Colorado's Deion Sanders Says He's His 'Old Self' After Surgery for Bladder Cancer

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders says he is feeling like his "old self" amid his recovery from the cancer diagnosis that led him to undergo bladder removal surgery in May.

"I'm healthy. I'm vibrant. I'm my old self," Sanders told reporters. "We walk every day after practice, around campus, at least a mile.

"I'm loving life right now. And I'm trying my best to live it to the fullest, considering what transpired."

After an offseason mostly spent away from his program, Sanders returned to Boulder on July 25. He shared the details of his diagnosis, surgery and recovery for the first time in a July 28 press conference.

Sanders' doctors told reporters during the conference that he had been "cured" of cancer following the procedure.

Deion Sanders Jr.'s Well Off Media channel also posted an 18-minute video that offered a glimpse into the arduous recovery process following the surgery.

Sanders is now back in time for his third season with Colorado, and his first without his sons Shedeur and Shilo Sanders or reigning Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter on the roster.

The head coach said during Friday's media availability that he believed the things he has gone through will help him improve as a coach this season.

"I think Year 1, I would be on the sideline, and I would feel something, and I didn't go with my instincts... Year 2, I went with my instincts, and now I'm going to go even more with my instincts," Sanders told reporters.

When asked if he believed he would be a better coach this season than he was previously, Sanders answered, "Tremendously."

"I'm a better man. Let's talk about the man, first," Sanders said. "I'm a better man, now, than I was two years ago, because of things that God has allowed me to go through, things that I've seen, things that I know, and things that I had to eliminate out of my life. I'm a better man, which makes me a better coach."

Sanders' focus will now turn toward camp, where roster decisions including naming a QB1 between transfer Kaidon Salter and freshman Julian Lewis need to be made before Colorado opens the 2025 season against Georgia Tech on Friday, Aug. 29.