. 
“I really felt a connection with the coaches there,” Sanders said to Loy. “The relationships felt natural, nothing forced.”
The Buffs offered Sanders in November of 2023, coach Deion Sanders’ first year in Boulder. Sanders’ official visit to Colorado will be on June 19. It is the last stop of the four official visits he currently has scheduled. 
Per Rivals, Colorado currently has the No. 41 ranked recruiting class in the country and the No. 4 ranked class in the Big 12 conference. This ranking has fluctuated as of late, in large part because of a handful of new commits to Colorado this past week. 
The Buffs’ 2027 class is now up to having six commits.
Andre Adams, four-star quarterback
Gabe Jenkins, four-star safety
Ba’Roc Willis, three-star edge rusher
Davon Dericho, three-star cornerback
Kenny Fairley, three-star defensive lineman Will Rasmussen
Evne though this class is just ranked No. 41, it is still a big step up from where Colorado's 2026 recruiting class ended up being ranked. Their 2026 class was ranked No. 67 in the country and No.15 out of 16 in the Big 12 conference. They ended up having 19 total high school commits. Two of them were blue chips (rated four or five stars).
It appears that Colorado now is making high school recruiting more of a priority and not relying on just the transfer portal as much. The portal is where Colorado has filled out much of their roster from under Coach Prime. In the 2026 portal cycle, the Buffs added 43 incoming transfers while 36 players from their 2025 team left in the portal.
With so much of the team different year in and year out, it can result in drastic swings from season to season. Colorado went 9-4 in 2024 and then 3-9 in 2025. What does the 2026 season have in store?
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Cory Pappas is sports writer for USC Trojans On SI, Oregon Ducks On SI and Colorado Buffaloes on SI. Since starting in March of 2024, he has been writing breaking news stories, game previews, game recaps, and more across College Sports, the NFL, MLB, NBA, and Olympics for Total Apex Sports. In addition to writing, Cory is also a sports data scout for Sportradar. He covers live sporting events ranging from college athletics to semi-pro and professional. Before joining the industry, Cory graduated from the University of Oregon in 2022. He ran track for Oregon's club Track and Field team. Before Oregon, he played varsity basketball and track and field in high school in Walnut Creek, CA. Cory is using his lifelong passion for sports and writing together.
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