Kansas will look to continue its winning streak against ranked opponents when they take on #16 Colorado on Saturday. Lance Leipold spoke to the media on Monday, discussing what he’s seen from Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes and the emotions of senior day.

Leipold respects Deion Sanders, have similar career paths

Sanders has Colorado to be in Big 12 Championship game contention in just his second year in Boulder. He and Leipold have had similar career trajectories, rising from the lower levels of coaching into high-major jobs.

“I have a lot of respect for Coach Sanders and how he's gone about it, and I told him that one of the first times I met him because the thing that we do have in common is we've come up to ranks that aren't necessarily conventional to get a powerful football job and that is he coached high school football,” Leipold said. “He coached at an HBCU University that doesn't have many resources and he found a way to be successful and found a way to build his program in his own philosophy.”

Leipold is complimentary of the way Sanders has handled the changing landscape of college football. He thinks Colorado is a confident and talented team.

“Whether it be our styles or personalities, he is, probably was ahead of the curve and probably being upfront about what the landscape of college football was changing and what it was going to be like and where it's heading,” Leipold said. “He's taken what's been put on us and he's gone about building a football team that's one of the most improved in college football in a very short period of time. They're a very talented team.”

Travis Hunter is a ‘special athlete’

Leipold has positive comments of Colorado’s star two-way player Travis Hunter. Leipold said he may be the first player taken in the NFL Draft and is the current Heisman favorite. He added that Colorado’s staff has done a good job of keeping him healthy.

“That's a credit to Coach Prime and his staff because for him to be able to play the way he does, prepare him to get ready to play two game plans, know what to do, keep him as healthy as they have throughout his career is a great job of monitoring the situation,” Leipold said.

Leipold said Hunter’s athletic ability will pose problems on both sides of the ball.

“He's a special athlete of our time and the fact that the way his ball skills and reactions and everything that he can do as a player, his ability to make him miss as an offensive threat or when the ball is in his hands, either way makes him extremely dangerous,” Leipold said. “So, it'll be a big test for both sides of all fours.”

Managing the emotions of Senior Day

Kansas will honor nearly 30 seniors on Saturday, with a lot of them being key contributors for multiple years. Leipold said he knows the celebration can be emotionally taxing, but he wants it to be special.

“I've been part of some teams where that's been where don't play very well because it becomes an emotional drain, especially right before kickoff sometimes, so hopefully maybe that'll be a small positive of not being Lawrence per se,” Leipold said.

“But we talked about it again in senior day. To me, sometimes like a homecoming game and as a football team it's your job to go out and play well so you have a great memory of it when you win a football game. And if we can balance that, I don't want to take it away from the guys, but if we can balance those things with what the day is, hopefully we can make a special day.”

Leipold said there are a lot of seniors who’ve been very impactful for the Kansas football program.

“There should be so many with this group because you know, the ones that, especially the ones that were here for all four with us, the ones that stayed, the ones that believed, the ones that were really program changers in what they've done, not just on the field, but how they've gone about it daily that bought into what was being done and saw the benefits,” Leipold said.

He continued: “And hopefully when we have former players come back and watch practices and stuff, I hope that they'll be those type of guys that come back and they talk the days when they were here and what they helped implement.”