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Drew Sapp has heard plenty of noise surrounding the Colorado football program in recent years.
Some of it is true. Most of it is not. That’s why Sapp wanted to check out Boulder for himself and during his official visit over the weekend, the three-star EDGE committed to Coach Prime and the Buffs.
“You just hear so many things coming from news sources and a bunch of stuff that isn’t true,” Drew Sapp told DNVR. “Everybody wants to have a say in Colorado and Coach Prime. Most of it’s not true. I met Coach Prime the person and that’s what we look for. I wanted somebody who I can connect with and who’s going to push me to be the best I can be.”
“I loved everything about Boulder. The view is insane, the campus is beautiful and the mountains are right behind the stadium. I can’t imagine playing under the lights and it’s snowing outside; it’s going to be a beautiful vibe.”
Sapp called Deion Sanders an “old-school” football coach which is something the Lakeland, FL native likes and respects. Coach Prime seems to really appreciate what Sapp brings to the table, too.
“I talked to Coach Prime for about an hour and that went really well,” Drew Sapp told DNVR. “He hand selected me and can see me playing as early as I want. I asked him ‘what sets me apart from everybody else’s film that you watched?’
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“He said ‘I can just tell with your physicality and your violence what kind of mindset you have on and off the field. That’s what I’m looking for. I’m looking for a leader and that’s what I can see you doing here at Colorado.'”
Sapp is a physical edge player who plays with a non-stop motor. The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder racked up 28 TFLs and 13.5 sacks as a junior in 2025. It took him a few long summers to get to that point, though.
Drew Sapp began his career at Lakeland High School with three-a-days, working with varsity as a freshman at 5 a.m. before joining JV practices a few hours after. When varsity added night lifts later in the summer, he was there for that, too.
He “was a smaller guy compared to everyone else” back then but now that he’s not, he’s still carried that underdog mentality with him even when Power 4 offers started to roll in.
“My mentality and my effort is unmatched against anybody,” Drew Sapp told DNVR. “That’s something that I constantly bring to the table. Nobody can teach me effort and my mindset.
“That’s something that Colorado is going to see when I get on the field, how much of a violent and physical player I am. I’m excited to show them that.”
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Sapp chose Colorado over offers from Mississippi State, Pitt, Vanderbilt and others in large part due to the Buffs’ coaching staff. Defensive ends coach George Helow picked Sapp up from the airport, drove him everywhere during his visit weekend and the two “really bonded.”
Primary recruiter Johnnie Mack (Colorado RBs coach) played basketball with Drew Sapp and his younger brother for an hour during an in-home visit last month. The coaching staff and family culture that has been built in Boulder was the difference for Sapp.
That crystallized when he asked incoming transfers from blue-blood programs how they ended up with the Buffs.
“The biggest thing is the coaching staff,” Drew Sapp said of what makes Colorado different. “I talked to a couple Colorado players who transferred from Power 4, huge schools like Notre Dame and Ohio State. I talked to them because I wanted to know why you’d transfer from those schools to come to Colorado. They said at Notre Dame and Ohio State, you have your coaches but you don’t build relationships with them. They’re your coaches and that’s all they are.
“At Colorado, they build a connection with you and that’s your family.”
Drew Sapp was one of three Colorado commits over the weekend. Three-star offensive lineman Coderro McDaniel flipped his commitment from Ole Miss to the Buffs on Sunday. Earlier in the day, interior offensive lineman Jayin Talib (nephew of Aqib Talib) committed to the Buffs.
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Colorado has 17 commits in the 2027 class (as of June 15) and the No. 4 recruiting class in the Big 12. Sapp plans to arrive in Boulder in January as an early enrollee and he believes the sky is the limit for his class.
“This program is going to do whatever it wants to do,” Drew Sapp told DNVR. “I was on a visit with five other dudes and four of them committed once they got there because they saw how involved everyone is with the players. That 2027 class is going to be amazing and if we grind it out for a year or two, we’re going to be unstoppable.”
Follow Colorado Buffaloes beat reporter Scott Procter on X.
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