Deion Sanders wants to save college spring games by including an opponent

At a time when college football programs are rethinking their annual spring game, Deion Sanders has his own suggestion — bring in another team.

Just like the NFL sometimes does before exhibition games.

The Colorado coach figures with just about everything else changing in college football — transfer portal, name image likeness deals, roster limitations — it's about time to find a way to make what’s usually an intra-squad scrimmage better for fans and teams alike. Such a change would require the NCAA to alter its rules on spring ball.

"To have it competitive, playing against your own guys kind of gets monotonous," Sanders said Monday in his first news conference since last season. "You really can’t tell the level of your guys because it’s the same old, same old — everybody kind of knows each other."

His concept would be similar to a preseason game in the NFL, where a team comes in for a few days of joint practices before their exhibition game.

"I think the public will be satisfied with that tremendously," Sanders said. "I think it’s a tremendous idea. I’ve told those personnel who should understand that it’s a tremendous idea."

Nebraska recently announced it is replacing its spring football game with skills competitions and 7-on-7 games at Memorial Stadium on April 26. This comes on the heels of Cornhuskers coach Matt Rhule expressing concerns about other teams scouting players in the scrimmage and possibly poaching them through the transfer portal.

While the spring game remains a big draw, some schools in recent years have started to move away from traditional scrimmages because of smaller rosters and the risk of player injuries. Nebraska, Texas, Ohio State and USC are among programs ending the tradition this spring.

Col