Colorado Opens Fall Camp in Colorado Springs as Phillips Departs, Davis Takes WR Room

The Colorado Buffaloes reported for fall camp Sunday at the Champions Center, then boarded buses for Colorado Springs, where the program will spend its opening week of preseason practice at Fountain-Fort Carson High School.

The camp began against a backdrop of notable staff turnover. Jason Phillips, a longtime assistant who followed Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado and oversaw the wide receivers room, is no longer with the program. Phillips was quietly removed from the team's official staff directory, and no official reason for his departure has been provided.

Davis Steps In, Marion's Arrival Shapes the Room

Filling Phillips' role is Rashad Davis, an internal promotion who began his time at Colorado in a quality-control capacity before advancing to coach the inside receivers. Davis was formally introduced to the team at the Buffaloes' first 2026 season meeting and wasted little time setting expectations for the unit.

This is the year to do the impossible. All right. So whatever they said was impossible for you to do, or for us to do as a unit, this is the year to do the impossible. Coach just said it. One great year can change everybody's life. But you've got to be intentional with doing it. Be intentional with the process.

— Rashad Davis, Colorado wide receivers coach

The staff shift connects to Colorado's broader offensive restructuring. The Buffaloes recently hired Brennan Marion as offensive coordinator, and Marion's scheme emphasizes positionless receivers capable of lining up across multiple spots. The transition away from Phillips, who coached three receivers drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft — Travis Hunter, Jimmy Horn Jr., and LaJohntay Wester, a school record for receivers taken in a single draft class — marks a significant change in the program's receiver development pipeline.

Also at the team's opening meeting, Sanders addressed a separate issue surrounding a federal court ruling that granted an additional year of eligibility to Class of 2022 players. Sanders said he would not pursue former Colorado athletes who might qualify under the injunction, citing academic deficiencies as grounds for disqualification and pointing to what he described as the negative impact their departures had on the program's grade point average. Sanders added that the coaching staff is still working through the legal details, as the full scope of the NCAA's response to the ruling remains unclear.