There was a time when Deion Sanders played for football teams in Florida where the grass was filled with sandspurs that made life a little rough at times.

Colorado players don’t have to worry about that, and Sanders, now the Buffaloes’ head coach, isn’t interested in any types of excuses as his team goes through spring practices.

“I want guys that love the game, man,” Sanders said after the Buffs’ eighth practice of spring on Saturday. “I gotta see more love of this game. Do you understand how beautiful it is here? How wonderful the weather was out there? I mean, how wonderfully manicured the practice fields are, and you don’t want to go out there and give it 100 (percent)? I have a problem with that. I really do.

“We’re looking for kids that are gonna go 100 when we ain’t looking. That’s what I want and that’s what we’re gonna find.”

As the Buffs surpassed the halfway mark of spring — they have seven practices remaining — the process of finding those players is nowhere near complete.

From the day he was hired in December, Sanders has talked about changing the culture and attitude of a team that went 1-11 a year ago. The Buffs aren’t there yet, and Sanders once again reiterated that the Buffs likely aren’t done shaping their roster as they prepare for the Sept. 2 opener at TCU.

“The team that we’re playing with now is not the team that we’re going to play with in Texas the first game,” Sanders said, followed by a long pause. “Do I need to say any more?

“It’s not gonna be that. It’s gonna be a lot of new faces, a lot of new attitudes, a lot of new understandings and a lot of new wants and desires and you’ve got to have it. There has to be a sense of urgency.”

After conducting the first seven practices of spring in the indoor facility, the Buffs hit the grass at Franklin Field for the first time on Saturday. While the Buffs aren’t where Sanders wants them to be, he does believe the team is developing throughout the process.

There are 51 scholarship players on board this spring who were with the Buffs last year, but 29 who came from various schools — college or high school — from around the country. Much of the coaching staff has come from various places, as well.

The process of coming together takes some time, but Sanders said that’s nothing new.

“Oh, it’s coming,” he said. “I think that’s the name of football. Usually high school kids come from everywhere and you go into portal and you get what you want. You add to your coaching staff to have the best possible staff you can. That means someone’s coming from somewhere (else).

“So, we don’t care about the continuity. We care about getting players that are smart, tough, fast, disciplined. We need speed. We need physicality. We need a desire and a certain want, a certain level of joy.”

Part of CU’s process is the players fighting to earn their numbers. All players began the spring without numbers, but earlier this week, receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. became the first to put a number on his jersey. On Saturday, receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and defensive lineman Shane Cokes also earned numbers.

Consistency and “fighting every play” is part of the standard players much reach to earn their numbers. In that regard, Sanders challenged the team on Saturday, extending the script a few plays.

“I know some guys is on the verge of shutting it down and I wanted to see would they actually shut down?” he said. “I just want to see their capacity of their breaking point. And they did a pretty good job. They didn’t quit, they did not quit at all. They may not have given the effort that we desired and the standard that we desire, but they didn’t shut it down, which is positive.”

Whether practicing indoors or on the pristine grass outside, Sanders said he and his staff won’t back down from their standard as they continue to change the culture.

“We still have some guys that don’t understand what we want and we’re not going to waver on what we want,” he said. “We’re going to stick to the standard. We got guys out there sitting down that ain’t even been in the darn scrimmage. How you kneeling down? We don’t kneel. Guys won’t run all the way off the field. That’s free — your effort is free. That’s what you can give, that’s what you can do.

“We’ve just got to find the type of kids that are who we are and we will expeditiously.”

During his Hall of Fame playing career, Sanders lived up to a high standard every day and has carried confidence throughout his life. Teams often adopt the mentality of their head coach and Sanders is striving for that with the Buffs.

“God, I hope so,” he said. “That’s what I want. I hope so. That’s what I’m looking for.”